The good news is that Netflix has picked up Sesame Street, the bad news is that Netflix is not free. For those who may not know federal removal funding for Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS) is on the chopping block. For me this is personal. Sesame Street was my preschool. I lived in an area without cable TV access in the 1970’s and PBS was one of the few stations we could tune into using our outdoor antenna. Growing up in Kentucky the local PBS station was the Kentucky Education Television (KET). This station was where my education began although at the time I thought I was just getting to know the people who lived on Sesame Street.

Kindergarten was not mandatory when I was five years old and my parents chose not to send me. My mom was a stay at home mom and Sesame Street was the reinforcement I needed to solidify my early learning of the basics. I counted with the Count and learned ABC’s with Grover. I even learned a little a few Spanish words from Maria.

Multiple TV options are now available along with Internet videos for early learners, but there is still room and a need for Sesame Street to reinforce the lessons needed for early childhood. I hope a lack of federal funding does not close access to Sesame Street for the current and future generations of young learners still needing this form of education entertainment vital to early education.

Learning new things should be an enjoyable experience and Sesame Street has mastered the balance of fun and learning to help young children associate fun and education as seamless. As an educator I want to children to develop a love of learning which they can carry throughout their life into future careers and fulfilling lives.

If entertainment for young children does not have free education opportunities. then an inequity develops in the early education space. Children become divided into haves and have nots without access to free resources. These children are missing the ability to develop a passion for learning and critical reasoning skills they will need for adulthood. Not every parent, grandparent guardian can afford a streaming video service.

Kudos to Netflix for stepping up and stepping in, but it is not enough. I do not know what the answer as to the loss of federal funding, but I at least want to keep the conversation going until we can answer the question of how to make sure children have access to Sesame Street for many more generations to help create life-long learners.