I'm a little boy with glasses, the one they call me.
I'm a little girl who never smiles, cause I got braces on my teeth.
And I know how it feels to cry myself to sleep.
I'm that kid on every playground who's always chosen last.
A single teenage mother trying to overcome my past.
You don't have to be my friend, but is it too much to ask?
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names.
Don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same.
Someday we'll all have perfect wings.
Don't laugh at me.
I'm the beggar on the corner, you've passed me on the street.
And I wouldn't be out here begging if I had enough to eat.
And don't think I don't notice that our eyes never meet.
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names.
Don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same.
Someday we'll all have perfect wings.
Don't laugh at me.
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall.
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey aren't we all?
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names.
Don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same.
Someday we'll all have perfect wings.
Don't laugh at me.
I'm Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.
And I'm coming to be with you not as just a singer today.
Actually just a singer is quite a history of 40 years of Peter, Paul and Mary
not just singing songs but also believing in what they say.
And that is really why the program Don't Laugh at Me, which is the name of the song,
has been launched because it speaks to our hearts.
That is Peter, Paul and Mary's heart to the people who've heard it in concert.
As a matter of fact, when Peter, Paul and Mary sang it for the National Association of Elementary School Principals,
the teachers came rushing back and they said, give us this song, we need this in the classroom.
And that began to really awaken a process within us and within me in a very special way to say,
we must use this song to address something that's critical that's happening in our country.
We have an epidemic in this country of disrespect that comes through the media,
it comes from messages in powerful and cruel ways that are not characteristic of the way in which it came to us when I was young.
What can happen is that this song, this video and this teacher's guide can launch a project
that either links with other peace education work that you're doing and emphasizes it
and underscores it with a heartfelt message of music, of the creative spirit that empowers this song.
Or if you're not already engaged in that work, can begin to familiarize you with and commit you to an extraordinary adventure,
a pathway that will lead you to doing something that might seem a bit impossible.
But it's only impossible if we're saying we have to change the whole world at once.
If we're saying that we're going to change one child at a time or help one child evolve at a time,
or if we're going to change the culture of the classroom, your particular classroom,
and you're going to say on an ongoing basis we can do work that will alter that, then I tell you that is possible.
And not only is it transformational for your class, but if you change one classroom, you change the world.
And I firmly believe that. My mother was a school teacher and I grew up believing that and feeling that.
So what occurs is this. The song, Don't Laugh At Me, is played. The children respond to it.
A series of exercises following a guidebook are initiated in the classroom,
whereby children are sensitized to each other and learn to begin to talk to each other differently,
or learn to begin to address resolving conflict differently so that they use eye messages.
That means, I feel this way rather than you are this and then call a name.
As the kids learn and develop their skills in reasoning and develop their skills in understanding and in problem solving,
they also develop a sense of self-esteem in a non-fearful environment.
They're not afraid of each other. They're not afraid of being laughed at and ridiculed for expressing themselves.
They're not afraid of being marginalized because they're different in one way or another.
And they're sensitive to the fact that all of the kids around them, even the ones that are the most popular
and most gifted as athletes or whatever, that they're also vulnerable in the same ways.
And once they have that understanding, once they get a glimpse of that, they are embarking on a project
which will change them and change you and change that classroom.
It cannot be accomplished in a few short weeks. There can be an epiphany that opens it up,
but it can be accomplished over a period of years, actually, as a way of life.
We need strong citizens as much as we need strongly gifted kids that can be on the computer and be successful in business.
We need children who are filled with a sense of their humanity towards one another
so that we can ultimately have children grow up to be responsible, active members of a democracy
where they not only can read, but they can feel a sense of the importance of their participation in community.
And that's part of what is formulated here as well. Ultimately, the whole community has to be involved.
You start with a child, you start with a classroom, and then after there's a certain strength,
there's an outreach to the principals, the administration, the community at large, and they come in, they observe,
and it becomes contagious. This is a positive virus, if you will.
I sing my songs with you and for you and embrace you as the people who more profoundly than anybody else can change this world.
So go well and good luck in your process and thank you for taking this program and being a part of what I think is going to be
a very important initiative and effort in our country. And I'm not just talking about Don't Laugh at Me, which is just a beginning.
I'm talking about the ongoing work to address these possibilities. And if you're already doing the work, God bless you. Thank you.
I'm a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek.
A little girl who never smiles, cause I got braces on my teeth. And I know how it feels to cry myself to sleep.
I'm that kid on every playground, the one that's chosen last. I'm a single teenage mother trying to overcome my past.
You don't have to be my friend, but is it too much to ask?
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names, don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same, someday we'll all have perfect wings. Don't laugh at me.
I'm the beggar on the corner, you've passed me on the street. And I wouldn't be out here begging if I had enough to eat.
And don't think, I don't notice, that our eyes never meet.
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names, don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same, someday we'll all have perfect wings. Don't laugh at me.
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall, I'm deaf, I'm blind. Hey, aren't we all?
Don't laugh at me, don't call me names, don't get your pleasure from my pain.
In God's eyes we're all the same, someday we'll all have perfect wings. Don't laugh at me.
Don't laugh at me.
Kids, I know you've just heard me sing that song. And I've been singing songs with Peter Polinari like that for just about 40 years.
And when I sing that song, I've become a child again. I remember what it was like when I was teased and I was taunted as a child.
And it hurt me a lot. And the song that I just sang is part of a program that's opening us up, adults, teachers, children, to the realities of how cruel bullying, scorn, disrespect and ridicule are.
And when you sing the song and watch the video, know that there are children all over the country in other classrooms and boys and girls clubs and other settings who are now saying,
boy, it's time for me to acknowledge not only that this hurts but also that I don't want to be part of that. I don't want my classroom to be a place where people are made to feel bad in this way and ridiculed and scorned.
So I'm going to help to establish a ridicule-free zone right here in class where when I walk in here, I know that all of us have agreed that that kind of injury to each other, that kind of talk, that kind of name calling and disrespect,
and I can't play with you and you're not good enough and this is the matter with her. And that's not going to be a part of the way we're going to be together.
And it's going to be safe. And we're going to work together on that. That's what this program is about.
The teachers are very excited about it. I'm very excited about being a part of it. And it means a real change in the world. It means that kids all over the country and parents and governmental officials and social workers and lawyers and musicians are all saying,
let's find a better way for our kids. You're our hope. You're our future. We rely on you. You're going to carry the ball.
This is a song that has moved me and Mary and Paul and many other people and it's going to provide a little window to working together, heart connected, to make it all better for everybody.
Puff the Magic Dragon says hello and wishes you all well in this project. Go well, you wonderful, wonderful future of ours. We're with you and we love you.
Thank you.