Repeating Lessons...

[SesameStMuppets]

I have been thinking in the last few weeks, since seeing the new(er) episode with the adoption of baby Marco; and i have a question...

Personally, repeating concepts from past Sesame Generations is a good thing. Just because we see something 20 years ago, doesn't mean it can't be re-taught. Heck! Repetition was one of the original teaching basics the show was rooted in. But when it comes to the 'Landmark Episodes,' should we be seeing them? I think in the next few years (especially as it seems the show has improved in Season 38) marrige, birth, death (when it comes to), and possibly a re-attempt at divorce would be incredibly influential.....

But I pose the question to fellow members.... Should Sesame Street be considering re-teaching milestones for new generations (and not just by means of re-runs... as that would be awfully confusing to plot continuation)?

 

[Wiseman]

It's always good to review

Let's see death could easily be reviewed. Luis, Maria, Susan and Bob, the four remaining original human cast members aren't getting any younger. I don't know offhand which one is oldest, but whenever one of them decides it's time to die (that's the reason that Mr. Magorium dies at 239 years of age), that would be a good time to revisit death. Then again, since we've gone through 3 Gordons, they could replace Susan too. They could also look into divorce again by revisiting Snuffy's family.

One topic they haven't explored on SS yet, though. It might be hard for preschoolers, but many families these days especially in inner cities have one or more members who are incarcerated for various reasons. They could address crime and imprisonment and explain that sometimes adults make mistakes too. Reading Rainbow did it with the book "Visiting Day" for older children, so its not impossible.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I think it's a good idea.

 

[Drtooth]

Did I ever tell you about a Japanese series called Doraemon? The show's been on since 79. In current seasons, they just reused the storylines from 70's and 80's episodes. Why shouldn't Sesame Street do the same thing, since it was on since 69? Only difference, Doraemon pretty much reenacted the entire episode, only with a few changes here and there. SS would have new characters playing similar episodes out.

I mean, just because they used a plot or issue back 20 years ago doesn't mean they should never do it again. I mean, were todays 3-5 year olds watching those episodes? No. Those are our 3-5 year olds. It's new to them. Like reruns of tv shows before you were born. just because Get Smart existed before you were born, doesn't mean you've seen the episodes already.

Reruns, reenactments, reteachings, the kids don't know or care if they had an episode where Telly wants a pet back and imagines someone to be his in 1986, and then they reused the same bit with Elmo and Zoe.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I think they could try doing a divorce episode again, now that they know what they might have done wrong. This was just something I noticed, it seems they tried to get across the idea that Snuffy's father would still be visting on weekends. But the kids who viewed the episode ended up thinking the father was never going to be around anymore. Personally, I can understand how that happened. I remember being that age and not entirely understanding the concept of weeks and weekends. Plus kids that young don't always understand the concept of anticipating. Just because Dad has visited every Saturday, doesn't mean they always have the confidence that it will continue like that every Saturday from now on.

Though, I also wish they would go ahead with the idea that got rejected about absent fathers and single mothers.

About the death concept, I said in another thread about why I was hesitant about the idea. I just doubt any attempt could be as good as the Mr. Hooper episode, and might end up just being anti climactic. Not that they should never try, but I'm skeptical.

 

[RyGuy]

I know they repeat lessons but there are many other topics they haven't covered that would be good "whole-season " topics for Sesame to explore .

How about a sesaon devoted to feelings. I say this because you don't often see the human cast members express emotions too .Have the viewers see Bob cry ? no Has Gina ever gotten mad at herself ?-no Children need to see the adults having feelings and the charcters need to ask then how to help them through it . Although that would be kind of hard because adults don't need help . AHA ! Now I came up with an example : Alan could be fustrated because he and Gordon were planning to play chess but Gordon had to Grade papers Big Bird could offer to play untill Gordon got back .

Another topic that could have a season devoted to it is making choices . (e.G Bob could say : Elmo, I can stay for a while, but then I have to go to meet Zoe at Hooper's for a snack, we can either play catch or sing the Aplhabet ?" those are my Season 39 curriculum ideas.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I know they repeat lessons but there are many other topics they haven't covered that would be good "whole-season " topics for Sesame to explore .

How about a sesaon devoted to feelings. I say this because you don't often see the human cast members express emotions too .Have the viewers see Bob cry ? no Has Gina ever gotten mad at herself ?-no Children need to see the adults having feelings and the charcters need to ask then how to help them through it . Although that would be kind of hard because adults don't need help . AHA ! Now I came up with an example : Alan could be fustrated because he and Gordon were planning to play chess but Gordon had to Grade papers Big Bird could offer to play untill Gordon got back .

Definitely! I remember a few episodes from years ago that tried to show that even adults could be afraid of things. Gordon sang about how he used to be afraid of the dark as a kid, and I remember that having an impact on me. And then there's the time Bob, Gordon and David got REALLY MAD at Oscar when he wouldn't tell them how Maria's new baby was doing (the level of anger they got to was surprising and yet very realistic lol). It would be great if they continued developing some of these themes. Kids do need to know that expressing feelings can be healthy, even unpleasant ones. They shouldn't only be shown happy and cheerful.

 

[ISNorden]

The trouble with teaching some milestones is that they're hard to use with such a small cast of human characters. The last character death discussed on Sesame Street coincided with the death of an actor; the last birth story arc coincided with Sonia Manzano's real-life pregnancy. Marriage? I haven't seen a romantic relationship among the human cast since Luis and Maria; people marrying without falling in love may be the norm in some countries, but not in America. Divorce? Sesame Street has only two married couples among the humans, and both are still getting along beautifully.

Granted, some of those "milestone" topics could be handled with Muppets instead. Birth and divorce have already been covered in some short Muppet material; but death, well... Sesame Workshop hasn't killed any Muppets yet, and I doubt they'd write a major character like Telly or Ernie off just to teach a lesson. Given those situations--how would YOU write an episode about major life changes, if you were on the Workshop staff?

 

[mikebennidict]

I'm confused what do you mean by a small cast of human characters.

 

[ISNorden]

I mean that there are a lot fewer human characters involved in Sesame Street plotlines than there were 20 years ago; even some of the "originals" like Susan, Gordon, and Bob seldom appear on the show now. All the same, I doubt that any of them would leave Sesame Street permanently just to teach kids about death...or break up a long, happy in-character marriage just to teach about divorce. That kind of storyline develops best when it happens spontaneously after several seasons of realistic change: Maria and Luis weren't first created as a "future married couple", after all.

With none of the human characters likely to get married, divorced, or killed soon...who would be the best candidates for a new "life change" story? The last Muppet birth happened in Baby Bear's family, but no other character seems ripe for another milestone episode.