Sunday, November 08, 2009

Early Elementary Educational Breakthroughs

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street this week, I'm thinking about the great steps forward in kids educational materials. Here's a list. I'd love to see this written up as a full article.

Dick & Jane - These were the standards when I was little (I'm 51)

Dr Suess - The Cat in the Hat was exciting radical stuff when I was little. We loved it. Green Eggs and Ham and all.

Captain Kangeroo & Mister Rogers

Sesame Street

What else belongs on this list? Why?

One other thought. During the tech boom, a number of companies raised a lot of capital for businesses which were described as "Sesame Street for the Digital Age" or "Interactive Sesame Street". It fires the imagination and recognizes the vast impact that Sesame Street has had.

On the business side, I've always wondered about the reality of Children's Television Network. I assume that they're a non-profit. They probably get all sorts of grants and funding. Yet, the toy stores are full of yards of licensed products with Big Bird and Ernie. Isn't that a lot of money? Isn't it enough? Do they turn a profit? Who gets it?

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