為什么和孩子一起看《芝麻街》能讓他們學(xué)到更多

為什么和孩子一起看《芝麻街》能讓他們學(xué)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.

這篇文章是由50號帶給你的!50年來，“芝麻街”一直在播放專為兒童設(shè)計的電視課程，內(nèi)容涉及字母和數(shù)字、健康飲食、多樣性和包容性等方方面面。自從節(jié)目播出以來，研究反復(fù)表明這是一個非常有效的教育工具，和學(xué)前教育一樣好。

'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》在一個“屏幕時間”不是個好詞的時代卻迎來了它的周年紀(jì)念日。在圍繞著孩子使用媒體的道德恐慌中，家長們被大量信息轟炸:太多的電視和電子游戲會讓孩子的大腦變得混亂，讓他們變得極度活躍，甚至?xí)屗麄冮L出角?？紤]到這些，讓你的孩子看電視似乎是一個冒險的提議。

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，即使是建議父母限制孩子看電視的時間，以防止他們久坐不動或不愛社交的健康和兒科團(tuán)體也認(rèn)識到，并不是所有孩子的數(shù)字娛樂體驗(yàn)都是平等的。根據(jù)美國兒科學(xué)會的說法，媒體經(jīng)驗(yàn)有可能對幼兒有益，尤其是當(dāng)他們與父母或看護(hù)者分享的時候。這是《芝麻街》從一開始就明白的。這部電視劇的制勝法寶不僅在于它對孩子們的吸引力，還包括重復(fù)的課程、快節(jié)奏的剪輯和視覺上有趣的風(fēng)格。這部電視劇能夠鼓勵成年人和他們的孩子一起看電視，這種能力被稱為“共觀”，這也是這部劇能夠保持成功的一個重要原因。

"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》不僅僅是娛樂教育的早期范例;這是黃金標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。該節(jié)目于1969年首次播出，是同類節(jié)目中第一個意識到，如果孩子們能唱出他們在電視上聽到的廣告歌，那么電視也能教會他們背誦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，該節(jié)目的課程主要是教授學(xué)齡前兒童閱讀、寫作和數(shù)學(xué)等認(rèn)知技能。這個想法是為了幫助孩子們成功，讓他們在進(jìn)入小學(xué)時感到有能力。到20世紀(jì)80年代，該節(jié)目開始在其曲目中加入社會和情感課程。多年來，《芝麻街》一直在播出一些劇集，旨在幫助兒童理解和應(yīng)對死亡、懷孕和離婚等人生大事。該系列還涉及9·11恐怖襲擊、颶風(fēng)以及最近的阿片類藥物危機(jī)等危機(jī)。

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.

在早期的歷史中，“芝麻街”也認(rèn)識到了把家長帶到電視機(jī)前的重要性。《芝麻街》以城市為背景，由不同種族的成人、兒童和木偶組成，特別為來自貧困背景的兒童設(shè)計了一個故事，讓他們能夠與之產(chǎn)生共鳴。然而，就在節(jié)目開始的幾年后，有研究表明，實(shí)際上中產(chǎn)階級兒童比社會經(jīng)濟(jì)地位較低的兒童受益更多。同樣的評估表明，如果貧困兒童更多地得到父母的參與，這種學(xué)習(xí)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，下次你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己被《權(quán)力的游戲》中埃爾莫幫助角色談判的滑稽短劇逗樂，或者跟著埃爾維斯·科斯特洛根據(jù)《紅鞋》改編的《芝麻街》哼唱時，你要知道，這是因?yàn)椤吨ヂ榻帧凡粌H僅是一部兒童節(jié)目。這應(yīng)該是一個兒童與他們的父母的表演。