Yep! SRS, I agree, there is a great deal of necessary rote learning in Sesame street but I still say it is un-imaginative and treats the child like a complete empty slate without prior experiences to guide him or her. which of course most children have had.

Repeat after me:

A

Ant!...A

B

Barn!...B

C

Cat!....C

D

Dog!....D



For example, I once saw a kindergarten teacher do something that reminds me of the empty slate model (of course Sesame Street is not this bad but I'll leave it for you to judge)

"Children Time for Science, "We're gonna give this plant over here water. This other one over there isn't going to get any at all, In a couple of weeks we are going to see which one dies"

Dah! Mrs. Teacher, let's not give you any water for a week and see what happens to you.

Anyone with a brain knows that any kid is not so idiotic that he/she cannot reach a full conclusion on this one. After all, don't kids drink the self-same water as well, and most of them also have been exposed to the experience of needing water.

The same goes for the alphabet, haven't most kids had some prior exposure to it as well. Do they really need to know that D goes with Dog? I think not, most likely they already know most of the alphabet, they may have to see it a few times more, but they don't need to be flatly introduced to be re-introduced to it, although some may need the introduction that the vast majority don't, if they don't have parents that care about them or read to them at all. And are language starved and deprived.

The television show should re-inenforce the job that the parents have done, in any case I don't see Sesame Street as the kid's first and only encounter with his/her own brain.

Dewey