Happy 45th birthday, Sesame Street and the good folks at the Children’s Television Workshop!
I am a card-carrying, life-long, die-hard Sesame Street fan.
I have loved Sesame Street for as long as I can remember. My brother and I named our very first fish Bert and Ernie. My favorite number growing up was 6, because Bert said it was his favorite number in a random episode. I watched the movie “Follow that Bird.” For my senior research project in high school, I examined the various educational approaches employed by the Children’s Television Workshop in Sesame Street. (That year was the show’s 25th anniversary.) I took Elmo with me to college. I loved watching it with my daughter. The spoofs of Downton Abbey and other current shows have spurned long and fabulous Facebook conversation with my 30-something-year-old friends. I showed my husband the Lady Bug picnic video a few weeks ago and someone in my family has been humming it ever since.
I like to think of it as not an issue with maturity but rather a deep and sincere appreciation of the focus on learning, and not just the educational basics, but also the important life lessons about friendship, community, respect, kindness and so much more.
This video of Sesame Street through the years, starting with Rubber Ducky in the premier year of 1969, is a wonderful walk down memory lane.
Someone please tell me that I’m not the only one who gets verklempt at the line “Mr. Hooper isn’t coming back?” But I was also thrilled that it includes the “New Way to Walk” song with Beyonce’s Destiny Child days was one of my mom’s favorites to watch with my little girl. It’s that mix of funny and touching, the silly and the realistic, that help prepare kids for this wacky, wild world. And its multigenerational appeal never ceases to amaze me.
Thank you, Sesame Street, for 45 years of love and learning. I know I and million others are grateful to have had you in our homes and lives.
What’s your favorite Sesame Street memory? Please share in the comments!
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