Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

When I was in 5th grade in the Henrico county school system, we had two high school students come and visit our classroom once a week to "teach" us something. At least that was their goal. We never thought of it as a lesson, though. To us, it was an hour a week where we got to hang out with High School kids, and that was cool. The organization the students belonged to was called S.O.D. A. ( Student Organization for Developing Attitudes) I knew from that moment on when I got to High School, I wanted to participate in that organization, and I did. My junior and senior year of high school I was on a SODA team that went to elementary schools, specifically 5th grade classes to "teach" When you become part of SODA, you are given   reference material that has several examples of lessons to use with your class. Most are activities that all have underlying themes to teach the right attitudes toward ourselves and others. One of the ones I remember was "Warm Fuzzies/Cold Pricklies" My partner and I made little fuzzy characters with google eyes and had a bag of the prickly "gumballs" that fall from trees. Each student was given 1 of each, and asked to describe what holding each one felt like. Then we would talk about our words and how they can be just like warm fuzzies or cold pricklies, and how we should speak to each other with kindness. You get the idea. We had a lesson like that one each week through the whole school year. By far, the most powerful lesson we ever did, was the Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes lesson. My partner and I came into the classroom as we had done each week, and without any explanation, we asked all the children with Brown eyes to raise their hands. My partner then asked them to line up at the door, and he took them outside. The blue eyed group stayed in with me. In a fairly stern voice, I told them all to take out a piece of paper. Questions were asked where the other group was going. I told them they were going outside to play. When questioned further about why they couldn't go, I told them it was because they had blue eyes. They had to stay in and do work. Harsh warnings of "NO TALKING!" were given. The Blue eyes were treated less than nice. Both my partner and I were active in our school's theatre department, so we played it to the hilt. After 20 minutes or so, we reversed the groups and they were given the same treatment. The children came back in and then we all discussed how they felt when they were the group being kept inside. No one said they liked the way they were treated. I'm sure you have figured out that this was a lesson on discrimination. That was back in 1981, a time that was past the civil rights movement and huge strides had been made, but it was still a powerful lesson about being treated differently for being different. There is a video floating around Facebook right now of a classroom teacher, Jane Elliott, who created and did this exact experiment with her third graders ( all white) back in the 1960's in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I watched it today. There are parts that actually made me cry as you see the looks on the faces of the students who are being discriminated against. I did not know that the SODA lesson I was teaching 20 years later actually began when I was a child myself. I'm sure these children's lives were changed after what Miss Elliott taught them or better yet let them see, firsthand, what it was like to be treated as a lesser person, to be called stupid or slow just because you were different. Some groundbreaking events are happening this week that deal with exactly this issue. We should all be ashamed of ourselves that the highest court in the land needed to tell us the simple truth that Miss Elliott tried to teach her third graders in 1964 and I tried to teach my SODA students in 1981, that we should all be treated the same, equally, no matter what our differences are. What color are your eyes?

Just a Day

Father's Day ended 15 minutes ago. This day has been just another day for me for several years now since my sweet daddy died. My children are not really involved in their father's life, so this day comes and goes without much to do, but because my sister posted a wonderful status about my dad, I have been thinking about him for the past hour. I probably didn't say it near enough when he was alive, but Thank you, Daddy! And yes, he was my "Daddy" I called him Dad occasionally, and for a while we went through a "Pop" phase, but even as an adult I called him Daddy. Through my childhood and teen years he had his issues, but I never once doubted that he loved me, and would protect me. Eventhough he was  extremely non-confrontational, let someone say something bad or attack one of his girls or his wife, and WATCH OUT!!! He was always honest with me, even when  I didn't want to hear it. I knew I got that quality from somewhere. :) But for all the things he did for me through my life, and there were many, the thing I am most thankful for is the fact that he stepped into the role of father to my two daughters when their own father left when they were 2 and 5. For that I will forever be grateful that they got to feel that special bond between a daddy and his little girl, just like I did. You left us way too soon, Daddy, and you would be so proud of the amazing people that those two little girls ( now 17 and 20
) have become. I know that somewhere you can see them, and I know you are smiling and shedding tears of joy. I love you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day!

The Road Less Traveled

In December of 2009 I played Mrs. Fezziwig in Theatre IV's production of A Christmas Carol. As is often the case in musical theatre productions, I played multiple roles throughout the show. Mrs. Fezziwig was just my featured role. One of the smaller ensemble roles I got to play was that of an upper class mother walking with her little boy through the Dickensian streets of England in the opening number. That little boy was Robert Timberline, known to me then as "Cooper" His featured role was Tiny Tim in that production. I had seen Cooper's work in other shows, and I knew he was extremely talented, and not just "talented for his age" He had it! He was natural, which can be so rare for a child actor. I have been a child actor, and I have worked with several. Many try to trade on cute, going way over the top to the point of the audience member being lulled into a sugar coma. Or.. they've been told to ACT and that's what they do. Cooper didn't do any of that. Now, I will have to say, he was as cute as any 8 year old boy could be with his mischievous grin and dimples, but he wasn't relying on the cute factor. He wasn't flashing the smile expecting everyone to just fall head over heels. I don't have any other word for it. He was as natural as if he lived in those times. I remember giving him a ride from rehearsal one night, and as we rode up Broad Street we had quite a nice conversation. I told him how talented I thought he was. He was extremely humble when accepting my praise, and not false humility, genuine sincere appreciation for someone noticing his talent. That, my friends, is rare. I started acting professionally when I was 10, and it is very hard to keep an ego in check. To your peers, you are famous, for lack of a better word. You're doing something that most people would be scared to death to do, and, not only that, you are successful at it. Shortly after Christmas Carol, Coop, as I had taken to calling him, booked a gig with a touring company doing the Radio City Christmas Musical, and not long after that we, being the Richmond theatre community, got the word that he had landed a role in a film. You're thinking that by now this kid must be impossible to be around. Well, you'd be wrong! I ran into him at our local awards show this past fall, and he's still the same old "Coop" that played my little boy. There's a lot of hype surrounding Robert Timberline, as he prefers to be called now, because that "film" role he landed was young Clark Kent in one of the most anticipated films of the summer, Man of Steel, which opens this Friday. Not long ago I watched a video interview Robert did about his film experiences, and I was so impressed with how down to earth he was and just basically a normal kid. He's decided to pursue other things besides acting. Most people, me included, would kill to be in film and have those chances and experiences, but Robert knows what he wants and that's more than most adults can say. I admire him so much for having the thought and conviction to follow his dream and not give in to the pressure that "Hey, everybody wants to be a movie star, right?" mentality. What an amazing, grounded young man you are, Robert. I know you will be successful whatever path you choose even if it's different than the one everyone expected you to take.