After reading the passage below, answer the questions that follow. Be sure to "submit" your response for each question. You will initially receive full credit for each question, but your grade may change once your instructor reviews your responses. Be sure to check the grade book for your final grade.
The Sesame Effect
Grover, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster have helped many generations of American preschoolers learn their letters and numbers. Designed to help disadvantaged children get quality educational experiences, the Muppet characters of TV’s Sesame Street have also taught children about social issues and coping with life’s challenges — everything from making new friends to going to the dentist to working hard to achieve a goal. But American children are not the only beneficiaries. Over thirty international versions of Sesame Street reach children in about 150 countries (Cole & Lee, 2016; Hautzinger, 2019).
Many American media companies send their productions abroad, but what makes international adaptations of Sesame Street different is that the content is locally created and culturally specific. Co-productions between the Sesame Workshop (the nonprofit group behind Sesame Street) and local organizations, charities, and government programs generate their own curriculum and even their own Muppet characters (Cole, 2016). Tuktuki is a six-year-old girl Muppet in Bangladesh who goes to school and loves to learn. Raya prides herself on her personal hygiene and takes the embarrassment out of discussing sanitation practices in Nigeria. And in Afghanistan, Kajkoal loves to ask questions and encourages curiosity about occupations that might otherwise seem out of reach.
Like the original Sesame Street, the aim is to be “fun, furry, informative, and flexible” (Cole, 2016). And also like the original, extensive research goes into the planning, development, and production of every episode. We start with the needs before we move into the creative, says Shari Rosenfeld, a Sesame Workshop vice president (Chiwaya, 2019). Studies across multiple countries have shown a significant positive impact on many learning outcomes, including academic skills, health and safety habits, and respect and appreciation for others (Mares & Pan, 2013). By building up young children around the world, Sesame Street strives to build a brighter global future (Cole & Lee, 2016).