Thursday, July 21, 2005

Credit Where Credit is Due

I am taking this opportunity to acknowledge my mother. She taught for many years in the public school system and accomplished a great deal. She taught her students to expect more from themselves, something that kids desparately need today. I am speaking up for my mother because I feel that she deserves some acknowledgment every now and then.

There was the article in today's paper that got me to singing my mother's praises. The article was about a certain young actress from this area, who shall remain nameless. She has a starring role in an upcoming movie, and the article is one of those homegirl-makes-good pieces. I read through the article for several reasons: (1) I always read these types of articles; (2) it is about a local black woman who has done well, and those articles are rare; and (3) the actress is a former student of my mother's.

Unfortunately, the actress does not mention that she was a student of my mother's. She talks about her struggles and about how she is just now getting her big break, but in between mentioning the work she did in high school and college, she never mentions performing with my mother's drama club in junior high school.

I vividly remember my mother's drama students because I essentially grew up with them. As a matter of fact, I harbored a certain amount of resentment towards them because it seemed that the drama kids got more from my mother than I did. She was a surrogate mother to many of her students, and some developed major feelings for her (in the form of some serious school-boy crushes). In turn, she was devoted to them and took her role as their teacher/mentor/mother very seriously. If someone did something stupid, she chastised them just like a mother. If someone needed some encouragement, she routed for them just like a mother.

So, I was disappointed not to see some small mention of my mother in the article. I remember this young lady, and I was the one who told my mother about her a few years back when she got her first big movie role.

My mother had taught English/Language Arts for a few years, and one year she was assigned to teach drama and public speaking as well. Although she had never taught drama before, she entered her students in a city-wide Shakespeare festival to perform Macbeth. I remember that she spent several weeks preparing the students for their scene and that she made the costumes herself. She wanted them to make a good impression because she knew that her students were the underdogs. These were inner-city kids, and at the time, no one expected them to be able to perform Shakespeare. Well, in classic "Remember the Titans" style, my mother's students were outstanding, and I distinctly remember the way she raved about the performance of a certain actress who was Lady Macbeth.

Mind you, all of this took place when I was less than 10 years old, and my mother went on to teach drama to many more students through the years. Yet I still remember this event in particular, so why wouldn't this actress recount any of this for the article?

Of course, newspaper and magazine articles get editted, so it is very possible that my mother was acknowledged in an earlier version of the article. Well, I really don't believe that, just like I don't believe that this actress is claiming to be the same age as me (she is at least five years older). People say all kinds of things, and I guess they forget all kinds of things too.

The way I see it, everyone of us owes a debt to those who helped make it possible for our current success. None of us achieves any success without the support, nurturing and guidance of others, namely our teachers. That's what those long-winded Oscar speeches are about--giving thanks.

Now I can't say that I am any better when it comes to acknowledging the influence others have had in my life. I too have been forgetful and neglectful. I've had some great teachers in my life, some people who truly encouraged me and believed in what I had to offer. I can still name some of them: Mrs. Savoy (elementary school principal); Mills (2 and 6 grades); Mrs. Darasaw (pre-K); Mrs. Tucker (elementary science); Mrs. Brooks (dance); Father Moore (middle school religion); Mrs. Page (high school chemistry); and most of the English Department at Spelman. I've received encouragement from a wide range of people outside of the classroom as well--people from my church, my peers from school, and my co-workers from my various jobs. Lastly, I have received enormous encouragement from my family, especially from my parents.

We all forget things. I forget to do mundane tasks on a daily basis. Yet we also remember. I can recall events from my childhood as if they occurred yesterday. What I am remembering about the drama kids and the Shakespeare festival doesn't even qualify as my experience. So I may be overstating my mother's influence in this woman's life--her current fame may be due to sheer determination to succeed. But, I can't help but to think that my mother deserves a little credit for her fame. After all, she had to start somewhere. We all did.

So, here's to my mother!

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