Gerald S. Lesser
Encyclopedia
Gerald Samuel Lesser was an American psychologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University
and was one of the chief advisers to the Children's Television Workshop (later known as the Sesame Workshop
) in the development and content of the educational programming included in Sesame Street
, with the goal of making the material both interesting and instructive to the young children who were the program's target audience.
, New York City
. Raised in Jamaica, Queens
, he graduated from Jamaica High School
. After two years at Columbia University
, he served in the United States Navy
during World War II
and returned after completing his military service to finish his undergraduate degree and earn a master's in psychology at Columbia. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Yale University
in child development
and psychology in 1952. Lesser was on the faculty of Adelphi University
and Hunter College
, and was hired by the Harvard Graduate School of Education
in 1963, where he served as a professor until his retirement in 1986, after which he was a professor emeritus until his death. At Harvard, Lesser chaired the Human Development Program, which aimed to gain a greater understanding of how children are raised in different cultures.
, was designed with a specific educational purpose; for example, Oscar the Grouch
was designed to show children that different people view the world differently. Though Lesser never appeared on Sesame Street, he was included in a promotional video for the program to encourage stations to air the program. Talking with some of the show's most identifiable characters in the film, Kermit the Frog
asked Lesser "When you get back to Harvard, how are you going to explain that you spent all day in New York talking to a frog?"
Together with Gordon Fifer and Donald H. Clark, Lesser authored the 1964 book Mental Abilities of Children in Different Social and Cultural Groups. His 1974 book Children and Television: Lessons From Sesame Street was published by Random House
. Selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1970, Lesser was recognized by the American Psychological Association
in 1974, awarding him the Distinguished Contribution Award for Applications in Psychology for "sophisticated and imaginative use of psychological research to help develop a new kind of human significance for television."
, Lesser died at the age of 84 on September 23, 2010, in Burlington, Massachusetts
due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He was survived by his wife, the former Stella Scharf, as well as by a daughter, a son and a grandchild.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and was one of the chief advisers to the Children's Television Workshop (later known as the Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
) in the development and content of the educational programming included in Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, with the goal of making the material both interesting and instructive to the young children who were the program's target audience.
Early life and professional career
Lesser was born on August 22, 1926, in QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Raised in Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
, he graduated from Jamaica High School
Jamaica High School (New York City)
Jamaica High School is a four-year public high school in Queens, New York. The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education.-History:...
. After two years at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, he served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and returned after completing his military service to finish his undergraduate degree and earn a master's in psychology at Columbia. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in child development
Child development
Child development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
and psychology in 1952. Lesser was on the faculty of Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
and Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, and was hired by the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
The Harvard Graduate School of Education is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University, and is one of the top schools of education in the United States. It was founded in 1920, the same year it invented the Ed.D...
in 1963, where he served as a professor until his retirement in 1986, after which he was a professor emeritus until his death. At Harvard, Lesser chaired the Human Development Program, which aimed to gain a greater understanding of how children are raised in different cultures.
Sesame Street
When the Children's Television Workshop was formed in advance of the November 1969 debut of Sesame Street, Lesser served as the chairman of the organization's board of advisers, helping develop programming for the show's target audience of children from disadvantaged backgrounds that would be both attention grabbing and educational, so that children would be better prepared for school, closing the performance gap with children from a higher socioeconomic background. Using his background in psychology, Lesser studied the skills that children needed to learn in advance of starting school and aimed at creating content that children would be able to absorb and retain. The skills offered in the Sesame Street program when it went on air included learning to recognize letters of the alphabet, the sounds that the letters make, numbers to 20, and aided in the development of critical thinking and social skills. Each character, human and MuppetThe Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
, was designed with a specific educational purpose; for example, Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body , has no nose , and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items...
was designed to show children that different people view the world differently. Though Lesser never appeared on Sesame Street, he was included in a promotional video for the program to encourage stations to air the program. Talking with some of the show's most identifiable characters in the film, Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
asked Lesser "When you get back to Harvard, how are you going to explain that you spent all day in New York talking to a frog?"
Together with Gordon Fifer and Donald H. Clark, Lesser authored the 1964 book Mental Abilities of Children in Different Social and Cultural Groups. His 1974 book Children and Television: Lessons From Sesame Street was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1970, Lesser was recognized by the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
in 1974, awarding him the Distinguished Contribution Award for Applications in Psychology for "sophisticated and imaginative use of psychological research to help develop a new kind of human significance for television."
Death
A resident of Lexington, MassachusettsLexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, Lesser died at the age of 84 on September 23, 2010, in Burlington, Massachusetts
Burlington, Massachusetts
Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,498 at the 2010 census.- History :It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, however this has never been confirmed....
due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He was survived by his wife, the former Stella Scharf, as well as by a daughter, a son and a grandchild.