My Life as a Furry Red Monster - Kevin Clash [57]
From participating in “Elmo’s World,” I’ve learned that, as parents, we can sometimes set the agenda for our kids’ learning, but we can’t structure it so tightly that it becomes a means to an end, a search for a particular fact or answer, and nothing else. Elmo exhibits a child’s natural curiosity and intelligence. While a subtle hand guides him in the initial direction he should go, his path may meander, he may go off track, but he’s learning and having fun as he goes about his journey. That’s the way it is for most kids.
I admire Elmo’s persistence, as well. Each time he learns one thing about a subject, he’s eager to pursue his quest further. Elmo always wants to know more. How many of us can say the same of our adult lives and our work? How many of us give up when the answers don’t come easily?
In one scene, Elmo wants to go to the zoo. His insatiable curiosity has him itching in his fur. He approaches Maria to take him, but she’s too busy. Elmo’s disappointment registers in his whole body—but only for a few moments. Instead of spending the rest of the day sulking, he figures that if he can’t go to the zoo, he will get the zoo to come to him. He rebounds and gets all of his friends to pretend to be zoo animals, and they teach him what he’s so eager to know. Not only that, but because Maria is busy and said she wished she could take him, he brings his pretend zoo to her so she can share in his excitement. He solves the problem and enriches his own life and the lives of others. His uniquely creative solution to a problem models healthy, independent thinking for children.
Elmo is never afraid to ask questions or to admit that he doesn’t know something, and over the years, I’ve realized that that’s actually a smart way to behave. My formal education ended after high school, and then I moved to a city and began working in a field surrounded by many highly educated individuals, not to mention professionals who had lifetimes of experience compared to me. But I learned quickly not to let the potential for embarrassment prevent me from admitting I didn’t know how to do something or have an answer.
Had I been reluctant to ask questions, I would never have risen from the ranks of puppeteer, to directing some of the shows, to becoming one of the producers. As a producer, I can offer input on projects from the get-go, in areas ranging from scripts, to props, to shots. I also head the puppeteering team and recruit new puppeteers. When I train them, I always find that the ones who are on the floor watching and asking questions even when they aren’t in a scene are the ones who take their work to the next level more quickly.
Elmo’s curiosity is a reflection of my personality, as well. When I first got the opportunity to work in television, I was truly the new kid on the block. I came to New York to work on national television, and wasn’t just someone who fell off the turnip truck; I was about as sophisticated as a turnip. But I was also a sponge—not unlike a certain furry, red three-and-a-half-year-old—who absorbed and observed everything. I was working with some of the masters of the industry, and I paid close attention to everything they did. (And I’m still learning!)
“Elmo’s World” is entirely made up of elements he’s created. The set is a crayon drawing of his own making, he pounds away enthusiastically on his piano, he makes up his own lyrics daily, and he expresses his imaginative life through art. These elements of the set and the show are an expression of the sheer delight Elmo takes in learning. He loves his computer and his television because they help him answer his many questions. Elmo is as open-minded as most children his age are.
Elmo’s concluding song