‘Skyshapers’ Program Teaches Children Self-Esteem, Values
Take some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-type characters, give them redeeming social value, make them positive role models and write school lessons around them. Then send them out to every school in the country, where children will adore them and, through their positive messages, experience an enormous boost in self-esteem.
Sound impossible?
Not if you’re Ellie Dylan, Emmy Award-winning television host and creator of Skyshapers, cartoon characters that use rap, catchy names and rock and reggae music to sell youngsters on the joys of eating healthfully, exercising, thinking positive thoughts, looking sharp and pursuing a dream.
The first part of the plan has been completed. With the help of the U.S. government, 20% of the public elementary schools in the United States have received the lesson plans featuring the Skyshaper characters. After seven years of market research and reviews by focus groups of children, Dylan and the Skyshapers’ official spokeswoman, U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello, are pretty sure they’re onto something.
“My whole career is in the media. I saw the powerful effect it has,” said Dylan, 40, who lives in New York with her husband and 3-year-old daughter. “I believe our job is to make having dreams and a healthy lifestyle hip. If we don’t make it hip, we’ve failed.”
Over the past several weeks, the nonprofit Skyshapers Foundation, with $1 million in federal funding and $1 million in private corporate sponsorship, has sent free Skyshapers curricula materials to more than 10,000 elementary schools and community organizations across the country, reaching an estimated 7.5 million children.
The packets consist of Skyshapers audiocassettes, classroom posters, individual student calendars and a 32-page activity guide instructing teachers on how they can integrate the characters into their curriculum.
Skyshapers has also established a toll-free “Sky Line” (1-800-676-4SKY) for children to hear a new Skyshapers adventure each week. The program is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
