The Letter People is a children’s literacy program that uses 26 anthropomorphic characters, each representing a letter of the alphabet, to teach phonics and reading skills. The program was created by teachers Elayne Reiss-Weimann and Rita Friedman in 1964 and sold to New Dimensions in Education, Inc. in 1968. The program was adapted into a TV series by KETC-TV in 1972, which aired on PBS stations until 1987.
The Letter People were not just letters with faces. They were personalities. They had feelings. They had problems. They had adventures. They also had distinctive features that matched their sounds, such as Mr. M with his munching mouth, Miss A with her awful sneeze, and Mr. T with his tall teeth.
The Letter People were designed to be a bridge between the abstract symbols of the alphabet and the concrete world of children. They taught phonics in a fun and engaging way, they promoted diversity and inclusion, and they encouraged creativity and imagination.
However, the program also had some controversial aspects that led to a major revision in 1996. One of them was the gender imbalance of the characters. All the vowels were female and all the consonants were male, which some critics argued reinforced gender stereotypes and excluded non-binary identities. Another issue was the use of junk food references in some of the characters, such as Mr. C with his cotton candy hair, Mr. D with his delicious doughnuts, and Miss I with her incredible ice cream cone. Some educators and parents worried that these characters promoted unhealthy eating habits and contributed to the obesity epidemic among children.
The 1996 revision changed the appearance and gender of many characters, as well as removed the junk food references. Half of the letters became female and half became male, with some characters switching genders or becoming gender-neutral. The junk food features were replaced by more wholesome or abstract ones, such as Mr. C with his coily curls, Mr. D with his dancing dog, and Miss I with her itchy itch.
The revised program received mixed reactions from fans and educators. Some praised the changes as necessary updates that made the characters more balanced and relevant. They argued that the revision removed the stereotypes and unhealthy messages and improved the educational value and appeal of the program.
Others criticized the changes as a mistake that ruined the characters that they grew up with and loved. They claimed that the revision made them bland and boring and took away their charm and uniqueness. They also questioned the need for gender equality among letters and the removal of junk food references, which they saw as harmless fun.
The debate over the Letter People revision reflects the larger issues of gender representation and health education in children’s media. The Letter People are not just letters, they are symbols of culture and identity. They have influenced generations of children and teachers who have learned to read and write with them. They have also sparked controversy and discussion over how to best teach literacy skills in a changing world.
Relevant articles:
– The Letter People – Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 25 August 2023
– The Letter People: A History of the Beloved Literacy Program, Mental Floss, 27 August 2023
– How the Letter People Changed the Way We Learn to Read, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 August 2023
– The Letter People: Why Some Fans Are Upset About the 1996 Revision, Screen Rant, 28 August 2023
Things you got extremely wrong.. The original letter people characteristics you got wrong: Miss A had an Achoo not awful sneeze, Mr C was Cotton Candy not cotton Candy hair, miss I was NEVER. Incredible ice cream cone, she started out as itchy itch then became incredible inventor. Also mr c never became coiling curls nor did Mr D become dancing dog. Ever!