[playful intro music]
[audience laughs]
♪ Set in my ways ♪
♪ Loosing track of the days ♪
♪ Only me to live for ♪
♪ Had no need to givemore than I wanted to ♪
♪ Spending my timejust holding the line ♪
♪ Never getting caught up ♪
♪ Love was never brought up ♪
♪ It's not the thing to do ♪
♪ Ooh ooh, it was you ♪
♪ Then came you ♪
♪ You made me leapwithout taking a look ♪
♪ Ooh ooh, it was you ♪
♪ Then came you ♪
♪ You reeled me right inline, sinker and hook ♪
♪ Never thought foreverwas the best I could do ♪
♪ Then came you ♪
♪ It was you and me and you ♪
♪ Then came you ♪
♪ It was you and me and you ♪
♪ It was you and me ♪
♪ Then came you ♪
[playful upbeat music]
- Budget cuts?
This is terrible.
The school is cuttingback on certain subjects
'cause there isn't enoughmoney in the budget.
- Well, they can't afford it.
So, they're losing theless important subjects.
- I don't consider art tobe a less important subject.
I think art is everybit as important
as music or physical education.
- There's no more musicdepartment either.
- Oh, this is criminal.
- What criminal?
If you gotta cutback some place,
you cut back on music and art.
Not math and history.
- There's no more sports either.
- Has the world gone mad?
[audience laughs]
- Well, Mr. Que sera sera,did we hit a nerve?
- Who's responsiblefor these atrocity?
Who's to blame?
Who's the idiotthat caused this?
- We are.- We are.
Well, I hope we'resatisfied, Katherine.
What do you mean we?
- Well, we received a letterfrom the school last week
asking parents to volunteer help
until this budget thing issettled and we ignored it.
I put it here somewherein the trash mail.
Aha!
Here it is.
- Well, it's not ourfault, Katherine.
We work. We havea job, remember?
- I'm sure that's how everyother parent responded.
- So, what are peoplesupposed to do, Katherine?
Give up their careers,
so seven-year-oldscan connect the dots.
[audience laughs]
- There's such a thingis civic responsibility.
- Kids need someoneto help them.
- Yeah, kids needsomeone to help them.
- Someone terrific and exciting.
- Someone terrific and exciting.
- With pretty eyes.
[audience laughs]
- With pretty eyes.
- I don't know.
Now wait a minute, Katherine.
You're not qualifiedto teach art.
- Are you crazy?
I'm a Calder-Young.
Art is my middle name.
- Yeah!
- Webster?
How would you feelif I were to teach
your art class for a while?
- Okay, I guess.
[squeals]
[audience laughs]
- Well, what about your job?
- Well, it's just one houra day, three days a week.
And this is important.
This is an opportunityto nourish young minds.
- That was beautiful, Katherine.
- I thought so.
- And if it means that muchto you, then go for it.
- Yeah.
I'm gonna callJerry and tell him
to cancel my threeo'clock appointments.
And then I gotta get myart books out of the truck.
- It's too bad you're so busy.
You can help so much too.
- Yeah, I know, but I'mreally not qualified.
- What about sports?
- Sports?
Yeah, I could coach.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, I could coach baseball.
I'd be another Billy Martin.
- Somebody already volunteered.
- Football. [chuckles]
I could be another Tom Landry.
- It's taken.
- Basketball.
I could be another-
- Taken.
[audience laughs]
- What's left?
[paper rustling]
[soft music]
- [George] Dodge ball?
[audience laughs]
- I'm telling you guys,
she's one of the greatestart teachers of all times.
- Is she fun?
- Fun? Are you kidding?
Her middle name is fun.
- [Children] Yay!
- And we owe it allto you, Webster.
- Oh shocks. It was nothing.
- Hi, everybody.
- [Children] Goodmorning, Teacher.
- My name is KatherineCalder-Young Papadopolis.
- [Children] Hi,Mrs. Papadapada...
[audience laughs]
- Mrs. P will do just fine.
- Yes?
- I'm Gloria Swanson.
- I think we're allgonna have a lot of fun.
- [Children] Yay!
- I've brought some wonderfulthings to share with you kids.
- [Children] Yay!
- Now, today we are going totalk about the color blue.
Can anyone tell me wherethe color blue comes from?
Yes?
- I have to go to the bathroom.
- Fine.
[audience laughs]
The sky.
The sky. The sky is blue.
And you know, sometimespeople are blue too.
[children laughs]
No, no. It's absolutely true.
Let me ask you something.
Have any of you childrenever been in love?
[audience laughs]
Yeah.
Have you ever lovedsomeone so much
that you would cutoff your ear for them?
- That's gross.
[audience laughs]
- Yeah.
Pay attention, everybody.
We're gonna havea test on Friday.
- A test in art?
- Once upon a time,there was an artist
named Vincent Van Goghwho painted in blue
because he was very blue.
- [Children] How blue was he?
- He was so blue
[audience laughs]
he cut off one of his earsbecause he loved someone
who didn't love him back.
- Sorry, I asked.
[audience laughs]
- Now, he...
[door locks]
[audience laughs]
Lived in a place called Holland.
And Holland is a wonderfulcountry with lots of flowers.
And the flowers areall very pretty,
you see, because of the canals.
See here?
- Hey, Web.
When are we gonna paint?
- Give her a break.
It's her first day.
- Well, the canals arefull of nice, clean water
which helps to makethe flowers grow.
Although it isn'tso clean anymore.
I was in Copenhagen two yearsago and it was disgusting.
And Venice isn't much better.
Very touristy, very expensive.
Although I did discovera wonderful restaurant
in Parma called La Filoma,which was out of this world.
And the Capelli D'angelojust melted in your mouth.
And speaking of love,oh, there was Alfredo.
[audience laughs]
- This is gonna be some test.
- Where was I?
Oh yes, the canals.
[George clears throat]
George?
- Hi, Professor.
- I'm in the middle of a class.
- Katherine, can I stealfive minutes of your time?
I'm on the wheels of a dilemma.
May I?
- Sure.
- Hi, kids.
I'm Coach Georgeand I'm very blue.
I'm blue because Iposted a signup sheet
on a blackboard for dodge ball
and nobody's puttheir name on it yet.
Now, dodge ball isa lot like life.
You fall down, you get hit,
you cry,
you lose.
It's a great game.
[audience laughs]
So, think about it.
I'll be in my officeblowing up balls.
[audience laughs]
[whistle blows]
Carry on.
[audience laughs]
- This is a portrait of Ve...
- I'm sorry, darling.
I'm trying to find amascot for the team
and I'm stuck betweenan owl and a groundhog.
An owl because he's very wise
and a groundhogbecause he's two bucks.
- Go for the groundhog.
- What should I name him?
- Warren.
- Warren. That's great.
You don't happento have two bucks?
- George, please.
[audience laughs]
- She's fun?
- I have more funwith my parents.
- Webster, what areyou trying to do to us?
[soft somber music]
She's driving us bananas.
- Curtis, that's not nice.
- I know, but youcan't argue with it.
- This means a lot to her.
- Bolivian cave paintersmean a lot to her?
- We have a test tomorrow, Web.
None of us is prepared.
- It's not my faultyou didn't study.
- Look, Web, we took this classbecause it used to be fun.
- And easy.
- It's not fun anymore.
- I'm a kid.
I wanna enjoy my life.
[audience laughs]
- I don't carewhat anybody says.
She's a good teacher.
- She's a good travel agent,
but she didn'tteach us anything.
- Curtis, give her a chance.
- Look, Web, if Iflunk that test,
I'm gonna tell theprincipal I was framed.
- Me too.
- Well, if you do that,
Ma'am gonna looklike a bad teacher.
- So what?
- Well, my first test.
It's a work of art.
- Warren.
Warren would be a goodname for a groundhog.
Nah, that's theprincipal's name.
- [Webster] Hi,Ma'am. Hi, George.
- Hi, boys.
- [Curtis] Hello,Mrs. Papadopolis.
- [Benny] Hiya, Coach.
- Hi, g*ng.
- Are you all ready forthe big test tomorrow?
- They're all excitedabout you test, Ma'am.
Aren't you fellas?
- Yeah.- Yeah.
- Well, [paper rustles] Ihope we're all prepared.
- Is that the test?
- No, these are the answers.
- Do you suppose I couldtake a look at that?
- [chuckles] Very funny, Benny.
- That's me. Funny Benny.
[audience laughs]
[drawer scrapes]
- Goodbye, guys.
[doorknob rattles]
- Remember, Web, wedon't care how you do it.
Lock her in a bathroom.
Set fire to her hats.
Just do something.
- Don't worry.I'll do something.
[door thuds]
- Euripides.
It's got a nice ringto it, doesn't it?
[audience laughs]
- Ma'am, could Iask you something?
- Sure.
- Do we have to have a test?
- Of course.
- I see.
Why?
- Well, it's notjust a test for you.
It's a test for me too.
- What do you mean by that?
- Well, if thekids don't do well,
it might mean thatI'm not teaching well.
- In other words, ifwe don't look good,
you don't look good.
- Right.
- Oh.
[soft music]
[footsteps tapping]
[soft music]
A.
B.
[soft music]
- Web, here we go.
Little dodge ball.
Take your best shot, baby.
And here's what I'm gonna do,
I'm gonna come over here.
[Web giggles]
- You hit me.
- You told me to hit you.
- It's a brutal sport.
[audience laughs]
- I failed.
- What?- What?
- I just finished correctingthese test papers and...
- Oh, Katherine.
The kids did badly?
- Badly? Badly.
- That's impossible
to believe.
- [sighs] Look at these.
- 100%.
They all, theyall did a hundred?
They all did 100%?
- Now, do you seewhy I'm so miserable?
Oh, I just made it too easy.
- That's not why.
- It's not?
- No.
It's just you area good teacher.
- Yeah, that's what it is.
- Oh, well I appreciate whatyou're both trying to do,
but that's not it.
See, the thing is that a childcould answer these questions.
- Ma'am, remember whenyou said if we did good,
you did good?
- Yeah?
- Well, you did great.
I bet you are the best artteacher in the whole world.
- Ah, thank you.
- I'm proud of you.
[frog croaks]
Feeding time.
[audience laughs]
- He's a new father, you know?
- What?
- The frogs.
- Oh, Fred and Peggy had babies?
- 171.
[audience laughs]
- What do you think?
Do you think they allgot a perfect score
because I was good?
- Katherine, can I be candid?
- Please.
- Picasso couldn'tget these answers.
- Well, who asked you?
[audience laughing]
- Darling, whenI was in college,
my friend PeanutNutter was real scared
that I wasn't gonnapass the final.
So, he broke into the officeand he wrote the answers
on his sleeve and hegave me his shirt.
He wasn't a thief, darling.
He was just my friend.
- Did you pass the final?
- No.
He broke into the wrong office.
My final was in history.
[audience laughs]
Kenny Boo's answerswere all biology.
[audience laughs]
It was embarrassing, Katherine,answering the question.
Why did Eleanor Rooseveltgo to China with?
To bury her eggs in sand.
[audience laughs]
- Point?
- Well, the point is,
I think someone gavethose kids the answers.
- Are you suggesting thatsomeone broke in here
and stole those answers?
- I think it was an inside job.
- Webster?
- [George] Yes.
- But why?
- I don't know, Love Breath.
Why don't you ask him?
- Because Eagle Feather,
it's not fair tosingle one person out.
I think it's fairto ask them all.
- [Children] For he'sa jolly good fellow
which nobody can deny.
Yay!
- Web, you really did it.
- Thanks, Web. I needed that.
- You're a take charge guy.
I like that in a man.
[audience laughs]
- Your godmother musthave been shocked
when she saw those hundreds.
- Yes, she was real proud.
- We really pulled thewool over her eyes.
- No, we didn't.
- Hey, I didn't mean anything.
- You just be quiet.
She feels good.
And I didn't take thoseanswers to help you pass.
I took those answers
to make up her feellike a good teacher.
[bell rings]
- Hello, everybody.
- [Children] Goodafternoon, Mrs. P.
- Now, as you all know,
everybody passed the arttest with a perfect score.
- [Children] Yay! Woo!
- [Curtis] Yeah!
- Now, if you passthe test honestly,
I will be very proud.
If, however, you didn'tpass the test honestly.
I think I deserve to know that.
Benny?
Curtis?
Webster?
[soft melancholic music]
- [George] Web?
[door slams]
- Hi, George.
- You wanna talk about it?
- No.
I'm too, what do you call it?
- Ashamed.
- That's why I didn'tcome right home
'cause I was too ashamed.
- Where have youbeen all this time?
- Right in the elevator.
The music calms me down.
[audience laughs]
I didn't mean to hurt her.
I would never hurt her.
- Well, it was adumb thing to do.
- I think I'll goback in the elevator.
- Wait a minute.Wait a minute now.
You face the music inthere, not in the elevator.
- Is Ma'am in there?
[soft melancholic music]
Hi, Ma'am.
- Hi.
- You're upset.
- What makes youthink I'm upset?
- You always cookwhen you're upset.
Then, we make up andgo out for pizza.
[audience laughs]
Ma'am.
Remember when youasked the class
if we passed the testhonestly, and nobody said no?
- Yes.
- No.
- Webster, did you givethe class the answers?
- Yes.
I didn't want you to thinkthat you were a bad teacher.
And I didn't wanna hurt you.
All I wound up doing wasmaking you feel worser.
- Worse.
- Worse.
- That's right.
You did do something wrong.
But why you did it is verysweet and I love you for it.
- Then you stillgonna be our teacher?
- Oh no.
I don't think so.
And there's no point in teachingwhen no one is listening.
- I guess we both blew it.
- It was penchant forrambling on, right?
- No, no. That wasn't it.
I mean, yeah, you did ramblealong, but that wasn't it.
- Well, I was confusing, right?
- No, no, that wasn't it.
I mean, yeah, you did talk toomuch and you were confusing.
[audience laughs]
That wasn't it.
- I was just bad.
- That's it.
[audience laughs]
- Oh, if I had todo over again, I...
- Then, why don't you comeback and do it all over again?
- Oh, Webster, I don'treally know how to teach.
- Yes, you do.
You teach me stuff all the time
and I listen to youbecause you are fun.
- I'm fun?
- Yeah.
The only thing you did wrong
was you weren'tfun in the class.
- Oh, well what didyou do in the class
before I was your teacher?
- We drew pictures, modelclay and finger painted.
And once, we paintedelbow trainer.
[audience laughs]
- I bet that was messy.
- Yeah, elbow was very ticklish.
[audience laughs]
- Must have been fun.
- Have you ever finger painted?
- Only with gloves.
Mother wouldn't allow it.
[audience laughs]
- Want me to teach you?
- Yeah, that would be fun.
- [laughs] I knew you twowould get together like that.
I just kept saying to myself,
"Hey George, leave 'em alone.
They know what they're doing.
Let them get it together.
A good coach knows when togive his team some space here."
[audience laughs]
[bright upbeat music]
- Now, you all know thatyou cheated on the test
and that is prettyserious stuff.
If you were an adult, you'dget sent up the river.
But this was an arttest and not a tax form.
And you were not adults,you were children.
And I'm sorry, I guess Iwas a little over exuberant.
Does anyone here knowwhat over exuberant means?
- Boring?
[audience laughs]
Boring is close.
Now, what we'redoing in this class
is supposed to behaving fun, right?
- [Children] Right!
- So, let's have fun, okay?
- [Children] Yay.
- Now, does anyone knowwho Jackson Pollock was?
- [Children] No.
- Jackson Pollock was a painterwho lived from 1912 to 1956.
- Here we go again.
- Jackson Pollock was anabstract expressionist.
Do you know what that means?
- No.
- It means we throw paint!
[children screaming happily]
[audience laughs]
[bright upbeat music]
[audience applauding]
[bright upbeat music continues]
[heavy drum beats]
01x10 - Educating Katherine
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Set in Chicago, revolves around Webster Long, a 5-year-old African American orphan whose biological parents were recently k*lled in a car accident and is taken in by his godfather, retired football star George Papadopolis.
Set in Chicago, revolves around Webster Long, a 5-year-old African American orphan whose biological parents were recently k*lled in a car accident and is taken in by his godfather, retired football star George Papadopolis.