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''Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street'' (1974) is a non-fiction book written by Gerald S. Lesser, in which he describes the production of ''Sesame Street'', and the formation and pedagogical philosophy of the Children's Television Workshop. Lesser was a professor at Harvard University, studying how social class and ethnicity interacted with school achievement and was one of the first academics in the US who researched how watching television affected children and their development. He was initially skeptical about the potential of using television as a teaching tool, but he was eventually named as the advisory board chairman of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), the organization created to oversee the production and research of Sesame Street, and was the show's first educational director. Lesser wrote the book early in ''Sesame Street's'' history, to evaluate the show's effectiveness, to explain what its writers, researchers, and producers were attempting to do, and to respond to criticism of ''Sesame Street''. ''Children and Television'' has four sections, "A Proposal", "Planning", "Broadcasting" and "Lessons from Sesame Street". The book also has a preface and an epilogue, written by Lesser, a foreword written by co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney, and an introduction by co-creator Lloyd Morrisett. Scattered throughout the book are cartoons drawn by children's author Maurice Sendak. Lesser describes the origin and development of ''Sesame Street'' and his part in it. He also describes the research involved in the show's creation and production. ==Background== Gerald S. Lesser was the Biglow Professor of Education and Developmental Psychology at Harvard University. He studied how social class and ethnicity interacted with school achievement and was one of the first academics in the US who researched how watching television affected children and their development. In 1963, he served as an academic adviser for the NBC educational program, ''Exploring''.〔 In 1968, ''Sesame Street'' co-creator Lloyd Morrisett, whom he had met as a student at Yale University, asked Lesser to assist with the research of a new children's show he and producer Joan Ganz Cooney were developing, a show that eventually became ''Sesame Street''.〔 Lesser was initially skeptical about the potential of using television as a teaching tool, but he was eventually named as the advisory board chairman of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), the organization created to oversee the production and research of ''Sesame Street'', and was the show's first educational director.〔 He was also skeptical about Cooney's qualifications as CTW's first director,〔 but Cooney later stated, "...I couldn't begin to measure how proud I am to be Gerry Lesser's colleague and how happy I am to know the pleasure of his company".〔 In the summer of 1968, under what ''Sesame Street'' researchers Edward Palmer and Shalom Fisch called Lesser's "able leadership",〔 five three-day curriculum planning seminars were conducted in Boston.〔〔 The purpose of the seminars, attended by educational experts and the new show's writers and producers, was to ascertain which school-preparation skills to emphasize. According to writer Michael Davis, Lesser's skills at encouraging collegiality were evident during the seminars.〔 Writer Louise Gikow reported that the real friction occurred between the educators present. As ''Sesame Street'' songwriter Christopher Cerf reported, "...() ran meetings better than anyone I've ever seen. He made everybody feel like they were important, that they got listened to, and that their work ended up in the final product".〔 Davis noted that the seminars also served as a "crash course in child development, psychology, and preschool education" for the show's producers and writers.〔 According to researcher Robert W. Morrow, Lesser understood that in order to bring research about child development into the production process of ''Sesame Street'', a close working relationship had to be created between the researchers and the producers.〔 Davis credited Lesser's "informal, unpretentious, and collaborative" manner with the creation of that close relationship.〔 As head of research on ''Sesame Street'', Lesser came up with what he called "the CTW model". This model included having assumptions about how children learn from television, the use of high-quality production values, and establishing "an organization that fostered mutual confidence among its members".〔 Field research testing the effectiveness of each episode's content was conducted at preschools, prior to broadcast. The show's educational goals were measured after each episode aired to further evaluate the show's effectiveness.〔 Lesser wrote ''Children and Television'' in 1974, early in the show's history, to evaluate the effectiveness of the CTW model, to explain what the show's writers, researchers, and producers were attempting to do, and to respond to criticism of ''Sesame Street''. Lesser also explained the show's logic, its curriculum, and its pedagogy.〔 Writer Robert W. Morrow called Lesser's book "''Sesame Street's'' most adept defense".〔 According to Morrow, ''Children and Television'' was the most complete explanation of the CTW's reasoning behind the show at the time, and a memoir of the show's development.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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