This is About More Than Sesame Street: The Search for a Public Sphere
It’s time to reinvest in public education.
A couple of months ago, I learned the free access show–a cornerstone of PBS–has moved to HBO. This news devastated me and I can’t stop thinking about the deeper meaning and its implications for education more broadly.
I am three years older than Sesame Street, which first aired in November of 1969. A product of television, I grew up watching that show day after day. I could watch Grover (my favorite character), Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie all day long. I would sing the theme song (“Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street”), and answer their questions before they would reveal the answers (One of these things doesn’t belong here. One of these things just isn’t the same. Can you tell which one is not like the others…). Even though I was well into my teens, I was emotional when Mr. Hooper, the grocer, died. This was my second family for most of my childhood.
Growing up working class, I didn’t attend preschool, but I was reading well before I entered Kindergarten. In connecting with these characters, I learned much more than my alphabet and numbers, I learned about caring for others, belonging, and a commitment and responsibility to my community. More than anything else, I credit Sesame Street with my passion for learning, civic engagement, and my overall educational attainment.
It has been a long time since I watched an episode. It’s not that I’m hanging on to my glory days and just don’t want my past to change. In fact, the show has changed quite a bit over the years. There is some character named Addy something and Elmo is now way more popular than Grover ever was. That’s all good. What has hit me hard is that this show, built on the foundation of providing access to education to underprivileged children, is becoming privatized.
It is a symbol of the disintegration of the public sphere.
HBO began as a network in 1972. I remember it well. It was a station that you could only get if you already had cable and even with that, you had to pay extra money for it. It was years before we even got cable in our household and HBO was out of the question. With a 2014 operating budget of $1.79 billion, HBO can afford to sign on the financially struggling Sesame Street for the next five years.
Some say “Look at the bright side. At least this way the show will continue.” Sesame Street has suffered from a small budget for some time and with a downturn in sales from DVDs it was at risk of going off the air forever. “It’s not like there are new letters or numbers,” say the eternal optimists. HBO will only hold it hostage for 9 months and then it will go back to PBS. And that is good news. PBS will still air reruns and kids will continue to watch it on the old network. Yes. A victory for public education.
But our educational system has suffered from continued privatization and this is a new reminder that we are losing ground. Education as a right in our democratic society is giving way to education as a commodity in a free market.
Working in public higher education, I feel the effects of the decreased funding for public education every day — in our budgets, in the disparity in preparedness between those from affluent school districts and those from poorer urban areas, and in the demographic of students who come through our doors.
Public and available education are essential elements of a just and civil society. The dramatic inequities in education throughout the U.S. cry out for a reinvestment in our public schools. The stark differences that exist today will continue to worsen if only some have access regardless of the best innovations. Conversations about education and its reform must address these difficult questions:
Are we willing to keep education a public good accessible to everyone? If so, what are we willing to pay to make that happen?
I wonder where I would be today without the benefit of my furry Muppet friends. The relocation of Sesame Street has sent me down a sentimental path. I have thought about what we would say to each other if we were gathered around the fireplace. I wonder if I can convey to them my concern for their future. I wonder if they know that their guidance provided me with not only a love for learning but with a commitment to community. I wonder if they will feel my deep thanks for their companionship at a crucial time in my life.
I imagine: I’m drinking hot chocolate with my favorites, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, and Snuffleupagus. Here’s what they would say to me:
Cookie Monster: “Me want cookies! Gluten Free cookies are OK too. I can eat those cookies!”
Oscar the Grouch: “You know, even my garbage can doesn’t look like your desk at work. You really should get yourself organized!”
Bert and Ernie and I would chat about the banner year for marriage equality and high five each other. “This is our year!” They would say, “We’ve waited a long time for marriage equality! I’m glad we saw it in our lifetime!”
And then, of course, the most heartfelt moment of the evening would bring a tear to my eye. One of my favorite story lines as a child was the introduction of Snuffleupagus as Big Bird’s friend– a friend that only he could see. Every time Snuffy came along, no one but Big Bird would see him and the neighborhood folks started to believe that Big Bird was crazy. He would try to convince people that Snuffy was real yet no one believed him. In my living room, Big Bird and I would remember this time, when he (we) felt alone in the world. We would catch each others’ eye with a look that only we would understand and Big Bird would say to me, “Thank you for believing.”
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