FIRST PERSON Training with Puppets
By Astrid Brislan Te importance of teaching young students about school
bus safety cannot be emphasized enough. Te Jefferson-Lewis- Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida Board of Cooperative Education in Watertown, N.Y., feels the same. It was 1992 when BOCES first decided to implement our safety programs. It was the start of a long-term relationship with the community and surrounding school districts in promoting school bus safety. It wasn’t until 1998 that I became a full-time trainer at BOCES. It
was, however, long before this that my unique talent and interest in puppets began to take shape. At the tender age of 10, I devel- oped an interest in puppets. While being an avid fan of Shari Lewis and “Lambchop,” I would mimic every move while won- dering if I would ever be that good. My interest grew as I began to construct sock puppets and perform for my sib-
lings. Later years would find me performing for my young children. It wasn’t until 1991 that I actually began to get serious about
my talents. Not just in the art of puppetry, but also for my love of magic. I found myself enrolling in a home-study course on ven- triloquism and joined several magic organizations. Many hours were spent in front of the mirror perfecting my lip movements and puppet manipulation, not to mention my magic. I began performing for my children and their friends. Taking requests for family events and friends to perform at their functions, while juggling my career, family and interests was becoming a difficult task, but a rewarding one. Combining my talents and interests fi- nally landed me the perfect job. I would be able to take my skills, talents and interests, and actually make a difference in the lives of other children. Tus began my career at BOCES. Te youth of today have become much more demanding and
challenging to educate than of years gone by. Today, you not only need to teach the students, but there is a need to entertain them as well. Having said that, it was easy to see that I would have to pull out all the stops to reach and retain that level of interest at various grade levels. Along with introducing our robotic Buster the Bus into our
curriculum, I decided to incorporate the art of ventriloquism. My Muppet-style, full-body puppet “Miss Honey” would be the grand finale to our 45-minute presentation on school bus safety. “Miss Honey” makes her appearance and speaks to the children about the different experiences she has had. Her bright-pink, ostrich-feathered hair sways in the breeze and delights the young
26 School Transportation News Magazine September 2010
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