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Jewish World Review April 10, 2000/ 5 Nissan, 5760
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
EVERY FAMILY has their own criteria for choosing a place to live. Some are concerned about property values, some about the local taxes or the school system or the congeniality of the town residents. But during the next millennium it's just possible that families will make this decision based, at least in part, on whether or not there is a town hero project.
This is an idea that was originally started in Philadelphia by a woman named Barbara Eisenbud. Barbara got tired of sitting in buses, surrounded by advertisements exhorting her to buy things she didn't need and encouraging her to pay attention to her various deficiencies which would be instantly corrected by the advertisers' products.
There must be a better use for that space, she reasoned, and hit upon the idea of Aadvertising the young, unsung heroes of Philadelphia. If selling was the goal, what better commodity could there be than moral courage?
So, with great enthusiasm and a determination not to accept "no" for an answer, she embarked upon a campaign to persuade city officials to allocate space, in public transportation, to advertise local heroes. Her determination and energy paid off, and within a matter of months Philadelphians could board a city bus, look up at the advertising posters lining the vehicle's interior walls and discover, among the ads for toothpaste and deodorants, inspiring stories about some of the city's youngest residents.
Eventually, Barbara received grants from several foundations, and was coming up with all kinds of ideas about how to encourage moral courage in the town's young people. Two years ago, she read a book I had written which related to much of what she was doing, and called me up to announce, "we need to talk." Thus began a sharing of ideas which influences me to this day. Barbara's activities in Philadelphia planted the seeds for a model project I created in my own town of Montclair, New Jersey, along with Terry Trigg-Scales, the Principal of Montclair's Northeast International School.
The idea has generated such enthusiasm in our town, it seemed a good bet that other towns might be interested in starting similar projects. The good news is that it costs absolutely no money and helps accomplish a worthy goal. What could be better?
Here are the essential components of the Montclair project which can be easily duplicated.
YOUNG HERO OF THE MONTH
Creating a Town
Hero Project
By Dr. Janice Cohn
The local Montclair newspaper will be inaugurating a new monthly feature, Hero of the Month, focusing on young people throughout the town, from both public and private schools, who have shown exceptional courage on behalf of other individuals, the community or themselves. Potential heroes will be nominated by both children and adults and chosen by a special committee.
The monthly hero and the "runners up" will be honored in a special ceremony at the main branch of our local library. Our town's libraries and bookstores are planning special displays of books and reading material for children focusing on courage and heroism. The Chief Librarian of the Youth Services Department of the main branch of the Montclair library has prepared a bibliography of recommended books on this subject for parents.
SEARCHING FOR UNSUNG TOWN HEROES
Children in selected schools will be embarking on an unsung heroes search in their own families and the community at large. The town historian will be teaching the children how to conduct interviews and oral histories. The children's research regarding town heroes will be housed at the local history room of our main library.
One of the most gratifying components of this project is children's excitement about and awakened interest in the unsung heroes within their own families and neighborhood. Here are just some of the stories children have discovered when I've done similar projects with youngsters in the past.
Meredith Goldman wrote about her neighbor, Tiffany, who was born mentally retarded. Awkward and unsure of herself, Tiffany has trouble learning and understanding even the most basic things. But she followed her personal dream, and, when she was nine years old -- after months of training -- she won a medal at her town's Special Olympics. Meredith has since become a volunteer for that yearly event.
Thomas Stern wrote about his uncle, Joshua, who turned down a high paying, glamorous job offer in Paris, when he graduated architecture school. Instead, he chose to sign up for a stint in the Peace Corps. There he worked for two years in a struggling village in West Africa, helping the townspeople to design a series of canals which were able to finally irrigate their arid land. It was then, for the first time in anyone's memory, the villagers' crops did not wither before the harvest. That spring, not a single child died of hunger.
Lester Jones wrote about his uncle who risked his life -- and lost an arm -- trying to save the lives of his fellow soldiers during combat in Vietnam. Because he grabbed a live grenade, four men from his platoon are alive today.
Juanita Quarles told her class about an aunt who had been addicted to heroin for seven straight years. She was considered a "hopeless case" when, half dead, she was put into a residential drug rehab program for the third time. Then, after graduating the program, she fooled everyone and for the past eight years, has never gone back to drugs. She recently started her own drug counseling center for teenagers.
Will discovering these stories make a difference for children? There is no way to know, for certain, but I think the odds are in our
03/23: The game(s) of life
02/16/00: Whatever happened to playing for playing's sake?
02/03/00: Down to Earth Heroes
01/27/00: Parental discipline affects child's compassion