thedrifter
12-23-06, 07:43 AM
December 22, 2006
PBS special on military families airs Dec. 27
By Karen Jowers
Staff writer
Air Force Master Sgt. Jerrod Roth said he hopes a PBS special premiering Wednesday, Dec. 27, will help Americans realize that when service members deploy, they leave families behind.
“It’s important to prepare the families” for what they will face, especially when they’re separated during the holidays, said Roth, whose family is one of about a dozen featured on “When Parents are Deployed,” hosted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., premiering at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Times may vary, so check local listings.
The post-deployment transition to becoming a family once again is also a critical part of the process, one that is not always easy, Roth said.
He learned some things from his wife, Tech. Sgt. Tammy Roth, when they were filming the special. Just getting involved again with friends and family takes work, she said. “He didn’t realize I was being so patient. I was standing there, thinking OK, here’s your opportunity, and he’s just standing there,” she said, when they would gather with friends. He’d stand aside and not get involved in the conversation.”
Tammy Roth said she thinks the program is important for many reasons. “This could also apply to people who are separated from their family for business trips, too,” she said.
But everybody’s different, she notes. “I don’t have a problem coming back and jumping right back in. I want it all,” she said.
The program grew out of another endeavor by Sesame Workshop producers who were making an educational outreach program about military children, aimed at civilian kids. They were so impressed by military families while producing that program that they decided to make another program aimed at all American families.
The producers “felt we needed to get the message… to grown-ups on a wider basis,” said Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of outreach and education practices for Sesame Workshop.
Through these military families, the show gives ideas on how to stay connected during deployment. “We showed different things we do while deployed to let the person deployed know the family hasn’t moved on without him,” Tammy Roth said. For example 9-year-old Jordan Roth and her brother Logan, 7, did lots of crafts for their dad, and sent lots of boxes.
“They made fun of him when he was deployed because he got the most mail,” she said, noting that extended family and friends are important during deployments.
Jerrod Roth also filled a jar full of notes for the children before he left. “When we got up in the morning, the first thing we did was race to the jar,” Tammy Roth said. She had suggested the idea to her husband, “and lo and behold, he put notes in there for me, too,” she said.
In one scene, Jordan is asked it makes him feel when he pulls a note from the jar from daddy. “She says two words, thinks, and gets choked up,” Jerrod Roth said.
“It will definitely make you cry.”
Ellie
PBS special on military families airs Dec. 27
By Karen Jowers
Staff writer
Air Force Master Sgt. Jerrod Roth said he hopes a PBS special premiering Wednesday, Dec. 27, will help Americans realize that when service members deploy, they leave families behind.
“It’s important to prepare the families” for what they will face, especially when they’re separated during the holidays, said Roth, whose family is one of about a dozen featured on “When Parents are Deployed,” hosted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., premiering at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Times may vary, so check local listings.
The post-deployment transition to becoming a family once again is also a critical part of the process, one that is not always easy, Roth said.
He learned some things from his wife, Tech. Sgt. Tammy Roth, when they were filming the special. Just getting involved again with friends and family takes work, she said. “He didn’t realize I was being so patient. I was standing there, thinking OK, here’s your opportunity, and he’s just standing there,” she said, when they would gather with friends. He’d stand aside and not get involved in the conversation.”
Tammy Roth said she thinks the program is important for many reasons. “This could also apply to people who are separated from their family for business trips, too,” she said.
But everybody’s different, she notes. “I don’t have a problem coming back and jumping right back in. I want it all,” she said.
The program grew out of another endeavor by Sesame Workshop producers who were making an educational outreach program about military children, aimed at civilian kids. They were so impressed by military families while producing that program that they decided to make another program aimed at all American families.
The producers “felt we needed to get the message… to grown-ups on a wider basis,” said Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of outreach and education practices for Sesame Workshop.
Through these military families, the show gives ideas on how to stay connected during deployment. “We showed different things we do while deployed to let the person deployed know the family hasn’t moved on without him,” Tammy Roth said. For example 9-year-old Jordan Roth and her brother Logan, 7, did lots of crafts for their dad, and sent lots of boxes.
“They made fun of him when he was deployed because he got the most mail,” she said, noting that extended family and friends are important during deployments.
Jerrod Roth also filled a jar full of notes for the children before he left. “When we got up in the morning, the first thing we did was race to the jar,” Tammy Roth said. She had suggested the idea to her husband, “and lo and behold, he put notes in there for me, too,” she said.
In one scene, Jordan is asked it makes him feel when he pulls a note from the jar from daddy. “She says two words, thinks, and gets choked up,” Jerrod Roth said.
“It will definitely make you cry.”
Ellie