Big, yet small. Sesame Workshop is a dichotomy, but this dichotomy is most likely a key ingredient of Sesame Workshop's success. According to Dr. Greene, Director of Global Outreach for Sesame Workshop and member of the KIDS FIRST! team since 1996, the world-famous Street is the result of cooperation that is reminiscent of a small community. Creative effort crosses departments within New York and then, even more remarkably crosses oceans and cultural barriers to governments, foundations, non-governmental partnerships in other countries co-producing Sesame Street.
Greene, an early childhood professional with over thirty years experience in the field, has served in a variety of capacities in governmental and non-governmental settings including Director of Information Services at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, The Discovery Channel's Ready, Set, Learn initiative and at High/Scope Educational Research Foundation and demonstration preschool.
Greene joined Sesame Workshop in December 2004, when international expansion prodded Sesame Workshop to create the position of Director of Global Relations. "I feel fortunate to have been recruited by Sesame Workshop Vice President, Donna Chandler for this opportunity in my career to work at Sesame Workshop," Greene proclaims.
Formerly known as Children's Television Workshop, the first Sesame Street program aired in November 1969, becoming an overnight success. Within a year, producers from English-speaking countries such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were asking to rebroadcast parts of the series.
The popularity didn't stop there. Kids begged to see the show and parents raved about the fun lessons taught to the children. In time, Sesame Street characters became heroes in children's books and in computer games. In 2000, Talakani, Sesame debuted on South African television and radio. Currently, Sesame Street is shown to children in over 120 countries.
When Sesame Workshop co-produces Sesame Street with another country, it is a collaborative effort among government officials and social engineers. Seminars are conducted, based on research and information from the local experts, to determine the values and local context to be communicated.
Sometimes, Sesame Street aids other countries without actually producing a show. For example, in the Andean region of Central America, Sesame Workshop provides materials to complement literacy training programs at The Center for Excellence in Teacher Training, which is funded by the USAID initiative. Yolanda Platon, a Sesame Street consultant based in Puerto Rico, works on this program with Rosio Golarza (Education and Research) in New York City. They are striving to integrate the lessons into a resource handbook, taking into account cultural and pedagogical differences between regions. They incorporate the use of specific children's books to complement their reading program.
One reason Sesame Workshop is so successful is their research. They know what kids like, what kids need, what educators are looking for, and they provide it. Perhaps this is why so many countries are clamoring for rights to produce the show.
A primary Sesame Workshop goal is to provide basic concepts for kids to learn about the world. By making training resources affordable and accessible to caregivers, Sesame Workshop also succeeds in its corollary goal to train adults in how to enhance these basic learning concepts.
Other outreach strategies prepared for educators and providers are: Learn and Grow with Sesame Workshop; Everyday Math and Science; From Language to Literacy; Music and Art Together; Making the Most of Screen Time; and Diversity-A Learning Tool. Information on these and other Sesame Street initiative can be found at http://www.sesameworkshop.org.
For Greene, a great joy of his job is learning how lives are touched through Sesame Street. A favorite memory comes from Melissa White, African-American musician from Lansing, Michigan. Greene met White at an awards event when she was fourteen and asked her how she became so interested in violin. White responded that she decided to become a violinist at age four after watching virtuoso Itzhak Perlman perform on Sesame Street. White has since attended The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was included in Teen People Magazine's "Teen People Top 20."
More success stories such as White's are waiting to be told as Sesame Workshop succeeds in reaching out globally to meet locally. With a community of dedicated academics like Greene on Sesame Street, it's no wonder that the small street has made such big inroads in bettering the lives of children worldwide. |
