The Superheroes of Kaiser Elementary School

Yesterday, I helped Ms. McGee's Kindergarten class at Kaiser Elementary School in Oakland perform their very own original play. The play was about superheroes. I was with them for an hour a day for 1 week. That's it. And that's all we needed to create a magical experience.

On the first day, I walked into a highly energetic class and asked them, "What do heroes do?" I was sad to hear responses like "Kill the bad guys." And "Punch the bad guys in the face." There are a lot of little boys in this class and they couldn't seem to get past the Spiderman/Batman/Power Ranger paradigm of the hero. We spent most of the week focusing on the idea that real heroes help people. They don't hurt people. Not even "bad guys." We worked to create our own original superheroes. And again, we worked hard to get past the images they are fed to us through the movies and on television.

Finally, we put a story together. We performed it as an ensemble (including Ms. McGee herself) for the class's 5th grade reading buddies and it took all that I had not to cry in the midst of all of the love and pride that I was a part of in that room.

Here is the story...

Once upon a time, there was a teacher named Ms. McGee. One day, she was getting ready for school. She brushed her teeth, ate her breakfast, got dressed and began her walk to school. On the way to school, she met up with a group of artists. These artists were painting, singing, and dancing. She said to them, "Good Morning, Artists." They said, "Good Morning Ms. McGee. Have a great day in school." And they all went on their way.

Next, she came upon a group of animals. The jaguars, panthers, and dogs (oh my)were running and playing. Ms. McGee said to them, "Good Morning, Animals." They said, "Good Morning Ms. McGee. Have a great day in school." And they all went on their way.

Next, she came upon a group of very Strong People. These strong people were working out, lifting weights, and working with very heavy tools. Ms. McGee said to them, "Good Morning, Strong People." They said, in very strong voices, "Good Morning Ms. McGee. Have a great day in school." And they all went on their way.

Finally, Ms. McGee was just about to get to school when a group of very Fast People ran right by her. They were so fast she could hardly see them but she said to them, "Good Morning, Fast People." And they said, very quickly, "Good Morning Ms. McGee. Have a great day in school." And they ran away.

Ms. McGee finally got to the school. She was just about to put her hand on the doorknob when she noticed a lot of construction going on. Suddenly, a huge crane came and picked the school up, up, and away! And the school disappeared. Ms. McGee said, "Oh no. This is a big problem. What am I going to do?"

Well, what Ms. McGee didn't know was that all of the people and animals she met on her walk to school were all superheroes and they were ready to come to her rescue. First the Super Fast heroes decided, "Let's go up to outer space and collect all the bricks and wood we need to build the school!" 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-BLAST OFF and away they went, super fast, to gather all the materials.

Then, the Super Strong heroes used their tools and super strength to re-build the school. They started from the floor and built all the way up, adding windows and doors. When they were done, they looked at their work and said, "We did it!"

"But wait!," said the heroes, "We have to paint the school. Let's ask the artists." So the artists came and painted the school red, black, pink, purple, and all the colors of the rainbow. "We need one more thing," said the Super Artists. "We need to bring to spirit back to the school." So, they sang the Kaiser School Song and brought the spirit back.

Now, the school was built, painted, and full of spirit. Except, it was missing some magic. Luckily, the Super Animals all had magic powers. So, they combined their magic together and brought the magic back to the school.

And that's how all of the Superheroes worked together to save the school.

The End.