Thesis Statement

     In the mid 20th century, most low-income American households did not have the opportunity to give their children an early childhood education. In 1969, this changed when Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett created an educational television show, Sesame Street. This program has benefited the younger generation by communicating academic skills and social messages to children all around the world. In doing this, the producers of Sesame Street reached their goal of minimizing the achievement gap between children struggling with poverty versus higher socioeconomic children. Sesame Street now continues to guide the younger generation, reaching children world-wide in over 150 countries, to make certain everyone has access to the early education they deserve.

“So few people realize that we are so much more than just the TV show. The show is incredible, but the truth is that this work is so targeted and really focuses on some tough issues in children’s lives. We have a whole international arm of this organization...” (Chai).