Gene Cordova Schools

(TN and Nationwide)

Adventures in Reading

Children will be delighted as they set sail with Gene Cordova and his cast of characters on an exciting voyage of discovery through reading and books. Children will laugh and learn as Gene uses his unique talents that include storytelling, ventriloquism, comedy illusion and balloon twisting. Gene also uses participants from the audience on stage to help him present this wacky and rollicking program that illustrates how reading can open a world of creativity and imagination. This 45 minute presentation will leave a lasting impression and proves that reading can be the greatest adventure of all!

Kids and Commercialism

Join Gene and his goofy merry makers as they venture into the land of commercials. Children will laugh and be entertained but they will also learn about both positive and negative impacts that commercials have in their everyday lives. Kids will marvel at Gene’s comedy illusions but they will also learn that they are the ones that have the power to choose and not be fooled when the media tries to influence them with empty promises of popularity. Lots of audience participation and special effects illustrate this interesting and relevant topic during this 45 minute program.

From Bullies to Buddies

Gene uses a variety of approaches to illustrate how and why children chose to bully. Gene offers effective ways to keep children from being bullied and teased. One of Gene’s primary characters (Puppy) is used to tell a fast paced story involving his quest to be “scary” like the big dogs so he can get more dog bones to build a dinosaur. Children relate to the motives that Puppy has but they also understand how foolish it is to try to be something you’re not in order to get what you want. This is a 45 minute program.

Truth and Honestly

Gene uses dynamic examples and situational comedy to show children a cause and effect relationship between their character and consequences during this 45 minute assembly. Since consequences can be pleasant as in a reward or unpleasant as in discipline, Gene focuses on the individual’s ability to choose their action and their out-come. For instance, if a student chooses to be truthful and honest one positive outcome could be that others will trust them and they have a greater opportunity to earn privileges. Since good character is something that requires daily decision-making, Gene communicates both how easy it is to make wrong decisions and how important it is to make right decisions.

Courage and Compassion

Truthfulness and honesty do require courage and this series of assemblies can be done separately or as an interlocking series where topics build one upon another. Illustrations of courage and compassion in everyday student life are presented in a compelling and comedic approach. Gene discusses the effect that peers have on behavior especially when it comes to doing something compassionate for someone outside of a peer group. Reputations are formed by our choices and the way we treat other students so being brave enough to stick-up for someone being picked on or refusing to join in will always result in making a difference.

Respect and Responsibility

Respect for ourselves, others and authority and the responsibility we have toward all three is the focus of this assembly. Gene develops an insightful presentation using positive and negative illustrations. For example, Gene uses a “magic” drawing board to create and bring to life a character that is cranky and negative and is basically unhappy with himself and others. As the character complains about all the features of his face, Gene tries his best to “re-draw” features that will be more appealing. The dialog and attitudes of this character end up getting him erased completely and although the audience roars with laughter they are somewhat relieved when the character gets “rubbed-out.”