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"Don't Laugh At Me" on NPR - the Movement is Growing!
Posted on October 25, 2004
Here is a great story about media that matters!
This weekend NPR ran a story about "Don't Laugh At Me" as part of their series What's In the Song?. The songwriters, Steve Seskin and Alan Shamblin, discuss how their song grew from a personal project to become a part of the elementary school curriculum in 17 states.
Peter Yarrow's daughter Bethany saw Seskin perform the song at a folk festival and asked him if he would perform the song again for her father, and he agreed. As Peter recounts: "There we sat, my beloved daughter, a singer-songwriter in her own right, with her hand in mine, tears running down our cheeks, listening to a song that told our hearts' stories, recalling events that we had personally experienced or witnessed in the lives of others." A few months after hearing the song, Peter Yarrow realized "Don't Laugh At Me" was a powerful piece of media to help encourage kids to realize "Hey, it's actually cool to be nice to one another."
Learn more about anti-bullying work at the Operation: Respect home page, where you can download their Programs and Curriculum guides. You can also see a clip of Peter Yarrow performing the song at our awards ceremony on our forthcoming DVD.
Thanks to Esther Drill, author of The Looks Book (and others) for the tip!