Circle Square was a Canadian children's television series that ran from 1974 to 1986. Crossroads Christian Communications produced the series in cooperation with its Circle Square Ranch network of summer camps for children. Circle Square Ranches , founded by Crossroads, are Christian -based non-profit camps.
116-487: Mixing human actors—both youth and adult counsellors—with puppets in a Sesame Street -like manner, the series was set at a Circle Square Ranch library. Each episode taught a lesson in moral values. These were the main ongoing characters in the series; the children featured on the show tended to rotate through too quickly to establish an ongoing presences on the show. The series was syndicated to television stations in Canada,
232-507: A public company . Finally, Henry Ford II resigned from his trustee's role in a surprise move in December 1976. In his resignation letter, he cited his dissatisfaction with the foundation holding on to their old programs, large staff and what he saw as anti-capitalist undertones in the foundation's work. In February 2019, Henry Ford III was elected to the Foundation's Board of Trustees, becoming
348-544: A "straightforward illustration for reform." Les Brown, a writer for Variety , saw in Sesame Street "a hope for a more substantial future" for television. Morrow reported that the networks responded by creating more high-quality television programs, but that many critics saw them as "appeasement gestures." According to Morrow, despite the CTW Model's effectiveness in creating a popular show, commercial television "made only
464-479: A 3.3 Nielsen rating, which totaled 1.9 million households. By the show's tenth anniversary in 1979, nine million American children under the age of 6 were watching Sesame Street daily. According to a 1993 survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, out of the show's 6.6 million viewers, 2.4 million kindergartners regularly watched it. 77% of preschoolers watched it once a week, and 86% of kindergartners and first- and second-grade students had watched it once
580-558: A combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect changes in American culture and audiences' viewing habits. It was the first children's TV show to use educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content, and the first show whose educational effects were formally studied. Its format and content have undergone significant changes to reflect changes to its curriculum. Shortly after its creation, its producers developed what came to be called
696-429: A few weeks before the five test shows were due to be filmed. Stone videotaped the auditions, and Ed Palmer took them out into the field to test children's reactions. The actors who received the "most enthusiastic thumbs up" were cast. For example, Loretta Long was chosen to play Susan when the children who saw her audition stood up and sang along with her rendition of " I'm a Little Teapot ." Stone stated that casting
812-536: A half-hour version of the program. The new version, which originally complemented the full-hour series, was broadcast weekday afternoons and streamed on the Internet. In 2017, in response to the changing viewing habits of toddlers, the show's producers decreased the show's length from one hour to 30 minutes across all its broadcast platforms. The new version focused on fewer characters, reduced pop culture references "once included as winks for their parents", and focused "on
928-410: A limited effort to emulate CTW's methods," and did not use a curriculum or evaluate what children learned from them. By the mid-1970s commercial television had abandoned their experiments with creating better children's programming. Other critics hoped that Sesame Street , with its depiction of a functioning, multicultural community, would nurture racial tolerance in its young viewers. It was not until
1044-553: A mixture of styles and characters, and to vary its pace, presumably keeping it interesting to young viewers. However, by season 20, research showed that children were able to follow a story—and the street scenes, while still interspersed with other segments, became evolving storylines. We basically deconstructed the show. It's not a magazine format anymore. It's more like the Sesame hour. Children will be able to navigate through it easier. —Executive producer Arlene Sherman, speaking of
1160-527: A multi-year agreement with Warner Music Group to re-launch Sesame Street Records in the U.S. and Canada. For the first time in 20 years, "an extensive catalog of Sesame Street recordings" was made available to the public in a variety of formats, including CD and vinyl compilations, digital streaming, and downloads. Sesame Street used animations and short films commissioned from outside studios, interspersed throughout each episode, to help teach their viewers basic concepts like numbers and letters. Jim Henson
1276-526: A new educational series. At its 50th anniversary in 2019, Sesame Street had produced over 4,500 episodes, two feature-length movies ( Follow That Bird in 1985 and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland in 1999), 35 TV specials, 200 home videos, and 180 albums. Its YouTube channel has over 24 million subscribers. It was announced in October 2019 that first-run episodes will move to HBO Max beginning with
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#17328692154491392-457: A new version of Circle Square called Circle Square Network (CSN) was produced by Crossroads, but was never picked up. Sesame Street Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action , sketch comedy , animation , and puppetry . It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and
1508-550: A part of its covert cultural war. John J. McCloy, serving as the chairman from 1958 to 1965, knowingly employed numerous US intelligence agents and, based on the premise that a relationship with the CIA was inevitable, set up a three-person committee responsible for dealing with its requests. Writer and activist Arundhati Roy connects the foundation, along with the Rockefeller Foundation , with supporting imperialist efforts by
1624-475: A portion of the Ford Foundation's endowment came after self-initiated research into the Ford Foundation's history of support of Native and Indigenous artists and communities. The results of this research indicated "the inadequacy of philanthropic support for Native arts and artists", and related feedback from an unnamed Native leader that "once big foundations put the stuff in place for an Indian program, then it
1740-555: A series of individual awards for people working in adult education to support training and field study experiences. The FAE also sponsored conferences on the topic of adult education, including the Bigwin Institute on Community Leadership in 1954 and the Mountain Plains Adult Education Conference in 1957. These conferences were open to academics, community organizers, and members of the public involved in
1856-468: A single backbone topic." Author Malcolm Gladwell said that " Sesame Street was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them." Gerald S. Lesser , the CTW's first advisory board chair, went even further, saying that the effective use of television as an educational tool needed to capture, focus, and sustain children's attention. Sesame Street
1972-544: A variety of ways involving social justice. In April 2011, the foundation announced that it will cease its funding for programs in Israel as of 2013. It has provided $ 40 million to nongovernmental organizations in Israel since 2003 exclusively through the New Israel Fund (NIF), in the areas of advancing civil and human rights, helping Arab citizens in Israel gain equality and promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace. The grants from
2088-415: A week before starting school. The show reached most young children in almost all demographic groups. The show's ratings significantly decreased in the early 1990s, due to changes in children's viewing habits and in the television marketplace. The producers responded by making large-scale structural changes to the show. By 2006, Sesame Street had become "the most widely viewed children's television show in
2204-474: A year to support social justice work around the world. But last year, it also pledged to plow up to $ 1 billion of its overall $ 12.5 billion endowment over the next decade into impact investing via mission-related investments (MRIs) that generate both financial and social returns." Foundation President Darren Walker wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times that the grant-making philanthropy of institutions like
2320-405: Is a big, ambidextrous stunt." The show's research team developed an annotated document, or "Writer's Notebook," which served as a bridge between the show's curriculum goals and script development. The notebook was a compilation of programming ideas designed to teach specific curriculum points, provided extended definitions of curriculum goals, and assisted the writers and producers in translating
2436-495: Is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford , it was originally funded by a $ 25,000 (about $ 550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford . By 1947, after the death of the two founders, the foundation owned 90% of the non-voting shares of the Ford Motor Company . (The Ford family retained the voting shares. ) Between 1955 and 1974,
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#17328692154492552-446: Is not usually funded very well. It lasts as long as the program officer who had an interest and then goes away" and recommended that an independent endowment be established and that "[n]ative leadership is crucial". John J. McCloy , the architect of Office of Strategic Services that would later become Central Intelligence Agency served as the chairman of the Ford Foundation. The CIA would channel its funds through Ford Foundation as
2668-481: Is one of the primary foundations offering grants that support and maintain diversity in higher education with fellowships for pre-doctoral, dissertation, and post-doctoral scholarship to increase diverse representation among Native Americans, African Americans, Latin Americans, and other under-represented Asian and Latino sub-groups throughout the U.S. academic labor market. The outcomes of scholarship by its grantees from
2784-425: The 2001 World Conference Against Racism . Under pressure by several members of Congress, chief among them Rep. Jerrold Nadler , the foundation apologized and then prohibited the promotion of "violence, terrorism, bigotry or the destruction of any state" among its grantees. This move itself sparked protest among university provosts and various non-profit groups on free speech issues. The foundation's partnership with
2900-756: The Educational Testing Service (ETS) during the first two seasons, which measured its educational effectiveness. Cooney said, "From the beginning, we—the planners of the project—designed the show as an experimental research project with educational advisers, researchers, and television producers collaborating as equal partners." She characterized the collaboration as an "arranged marriage." Sesame Street has used many writers in its long history. As Peter Hellman wrote in his 1987 article in New York Magazine , "The show, of course, depends upon its writers, and it isn't easy to find adults who could identify
3016-424: The Educational Testing Service (ETS) to conduct summative research on the show. ETS's two "landmark" summative evaluations, conducted in 1970 and 1971, demonstrated that the show had a significant educational impact on its viewers. These studies have been cited in other studies of the effects of television on young children. Additional studies conducted throughout Sesame Street ' s history demonstrated that
3132-502: The New Israel Fund (NIF), which began in 2003, was criticized regarding its choice of mostly progressive grantees and causes. This criticism peaked after the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, where some nongovernmental organizations funded by the foundation backed resolutions equating Israeli policies with apartheid . In response, the Ford Foundation tightened its criteria for funding. In 2011, right wing Israeli politicians and organizations such as NGO Monitor and Im Tirtzu claimed
3248-589: The Sesame Street Muppets accounted for between $ 15 million and $ 17 million per year in licensing and merchandising fees, split between the Sesame Workshop and The Jim Henson Company. By 2019, the Sesame Workshop had over 500 licensing agreements and had produced over 200 hours of home video. There have been two theatrically released Sesame Street movies, Follow That Bird , released in 1985, and Elmo in Grouchland , released in 1999. In early 2019, it
3364-652: The United Federation of Teachers . In 1976, the foundation helped launch the Grameen Bank , which offers small loans to the rural poor of Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit . Between 1969 and 1978, the foundation was the biggest funder for research into in vitro fertilisation in the United Kingdom, which led to
3480-431: The longest-running shows in the world . Sesame Street was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Foundation vice president Lloyd Morrisett . Their goal was to create a children's television show that would "master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them," such as helping young children prepare for school. After two years of research,
3596-859: The 1980s, the show incorporated real-life experiences of its cast and crew, including the death of Will Lee ( Mr. Hooper ) and the pregnancy of Sonia Manzano (Maria). In later seasons, it addressed real-life disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina . In its first season, the show addressed its outreach goals by focusing on the promotion of educational materials used in preschool settings; and in subsequent seasons, by focusing on their development. Innovative programs were developed because their target audience, children and their families in low-income, inner-city homes, did not traditionally watch educational programs on television and because traditional methods of promotion and advertising were not effective with these groups. Starting in 2006,
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3712-630: The CTW Model (after the production company's previous name), a system of planning, production and evaluation based on collaboration between producers, writers, educators and researchers. The show was initially funded by government and private foundations, but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales and other media. By 2006, independently produced versions (" co-productions ") of Sesame Street were broadcast in 20 countries. In 2001, there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street ; and by its 40th anniversary in 2009, it
3828-485: The CTW Model, a system of planning, production and evaluation that did not fully emerge until the end of the show's first season. According to Morrow, the Model consisted of four parts: "the interaction of receptive television producers and child science experts, the creation of a specific and age-appropriate curriculum, research to shape the program directly, and independent measurement of viewers' learning." Cooney credited
3944-405: The CTW accepted corporate sponsorship to raise funds for Sesame Street and other projects. For the first time, they allowed short advertisements by indoor playground manufacturer Discovery Zone , their first corporate sponsor, to air before and after each episode. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader , who had previously appeared on Sesame Street , called for a boycott of the show, saying that the CTW
4060-455: The CTW created a "non-broadcast" division responsible for creating and publishing books and Sesame Street Magazine . By 2019, the Sesame Workshop had published over 6,500 book titles. The Workshop decided from the start that all materials their licensing program created would "underscore and amplify" the show's curriculum. In 2004, over 68% of Sesame Street ' s revenue came from licenses and products such as toys and clothing. By 2008,
4176-609: The Carnegie Institute awarded her a $ 1 million grant to create a new children's television program and establish the CTW, renamed in June 2000 to Sesame Workshop (SW). Cooney and Morrisett procured additional multimillion-dollar grants from the U.S. federal government, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations , CPB , and the Ford Foundation . Davis reported that Cooney and Morrisett decided that if they did not procure full funding from
4292-674: The FAE, and educational television advocate C. Scott Fletcher served as its president. The foundation underwrote the Fund for the Republic in the 1950s. Throughout the 1950s, the foundation provided arts and humanities fellowships that supported the work of figures like Josef Albers , James Baldwin , Saul Bellow , Herbert Blau , E. E. Cummings , Anthony Hecht , Flannery O'Connor , Jacob Lawrence , Maurice Valency , Robert Lowell , and Margaret Mead . In 1961, Kofi Annan received an educational grant from
4408-593: The Fighting Group undertook a range of missions in the East Zone, ranging from intelligence gathering to sabotage. It was funded and controlled by the CIA. In 1950, the U.S. government decided that the Fighting Group needed to bolster its legitimacy as a credible independent organization, so the International Rescue Committee was recruited to act as its advocate. One component of this project was convincing
4524-447: The Ford Foundation "must not only be generosity, but justice." The Ford Foundation seeks to address "the underlying causes that perpetuate human suffering" to grapple with and intervene in " how and why " inequality persists. In 2007, the Ford Foundation co-founded the independent Native Arts and Cultures Foundation by providing a portion of the new foundation's endowment out of the Ford Foundation's own. This decision to repatriate
4640-491: The Ford Foundation shifted its focus from Michigan philanthropic support to five areas of action. In the 1950 Report of the Study of the Ford Foundation on Policy and Program , the trustees set forth five "areas of action," according to Richard Magat (2012): economic improvements, education, freedom and democracy, human behavior, and world peace. These areas of action were identified in a 1949 report by Horace Rowan Gaither . Since
4756-458: The Ford Foundation to issue a grant to the Fighting Group. With the support of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Ford Foundation was persuaded to give the Fighting Group a grant of $ 150,000. A press release announcing the grant pointed to the assistance given by the Fighting Group to "carefully screened" defectors to come to the West. The National Committee for a Free Europe , a CIA proprietary, actually administered
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4872-565: The Grouch to interact with the human actors, and the Street segments were re-shot. Sesame Street ' s format remained intact until the 2000s, when the changing audience required that producers move to a more narrative format. In 1998, the popular "Elmo's World," a 15-minute-long segment hosted by the Muppet Elmo, was created. Starting in 2014, during the show's 45th season, the producers introduced
4988-732: The Muppet segments of the show scored high, and more Muppets were added during the first few seasons. Morrow reported that the Muppets were effective teaching tools because children easily recognized them, they were stereotypical and predictable, and they appealed to adults and older siblings. Sesame Street is best known for the creative geniuses it attracted, people like Jim Henson and Joe Raposo and Frank Oz, who intuitively grasped what it takes to get through to children. They were television's answer to Beatrix Potter or L. Frank Baum or Dr. Seuss. —Author Malcolm Gladwell , The Tipping Point Although
5104-521: The NIF and other recipients of Ford Foundation grants supported the delegitimization of Israel. The Ford Foundation announced in October 2023 that it would no longer provide grants to Alliance for Global Justice, a charity in Arizona claimed by journalist Gabe Kaminsky in a Washington Examiner investigation to share Palestinian terrorism ties. "Ford has no plans to support any Alliance for Global Justice projects in
5220-632: The Revolution to the Modern Era ", alleges that Sommers "persistently misrepresents scholarly debate, [and] ignores evidence that contradicts her assertions" about a gender war against boys and men. Spanish judge Francisco Serrano Castro made similar claims to Sommers in his 2012 book The Dictatorship of Gender . In 2003, the foundation was critiqued by US news service Jewish Telegraphic Agency , among others, for supporting Palestinian nongovernmental organizations that were accused of promoting antisemitism at
5336-708: The U.S. government during the Cold War . Roy links the Ford Foundation's establishment of an economics course at the Indonesian University with aligning students with the 1965 coup that installed Suharto as president. At the height of the Cold War, the Ford Foundation was involved in several sensitive covert operations. One of these involved the Fighting Group Against Inhumanity. Based in West Berlin,
5452-592: The United States and Jamaica , often airing in a weekend slot on stations that also aired Crossroads' 100 Huntley Street . Reruns of 1984-1986 episodes of Circle Square were shown Saturday mornings on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) until late 2005 or early 2006, and episodes of the original Circle Square program can be viewed on the Circle Square Ranch website. In 2003, a pilot for
5568-730: The United States for graduate study around the world. Fellows came from 22 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Russia and the Palestinian Territories and studied a wide variety of fields. After IFP's early success with identifying candidates and selecting and placing Fellows, and the success of Fellows in completing their degrees, the foundation contributed an additional $ 75 million to IFP in 2006. IFP concluded operations in late 2013 when more than 80 percent of fellows had completed their studies. Fellows have been serving their home communities in
5684-506: The Workshop expanded its outreach by creating a series of PBS specials and DVDs focusing on how military deployment affects the families of servicepeople. Its outreach efforts also focused on families of prisoners, health and wellness, and safety. In 2013, SW started Sesame Street in Communities, to help families dealing with difficult issues. As a result of Cooney's initial proposal in 1968,
5800-475: The adult cast learned to handle the children's spontaneity flexibly, even when it resulted in departures from the planned script or lesson. CTW research also revealed that the children's hesitations and on-air mistakes served as models for viewers. According to Morrow, this resulted in the show having a "fresh quality," especially in its early years. When Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969, it aired on only 67.6% of American televisions, but it earned
5916-546: The advancement of human welfare and "urged the foundation to focus on solving humankind's most pressing problems, whatever they might be, rather than work in any particular field...." The report was endorsed by the foundation's board of trustees, and they subsequently voted to move the foundation to New York City in 1953. The board of directors decided to diversify the foundation's portfolio and gradually divested itself of its substantial Ford Motor Company stock between 1955 and 1974. This divestiture allowed Ford Motor to become
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#17328692154496032-494: The air in 1952. These grants continued, and in 1969 the foundation gave $ 1 million to the Children's Television Workshop to help create and launch Sesame Street . Active from 1951 to 1961, this subsidiary of the Ford Foundation supported initiatives in the field of adult education , including educational television and public broadcasting . During its existence, the FAE spent over $ 47 million. Among its funding programs were
6148-503: The beginning, they would drop the idea of producing the show. As Lesser reported, funds gained from a combination of government agencies and private foundations protected them from the economic pressures experienced by commercial broadcast television networks, but created challenges in procuring future funding. After Sesame Street ' s initial success, its producers began to think about its survival beyond its development and first season and decided to explore other funding sources. From
6264-447: The best composers and lyricists, the CTW allowed songwriters like Joe Raposo , Sesame Street ' s first musical director, to retain the rights to the songs they wrote, which earned them lucrative profits and helped the show sustain public interest. By 2019, there were 180 albums of Sesame Street music produced, and its songwriters had received 11 Grammys . In late 2018, the SW announced
6380-414: The experiences of its writing staff, cast and crew—most notably, the 1982 death of Will Lee , who played Mr. Hooper ; and the marriage of Luis and Maria in 1988. By the end of the 1990s, the show faced societal and economic challenges, including changes in young children's viewing habits, competition from other shows, the development of cable television, and a drop in ratings. As the 21st century began,
6496-653: The field of adult education. In addition to grantmaking to organizations and projects, the FAE established its own programs, including the Test Cities Project and the Experimental Discussion Project. The Experimental Discussion Project produced media that was distributed to local organizations to conduct viewing or listening and discussion sessions. Topics covered included international affairs , world cultures, and United States history. Educational theorist Robert Maynard Hutchins helped to found
6612-462: The fields of creative arts performance. In 2022, another 20 Disability Futures Fellows received awards. Ranked No. 24 on the Forbes 2018 World's Most Innovative Companies list, the Ford Foundation utilized its endowment to invest in innovative and sustainable change leadership shifting the model of grant-making in the 21st century. According to Forbes, "Ford spends between $ 500 million and $ 550 million
6728-663: The firm of Roche-Dinkeloo , the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice in New York City (originally the Ford Foundation Building) was the first large-scale architectural building in the country to devote a substantial portion of its space to horticultural pursuits. Its atrium was designed with the notion of having urban greenspace accessible to all and is an example of the application in architecture of environmental psychology . The building, 321 E. 42nd St.,
6844-534: The first Ford family member to serve on the board since his grandfather resigned in 1976. For many years, the foundation topped annual lists compiled by the Foundation Center of US foundations with the most assets and the highest annual giving. The foundation has fallen a few places in those lists in recent years, especially with the establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. As of May 4, 2013,
6960-466: The first baby, Louise Brown born from the technique. The Ford Foundation provided $ 1,170,194 towards the research. The foundation began awarding postdoctoral fellowships in 1980 to increase the diversity of the nation's academic faculties. In 1986, the foundation added predoctoral and dissertation fellowships to the program. The foundation awards 130 to 140 fellowships annually, and there are 4,132 living fellows. The University of California, Berkeley
7076-554: The first season, they understood that the source of their funding, which they considered "seed" money, would need to be replaced. The 1970s were marked by conflicts between the CTW and the federal government; in 1978, the U.S. Department of Education refused to deliver a $ 2 million check (equivalent to $ 9.34 million in 2023) until the last day of CTW's fiscal year. As a result, the CTW decided to depend upon licensing arrangements with toy companies and other manufacturers, publishing, and international sales for their funding. In 1998,
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#17328692154497192-593: The foundation are roughly a third of NIF's donor-advised giving, which totals about $ 15 million a year. In June 2020, Ford Foundation decided to raise $ 1 billion through a combination of 30 and 50- year bonds. The main aim was to help nonprofits hit by the pandemic. In October 2020, Ford Foundation partnered with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish the Disability Future Fellowship, awarding $ 50,000 annually to disabled writers, actors, and directors in
7308-488: The foundation sold its Ford Motor Company holdings and now plays no role in the automobile company. In 1949, Henry Ford II created § Ford Philanthropy , a separate corporate foundation that to this day serves as the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company and is not associated with the foundation. The Ford Foundation makes grants through its headquarters and ten international field offices. For many years,
7424-558: The foundation to finish his studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Under its "Program for Playwrights", the foundation helped to support writers in professional regional theaters such as San Francisco's Actor's Workshop and offered similar help to Houston's Alley Theatre and Washington's Arena Stage . In the 1960s and 1970s, the foundation gave money to government and non-government contraceptive initiatives to support population control , peaking at an estimated $ 169 million in
7540-653: The foundation was second in terms of assets and tenth in terms of annual grant giving. In 2012, the foundation declared that it was not a research library and transferred its archives from New York City to the Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow, New York . In 1951, the foundation made its first grant to support the development of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), then known as National Educational Television (NET), which went on
7656-447: The foundation's financial endowment was the largest private endowment in the world; it remains among the wealthiest . For fiscal year 2014, it reported assets of $ 12.4 billion and approved $ 507.9 million in grants. According to the OECD , the Ford Foundation provided $ 194 million for development in 2019, all of which related to its grant-making activities. After its establishment in 1936,
7772-567: The foundation. In 1974, the foundation contributed funds to the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project . In 1967 and 1968, the foundation provided financial support for decentralization and community control of public schools in New York City. Decentralization in Ocean Hill–Brownsville led to the firing of some white teachers and administrators, which provoked a citywide teachers' strike led by
7888-426: The future and it is not eligible for any other funding," Amanda Simon, a spokeswoman for the Ford Foundation, said at the time. Simon added, "We will not be funding them in the future." The allegations of terrorism links were proven false ; Alliance for Global Justice was found to be funding an organisation that attempts to secure the human rights of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Completed in 1968 by
8004-420: The goals into televised material. Suggestions in the notebook were free of references to specific characters and contexts on the show so that they could be implemented as openly and flexibly as possible. The research team, in a series of meetings with the writers, also developed "a curriculum sheet" that described the show's goals and priorities for each season. After receiving the curriculum focus and goals for
8120-542: The grant (Chester, Covert Network, pp. 89–94). American author, philosopher, and critic of feminism Christina Hoff Sommers , criticized The Ford Foundation in her book The War Against Boys (2000) as well as other institutions in education and government. Sommers alleged that the Ford Foundation funded feminist ideologies that marginalize boys and men. A Washington Post book review by E. Anthony Rotundo, author of "American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from
8236-483: The hiring of women crew members and the addition of minorities to the cast. The show's success continued into the 1980s. In 1981, when the federal government withdrew its funding, CTW turned to and expanded other revenue sources, including its magazine division, book royalties , product licensing, and foreign broadcast income. Its curriculum has expanded to include more affective topics such as relationships, ethics and emotions. Many of its storylines have been inspired by
8352-409: The interest level of a pre-schooler." Fifteen writers a year worked on the show's scripts, but very few lasted longer than one season. Norman Stiles , head writer in 1987, reported that most writers would "burn out" after writing about a dozen scripts. According to Gikow, Sesame Street went against the convention of hiring teachers to write for the show, as most educational television programs did at
8468-474: The last 1960s. The foundation ended most support for contraception programs by the 1970s. The foundation remains supportive of access to abortion, granting funds to organizations that support reproductive rights . In 1968, the foundation began disbursing $ 12 million to persuade law schools to make "law school clinics" part of their curriculum. Clinics were intended to give practical experience in law practice while providing pro bono representation to
8584-579: The late 20th century through the 21st century have contributed to substantial data and scholarship including national surveys such as the Nelson Diversity Surveys in STEM. The foundation was established January 15, 1936, in Michigan by Edsel Ford (president of the Ford Motor Company ) and two other executives "to receive and administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes, all for
8700-428: The media business" and as part of a five-year programming and development deal, premium television service HBO began airing first-run episodes of Sesame Street . The episodes became available on PBS stations and websites nine months after they aired on HBO. The deal allowed Sesame Workshop to produce more episodes—increasing from 18 to 35 per season—and to create a spinoff series with the Sesame Street Muppets, and
8816-453: The mid-1990s that another children's television educational program, Blue's Clues , used the CTW's methods to create and modify their content. The creators of Blue's Clues were influenced by Sesame Street , but wanted to use research conducted in the 30 years since its debut. Angela Santomero, one of its producers, said, "We wanted to learn from Sesame Street and take it one step further." Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation
8932-497: The middle of the 20th century, many of the Ford Foundation's programs have focused on increased under-represented or "minority" group representation in education, science and policy-making. For over eight decades their mission decisively advocates and supports the reduction of poverty and injustice among other values including the maintenance of democratic values, promoting engagement with other nations, and sustaining human progress and achievement at home and abroad. The Ford Foundation
9048-628: The newly formed Children's Television Workshop (CTW) received a combined grant of US$ 8 million ($ 66 million in 2023 dollars) from the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation , the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. federal government to create and produce a new children's television show. Sesame Street was officially announced at a press conference on May 6, 1969. Joan Ganz Cooney , Children's Television Workshop 's executive director , said that Sesame Street would use
9164-455: The original focus of the show. They also criticized choosing to air first-run episodes on HBO, a network with adult dramas and comedies. Producer Joan Ganz Cooney has stated, "Without research, there would be no Sesame Street ." In 1967, when she and her team began planning the show's development, combining research with television production was, as she put it, "positively heretical." Its producers soon began developing what came to be called
9280-452: The poor. Conservative critic Heather Mac Donald contends that the financial involvement of the foundation instead changed the clinics' focus from giving students practical experience to engaging in leftwing advocacy. Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1970s, the foundation expanded into civil rights litigation, granting $ 18 million to civil rights litigation groups. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
9396-516: The presidency of the foundation fell to Edsel's eldest son, Henry Ford II . It quickly became clear that the foundation would become the largest philanthropic organization in the world. The board of trustees then commissioned the Gaither Study Committee to chart the foundation's future. The committee, headed by California attorney H. Rowan Gaither , recommended that the foundation become an international philanthropic organization dedicated to
9512-461: The producers decided against depending upon a single host for Sesame Street , instead casting a group of ethnically diverse actors, they realized that a children's television program needed to have, as Lesser put it, "a variety of distinctive and reliable personalities," both human and Muppet. Jon Stone, whose goal was to cast white actors in the minority, was responsible for hiring the show's first cast . He did not audition actors until Spring 1969,
9628-540: The program. In 1987, the foundation began making grants to fight the AIDS epidemic and in 2010 made grant disbursements totaling $ 29,512,312. In 2001, the foundation launched the International Fellowships Program (IFP) with a 12-year, $ 280 million grant, the largest in its history. IFP identified approximately 4,300 emerging social justice leaders representing historically disadvantaged groups from outside
9744-543: The public welfare." It was a reaction to FDR 's 1935 tax reform introducing 70% tax on large inheritances . During its early years, the foundation operated in Michigan under the leadership of Ford family members and their associates and supported the Henry Ford Hospital and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village , among other organizations. After the deaths of Edsel Ford in 1943 and Henry Ford in 1947,
9860-447: The saying " open sesame ", which gives the idea of a place where exciting things occur. The show was given an initial six-month run in order to determine whether it was effective and would continue to air. The program premiered on public television stations on November 10, 1969. It was the first preschool educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research. Initial responses to
9976-433: The season, the writers met to discuss ideas and story arcs for the characters, and an "assignment sheet" was created that suggested how much time was allotted for each goal and topic. When a script was completed, the show's research team analyzed it to ensure that the goals were met. Then each production department met to determine what each episode needed in terms of costumes, lights, and sets. The writers were present during
10092-400: The show continued to have a positive effect on its young viewers. Sesame Street [is] perhaps the most vigorously researched, vetted, and fretted-over program on the planet. It would take a fork-lift to now to haul away the load of scholarly paper devoted to the series... —Author Michael Davis Lesser believed that Sesame Street research "may have conferred a new respectability upon
10208-523: The show had 100% brand awareness globally. In 2018, the show was the second-highest-rated program on PBS Kids. In 2021, however, the Sesame Street documentary "50 Years of Sunny Days," which was broadcast nationally on ABC, did not fare well in the ratings, scoring only approximately 2.3 million viewers. As of 2001 , there were over 1,000 research studies regarding Sesame Street ' s efficacy, impact, and effect on American culture. The CTW solicited
10324-405: The show included adulatory reviews, some controversy, and high ratings. I've always said of our original team that developed and produced Sesame Street : Collectively, we were a genius. — Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution." The cast and crew expanded during this time, with emphasis on
10440-535: The show made major changes. Starting in 2002, its format became more narrative-focused and included ongoing storylines. After its 30th anniversary in 1999, due to the popularity of the Muppet Elmo , the show also incorporated a popular segment known as Elmo's World . In 2009, the show won the Outstanding Achievement Emmy for its 40 years on the air. In late 2015, in response to "sweeping changes in
10556-719: The show's 51st season in 2020. From its first episode, Sesame Street ' s format has utilized "a strong visual style, fast-moving action, humor, and music," as well as animation and live-action short films. When it premiered, most researchers believed that young children did not have long attention spans , and the show's producers were concerned that an hour-long show would not hold their attention. At first, its "street scenes"—the action recorded on its set—consisted of character-driven interactions. Rather than ongoing stories, they were written as individual, curriculum-based segments interrupted by "inserts" of puppet sketches, short films and animations. This structure allowed producers to use
10672-399: The show's airings. As Davis reported, "Cooney stressed restraint, prudence, and caution" in their marketing and licensing efforts. Director Jon Stone, talking about the music of Sesame Street , said: "There was no other sound like it on television." For the first time in children's television, the show's songs fulfilled a specific purpose and supported its curriculum. In order to attract
10788-628: The show's appeal, and encouraged older children and parents to "co-view" it by including more sophisticated humor, cultural references, and celebrity guests; by 2019, 80% of parents watched Sesame Street with their children, and 650 celebrities had appeared on the show. During Sesame Street ' s first season, some critics felt that it should address more overtly such affective goals as social competence, tolerance of diversity , and nonaggressive ways of resolving conflict. The show's creators and producers responded by featuring these themes in interpersonal disputes between its Street characters. During
10904-538: The show's chief liaison between the production staff and the research team. Cameraman Frankie Biondo has worked on Sesame Street from its first episode in 1969. Jim Henson and the Muppets' involvement in Sesame Street began when he and Cooney met at one of the curriculum planning seminars in Boston. Author Christopher Finch reported that Stone, who had worked with Henson previously, felt that if they could not bring him on board, they should "make do without puppets." Henson
11020-422: The show's high standard in research procedures to Harvard professors Gerald S. Lesser , whom CTW hired to design its educational objectives; and Edward L. Palmer , who conducted the show's formative research and bridged the gap between producers and researchers. CTW conducted research in two ways: in-house formative research that informed and improved production; and independent summative evaluations, conducted by
11136-481: The show's restructuring in 2002 On recommendations by child psychologists , the producers initially decided that the show's human actors and Muppets would not interact because they were concerned it would confuse young children. When CTW tested the new show, they found that children paid attention during the Muppet segments, and that their interest was lost during the "Street" segments. They requested that Henson and his team create Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar
11252-608: The show's taping, which for the first twenty-four years of the show took place in Manhattan , and after 1992, at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens to make last-minute revisions when necessary. Early in their history Sesame Street and the CTW began to look for alternative funding sources and turned to creating products and writing licensing agreements. They became, as Cooney put it, "a multiple-media institution." In 1970,
11368-399: The show. They initially focused on cognitive goals, while addressing affective goals indirectly, believing it would increase children's self-esteem and feelings of competency. One of their primary goals was preparing young children for school, especially children from low-income families, using modeling , repetition, and humor. They adjusted its content to increase viewers' attention and
11484-511: The studies of the effects of visual media upon children." He also believed that the show had the same effect on the prestige of producing shows for children in the television industry. Historian Robert Morrow, in his book Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television , which chronicled the show's influence on children's television and on the television industry as a whole, reported that many critics of commercial television saw Sesame Street as
11600-432: The techniques of commercial television programs to teach young children. Live shorts and animated cartoons would teach young children the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, shapes, and basic reasoning skills. By repeating concepts throughout an episode, young children's interest would be held while they learn the concepts. Guest cameos would help attract older children and adults. Cooney said that the name Sesame Street came from
11716-407: The time. Instead, Cooney and the producers felt that it would be easier to teach writers how to interpret curriculum than to teach educators how to write comedy. As Stone stated, "Writing for children is not so easy." Long-time writer Tony Geiss agreed, stating in 2009, "It's not an easy show to write. You have to know the characters and the format and how to teach and be funny at the same time, which
11832-450: The world," with 20 international independent versions and broadcasts in over 120 countries. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old. In 2008, it was estimated that 77 million Americans had watched the series as children. By the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, it was ranked the fifteenth-most-popular children's show on television, and by its 50th anniversary in 2019,
11948-483: The world. By its 50th anniversary in 2019, 190 million children viewed over 160 versions of Sesame Street in 70 languages. In 2005, Doreen Carvajal of The New York Times reported that income from the co-productions and international licensing accounted for $ 96 million. Sesame Street the Musical opened at Theatre Row off Broadway on September 8, 2022. Shortly after the CTW was created in 1968, Joan Ganz Cooney
12064-480: Was "exploiting impressionable children." In 2015, in response to funding challenges, it was announced that premium television service HBO would air first-run episodes of Sesame Street . Steve Youngwood, SW's Chief Operating Officer, called the move "one of the toughest decisions we ever made." According to The New York Times , the move "drew an immediate backlash." Critics claimed that it favored privileged children over less-advantaged children and their families,
12180-523: Was affiliated with 346 fellows at the time of award, the most of any institution, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles at 205, Harvard University at 191, Stanford University at 190, and Yale University at 175. The 10-campus University of California system accounts for 947 fellows, and the Ivy League is affiliated with 726. In 2022, the foundation announced that it would be sunsetting
12296-418: Was announced that a third film, a musical co-starring Anne Hathaway and written and directed by Jonathan Krisel , would be produced. In November 2019, Sesame Street announced a family friendly augmented reality application produced by Weyo in partnership with Sesame Workshop in honor of the show's 50th anniversary. Jim Henson , the creator of the Muppets, owned the trademarks to those characters, and
12412-503: Was broadcast in more than 140 countries. Since its debut, Sesame Street has garnered praise. It was by then the 15th-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three. In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched it as children. As of 2022, it has won 222 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards , more than any other children's show. Sesame Street remains one of
12528-612: Was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett . It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson 's Muppets , and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service (HBO) Max in 2020. The show's format consists of
12644-707: Was incorporated in 1967 with a $ 2.2 million grant from the foundation. In the same year, the foundation funded the establishment of the Southwest Council of La Raza, the predecessor of the National Council of La Raza . In 1972, the foundation provided a three-year $ 1.2 million grant to the Native American Rights Fund . The same year, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund opened with funding from numerous organizations, including
12760-511: Was initially reluctant, but he agreed to join Sesame Street to meet his own social goals. He also agreed to waive his performance fee for full ownership of the Sesame Street Muppets and to split any revenue they generated with the CTW. As Morrow stated, Henson's puppets were a crucial part of the show's popularity and it brought Henson national attention. Davis reported that Henson was able to take "arcane academic goals" and translate them to "effective and pleasurable viewing." In early research,
12876-467: Was named its first executive director. She was one of the first female executives in American television. Her appointment was called "one of the most important television developments of the decade." She assembled a team of producers, all of whom had previously worked on Captain Kangaroo . Jon Stone was responsible for writing, casting, and format; Dave Connell took over animation; and Sam Gibbon served as
12992-440: Was one of the many producers to create short films for the show. Shortly after Sesame Street debuted in the United States, the CTW was approached independently by producers from several countries to produce versions of the show at home. These versions came to be called "co-productions." By 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of all international versions of Sesame Street , and in 2006, there were twenty co-productions around
13108-463: Was recognized in 1968 by the Architectural Record as "a new kind of urban space". This design concept was used by others for many of the indoor shopping malls and skyscrapers built in subsequent decades. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a landmark in 1997. Source : History of Ford Foundation ° Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network, Progressives,
13224-477: Was reluctant to market them at first. He agreed when the CTW promised that the profits from toys, books, computer games , and other products were to be used exclusively to fund the CTW and its outreach efforts. Even though Cooney and the CTW had very little experience with marketing, they demanded complete control over all products and product decisions. Any product line associated with the show had to be educational and inexpensive, and could not be advertised during
13340-518: Was the first children's show to structure each episode, and the segments within them, to capture children's attention, and to make, as Gladwell put it, "small but critical adjustments" to keep it. According to CTW researchers Rosemarie Truglio and Shalom Fisch, it was one of the few children's shows to utilize a detailed and comprehensive educational curriculum, garnered from formative and summative research. Sesame Street 's creators and researchers formulated both cognitive and affective goals for
13456-665: Was the only aspect of the show that was "just completely haphazard." Most of the cast and crew found jobs on Sesame Street through personal relationships with Stone and the other producers. According to puppeteer Marty Robinson in 2019, longevity was common among the show's cast and crew. According to the CTW's research, children preferred watching and listening to other children more than to puppets and adults, so they included children in many scenes. Dave Connell insisted that no child actors be used, so these children were non-professionals, unscripted, and spontaneous. Many of their reactions were unpredictable and difficult to control, but
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