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Ventriloquist Wows Students at Bradley
Gandelman's characters included John Raven, the star of the show, the genie's head in the box, a big bear that meowed, a shy turkey, several dogs, a shark, an elephant, along with other characters. The students squealed with excitement as each character took the stage. All the while, Gandelman kept reinforcing the need to read and that reading was an essential skill to have in school and in life. "I like to make kids and people happy while hammering the content. In this case, the assemblies were about reading,” Gandelman said. At one point, Gandelman reminded the students to check out books in the school's library. "It was amazing! He was engaging the students and very hilarious. His dialogue about reading and bringing in the idea about books was great. I liked it when he said that books are better than television and video games," said Marylynn Mollner, a first grade teacher at Bradley. "His characters were so believable. They were personable and funny. He kept the kids, and the adults, laughing through the whole thing; all through his message of literacy.” Bradley's principal Nereida Gutierrez said, "This assembly was great for many reasons. Firstly, it promoted reading at all levels. Secondly, it was really refreshing to see the laughter in our students' faces. It's important for them to feel safe within the environment of being at school. His message was clear. Read. Read. Read. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.” "When I called Mr. Gandelman, I told him that I wanted the kids to be excited about reading and have fun. Mr. Gandelman's assemblies did just that and more. If the assemblies could motivate one student to read and to do research, then I would have accomplished my objective,” said Jennifer Bay, the school's program facilitator. "After the ventriloquist left, one of the students approached me and was so excited about what Gandelman did with his characters. The student wanted to learn about ventriloquism. He wanted to read! And that's what I wanted. Gandelman did a remarkable job!” |
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