I grew up in New York City in the Bronx. We lived in a section of the Bronx called Riverdale. Now growing up I was always encouraged to say that I was from the Bronx not Riverdale. My sisters and I didn’t grow up poor, but we certainly weren’t similar to the wealthier people and better housing that Riverdale was known for. So growing up I was from the Bronx. We didn’t want others to get the wrong impression as to our status in the world. At least that is what I was told. If you want a job (as a teenager) say you’re from the Bronx. Which was like when I moved out to Long Island and was told “if you want a job say you’re a Republican.” Continue reading Growing up and finding stories…
Storytelling/Song Ideas
Go Green song
These are the lyrics of a new song that I wrote for a Go Green Festival I’ll be performing at in November.
Go Green
by Harvey Heilbrun
©2009
Chorus
We must Go Green and work to save our planet
Think about the things we do that can affect us all
We must Go Green and try to change our actions
Save the earth, improve our lives and stand up tall.
When leaving rooms turn off the lights, conserve electric power
Turn off TVs, and pull out plugs that you’re not using now
Fix all those leaks, don’t let them drip and take a shorter shower
It’s not so hard to save this earth if you know how.
Chorus
The great outdoors is calling us; there is a good solution.
Take a walk or ride your bike, don’t always use the car.
Don’t litter, or waste paper, keep noise down, stop pollution
By planting trees and growing plants we will go far.
Chorus
Reduce the waste you make each day, Reuse what you don’t throw out
Recycle what you can so we can help the world revive
Each little thing we do each day helps build a good tomorrow
So do your best, it all adds up, help us survive.
Chorus
Click here to hear Go Green
Go Green by Harvey Heilbrun is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
New material
In searching out new story material for my performances I came across a great collection of stories. The stories are in the book Le cercle des menteurs: Contes philosophiques du monde entire by Jean-Claude Carriére. My difficulty as you can see is that the book is written in French. The English translation of the title is: The Circle of Liars: Philosophical tales from the entire world. There is also a Spanish translation of the book. Of course I neither read nor speak either language.
Personal Safety
I’ve been an advocate for teaching Personal Safety in schools for most of my teaching career. In the district that I worked in, I had little success. Other than when an unknown car stops children on the road, does it get discussed in class. At that point a memo goes out to staff and parents from the district describing the incident and reminding parents that it will be/was discussed in school as part of their regular Personal Safety discussions. Other than brief discussions in class at that moment, nothing else is done. I’ve been out of the classroom for 2 years now, but do not think that much has changed.