KLRN Public Television, the PBS station serving South Central Texas, announces a new video series aimed at teaching children sign language, social-emotional development, and normalizing those with differing abilities.
Hank and Emma Faye is an educational video series that features Emma Faye Rudkin, former Miss San Antonio and Founder & Executive Director of Aid the Silent. Emma Faye, who uses spoken language and ASL, is profoundly deaf and, together with her hearing dog, Hank, she introduces viewers to words in sign language and talks about emotions in a way that helps children properly recognize and discuss how they are feeling.
“Having Hank and Emma Faye teach kids a word in sign language opens the door to a deeper understanding of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and the value of sign language,” says Shari St. Clair, Executive Producer of Hank and Emma Faye. “Our hope is the one-minute videos will normalize speaking and signing, by making it interesting and fun. We’re delighted to have Hank and Emma Faye on board with us to share these life lessons.”
“Most of my workdays are spent with children at school teaching them valuable lessons like inclusion, diversity, how to be friends with someone with a disability, or how to treat each other with kindness,” says Emma Faye Rudkin, Host of Hank & Emma Faye.
“During the first week of COVID lockdowns, I was heartbroken for children who were missing the rest of their school year and the loss of friendships and possible learning delays. Quickly, my mind shifted to how to come up with an inventive solution to reach children in a difficult time. The Hank and Emma Faye Show came to life with KLRN PBS. This is a wonderful platform on which to share these messages, and both Hank and I are very excited.”
In a recent Texas Public Radio interview by Jack Morgan with Emma Faye and Katrina Kehoe, vice president for marketing at San Antonio’s PBS affiliate KLRN, Kehoe explains, “Currently, the one-minute vignettes run in between programs just on KLRN, but they are also distributed to PBS stations statewide and PBS decision-makers nationwide. The objective is to eventually produce a full-length program. Kehoe said that Rudkin’s ability to come across on TV is exceptional.”
“She has such a presence, and she has such a beauty that’s about her. Not only is that external beauty, but it’s really just an internal personality that glows,” Kehoe said in the TPR interview. “And that all comes across on TV very, very well.”
Hank & Emma Faye debuted on KLRN in December. Watch all episodes any time by visiting klrn.org/hankemmafaye or on the KLRN YouTube Channel. To find out more about Emma Faye visit emmafayerudkin.com and aidthesilent.com.
