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Sesame Street Begins Teaching Math and Science

Posted by Soulskill on from the c-is-for-cookie dept.

An anonymous reader sends in this excerpt from ABC News: "This season of 'Sesame Street,' which premiered today, has added a few new things to its usual mix of song, dance and educational lessons. In its 42nd season, the preschool educational series is tackling math, science, technology, and engineering — all problem areas for America's students — in hopes of helping kids measure up. ... This season, 'Sesame Street' will include age-appropriate experimentation — even the orange monster Murray will conduct science experiments in a recurring feature."

6 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. Right on! by gman003 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This alone will probably do more to improve education than the entire No Child Left Behind Act. Provided, of course, that it actually teaches the purpose of experimentation and science, teaches kids to ask "why?" and devise experiments to test ideas. All too often, "kid science" is "do this, then this, and now look at the pretty (green goo|flames|shiny), followed by a lecture on what went on. I'm hopeful that this will be one of the ones to get it right.

    1. Re:Right on! by migla · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have no kind of inkling about the first sentence of the previous poster, but the part about 'teaches kids to ask "why?"' I'd like to amend: Hope it teaches them to want to ask "why?".

      (Or maybe that would obviously be implied?)

      --
      Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
    2. Re:Right on! by Cryacin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Shut up. Not now. I'm busy.

      These are words that should never be uttered by a parent to a child. Why? Because it promptly snuffs the flame of curiosity. Most parents don't even realise they're doing it. They're just too absorbed in whatever they're doing to notice what they've just said to their curious 3 year old.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    3. Re:Right on! by hedwards · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Probably because NCLB was an unfunded mandate which had bench marks set via standardized testing of a rather elaborate nature. Also due to the stakes it tends to crowd out significant portions of the year when teachers are theoretically supposed to be teaching.

    4. Re:Right on! by Shadow99_1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They only get #1 spots when they talk about the 10,000 year old space aliens that built the pyramids or the coming apocalypse(s)... Which may explain the bulk of their modern programming...

      Sarcasm aside... I've found the BBC far more interesting and informative lately.

      --
      we are all invisible unless we choose otherwise
  2. Sounds great to me by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Sesame Street helps reduce the frequency of math-phobes in our young population, I will be eternally thankful. Too many people have escaped learning math due to being afraid of it; if they are introduced to it at a young age they might not develop an irrational fear of it.

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    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.