为什么和孩子一起看《芝麻街》能让他们学到更多

为什么和孩子一起看《芝麻街》能让他们学到更多

This article is brought to you by the number 50! For 50 years now, "Sesame Street" has been televising lessons designed for young children on everything from letters and numbers, healthy eating, and diversity and inclusion. For as long it's been on the air, research on the show has repeatedly demonstrated that it's a highly effective educational tool, just as good as a preschool education.

这篇文章是由50号带给你的!50年来，“芝麻街”一直在播放专为儿童设计的电视课程，内容涉及字母和数字、健康饮食、多样性和包容性等方方面面。自从节目播出以来，研究反复表明这是一个非常有效的教育工具，和学前教育一样好。

'Sesame Street' debuted on Nov. 10, 1969, and is celebrating its 50th season this year. (Photo: Richard Termine/HBO)

Yet, "Sesame Street" celebrates its anniversary during an era when "screen time" is a dirty term. In the midst of a moral panic surrounding children's media use, parents are bombarded with messages about how too much TV and video games will turn their kids' brain into mush, make them hyperactive or even cause them to grow horns. With concerns like these, letting your child watch TV can seem like a risky proposition.

然而，《芝麻街》在一个“屏幕时间”不是个好词的时代却迎来了它的周年纪念日。在围绕着孩子使用媒体的道德恐慌中，家长们被大量信息轰炸:太多的电视和电子游戏会让孩子的大脑变得混乱，让他们变得极度活跃，甚至会让他们长出角。考虑到这些，让你的孩子看电视似乎是一个冒险的提议。

But even the health and pediatric groups that recommend that parents limit children's screen time to prevent them from being sedentary or unsocial recognize that not all of children's digital entertainment experiences are created equal. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, media experiences have the potential to be beneficial for young children, especially when they are shared with parents or caregivers. This is something that "Sesame Street" has understood since its inception. Part of the show's winning formula is not just its appeal to children – often with repetitive lessons, fast-paced editing and a visually interesting style. The show's ability to encourage adults to watch TV along with their children, known as coviewing, is a large part of why the series remains a success.

但是，即使是建议父母限制孩子看电视的时间，以防止他们久坐不动或不爱社交的健康和儿科团体也认识到，并不是所有孩子的数字娱乐体验都是平等的。根据美国儿科学会的说法，媒体经验有可能对幼儿有益，尤其是当他们与父母或看护者分享的时候。这是《芝麻街》从一开始就明白的。这部电视剧的制胜法宝不仅在于它对孩子们的吸引力，还包括重复的课程、快节奏的剪辑和视觉上有趣的风格。这部电视剧能够鼓励成年人和他们的孩子一起看电视，这种能力被称为“共观”，这也是这部剧能够保持成功的一个重要原因。

"Sesame Street" isn't just an early example of Entertainment-Education in action; it's the gold standard. The show, which debuted in 1969, was the first of its kind to recognize that if children could sing advertising jingles they heard on TV, television could also teach them to recite their ABCs.

《芝麻街》不仅仅是娱乐教育的早期范例;这是黄金标准。该节目于1969年首次播出，是同类节目中第一个意识到，如果孩子们能唱出他们在电视上听到的广告歌，那么电视也能教会他们背诵abc。

For its first decade, the show's curriculum was primarily aimed at teaching preschool-aged children cognitive skills like reading, writing and math. The idea was to help kids succeed and feel competent when they entered elementary school. By the 1980s the show had begun to add social and emotional lessons to its repertoire as well. Over the years, "Sesame Street" has aired episodes designed to help young children understand and cope with such life events as death, pregnancy and divorce. The series has also addressed crises such as the Sept. 11 terror attacks, hurricanes and, most recently, the opioid crisis.

在最初的十年里，该节目的课程主要是教授学龄前儿童阅读、写作和数学等认知技能。这个想法是为了帮助孩子们成功，让他们在进入小学时感到有能力。到20世纪80年代，该节目开始在其曲目中加入社会和情感课程。多年来，《芝麻街》一直在播出一些剧集，旨在帮助儿童理解和应对死亡、怀孕和离婚等人生大事。该系列还涉及9·11恐怖袭击、飓风以及最近的阿片类药物危机等危机。

Lily (right) is the first homeless Muppet on 'Sesame Street.' (Photo: Richard Termine/Sesame Workshop)

Early in its history, "Sesame Street" recognized the importance of bringing parents to the television set, too. With its urban setting and ethnically diverse cast of adults, children and puppets, "Sesame Street" was specially designed to give children from underprivileged backgrounds a story with which they could relate. However, just a couple years after the show began, there was research indicating that the show was actually benefiting middle class children more than children with lower socioeconomic status. The same assessment suggested that this learning gap could be closed if underprivileged children had more involvement from their parents.

在早期的历史中，“芝麻街”也认识到了把家长带到电视机前的重要性。《芝麻街》以城市为背景，由不同种族的成人、儿童和木偶组成，特别为来自贫困背景的儿童设计了一个故事，让他们能够与之产生共鸣。然而，就在节目开始的几年后，有研究表明，实际上中产阶级儿童比社会经济地位较低的儿童受益更多。同样的评估表明，如果贫困儿童更多地得到父母的参与，这种学习差距可以被消除。

Singer Nick Jonas in an episode of 'Sesame Street' from Season 46. (Photo: Jesse Grant/HBO)

So the next time you find yourself chuckling to that skit of Elmo helping characters from "Game of Thrones" negotiate, or humming along to Elvis Costello's "Sesame Street" adaptation of "Red Shoes," know that's because "Sesame Street" is not just a children's show. It's supposed to be a children-with-their-parents show.

所以，下次你发现自己被《权力的游戏》中埃尔莫帮助角色谈判的滑稽短剧逗乐，或者跟着埃尔维斯·科斯特洛根据《红鞋》改编的《芝麻街》哼唱时，你要知道，这是因为《芝麻街》不仅仅是一部儿童节目。这应该是一个儿童与他们的父母的表演。