Save Big Bird, Big Bird Helps Kids Learn



Parenthood overwhelmed me.  My two kids, 19 months apart exhausted me.  Both were early risers.  To say my son was active, would be an understatement.  The one thing that kept my sanity was his love of Sesame Street.  He would watch it at 7, 8 and 9 and on days when we were stuck in the house, he watched tapes.  (It was the only way I could get anything done or go to the bathroom in peace.  He grew up fine, in spite of, or maybe because of all this television.)  He especially loved the movie where the whole gang got locked in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and met the little Egyptian boy who wanted to be a star to join his parents.

I remember taking both kids to the museum, my son was just about two at the time.  As soon as we walked into the Egyptian exhibit, he ran from me screaming, "Mommy, mommy, there is the Temple of Dendur."  An elderly woman looked at him, clearly impressed with the words come out of my little boy.  She said, he must be a child prodigy. (Those who know him know this is not true.)  When he had his fill of this, we walked around other parts of the museum where he continued to amaze bystanders with his knowledge.

Romney claims to care about education but he is cutting funding to PBS, a valuable source of learning for many children.  At less than a year, my daughter knew all her numbers and letters.  Before she could walk, she was crawling up and down the block reading license plates.  While I read to her, I never sat and taught her the alphabet.  She knew enough to stay in bed until the clock read  "7 0 0" and diligently repeated all the digits on it until the right ones arrived.  Again, Sesame Street was her teacher.  And again, my son wowed his hospital room when, at 18 months, he made us spell every word he heard.  His love of letters came from that show.

Money is all that matters to Romney and his crew and PBS is not a money maker for them.  My kids came from a home where education was stressed and they still needed Sesame Street.  And now he wants to deprive others of this wonderful, fun learning experience.  He should be ashamed.

I know there are more important issues in this country than saving PBS, but that doesn't negate the valuable service it provides.

(I just read an article about how TLC was started by NASA as a non-profit.  Now, shows like Honey Boo Boo are its biggest attraction.  TLC has become the trashiest network one can watch.)