01/03/05

LC050103

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

Skipping school isn't the harmless prank it used to be. Now an
Orange County Judge is cracking down on truants.

Robert Hutson>> When they come to me, they have a choice of
just one of two things. They're going to be in school in the
community of their choice or they'll be in school in the
Juvenile Hall, but they will be in school.

Val>> And then, they called him "The Bronze Buckaroo". The
story of Herb Jeffries, America's first black singing cowboy.

It's all next on tonight's Life and Times.

[Film Clip]

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> It used to be an innocent part of growing up, skipping
school and heading to your favorite fishing hole, but the Huck
Finn notion of playing hooky is long gone. Today, truancy is
often the first step toward prison, so would putting truants on
trial help? David Okarski goes to Orange County to see how one
community is tackling truancy.

David Okarski>> Twenty-six hundred students bustle between
classes on the Paramount High School campus. Among them, at
least six hundred are struggling to catch up after months,
sometimes years, of skipping school.

Cynthia>> I started skipping school the second semester of my
sophomore year. I didn't have much friends at school and I
thought I wasn't part of the "in" crowd, so I felt that and I
didn't feel like trying at school. So I found a way to not come
to school and to make my parents think that I did.

Reneshia>> Second semester, not great. I was hanging around
people and that's what started getting me to ditch. I started
ditching and then, in my tenth grade year, I didn't come to
school that whole semester because I just liked being at home.

Greg>> I started ditching school February and the reason for
that is because, you know, my girlfriend was pregnant and, you
know, I wanted to be with her all the time.

David Okarski>> These former truants are back in class because
Paramount High School administrators declared war on truancy.

Gwen Baker>> When I first started here, we were at ninety-three
percent. Our annual attendance rate was at ninety-three
percent.

David Okarski>> And with help from probation officers and a
program funded under the state's Juvenile Justice Crime
Prevention Act, Assistant Principal Gwen Baker has become a
captain on the front lines.

Gwen Baker>> And last year, we ended at ninety-six percent and
I'm told that, for a school with our student population, that
that's impossible. But it's not impossible when you go out
there and you knock on doors.

David Okarski>> Baker and her colleagues at Paramount are among
a growing number of educators, public health researchers and
juvenile justice officials nationwide who are realizing the far-
reaching importance of identifying truants and getting them back
to school. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education and the
Justice Department are sponsoring a national conference on
truancy. One keynote speaker tells Life and Times that truants
are more likely than others to develop health problems related
to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and sex and are more prone to
suicide.

Teacher>> "And now I want you to think about twenty years in
the future at 2024. What do you think the world is going to be
like?"

David Okarski>> Although California has tracked attendance and
dropouts for years, it's only now begun collecting truancy data
because of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. But the State
Department of Education says, out of six million kindergarten
through twelfth grade students last year, almost ten percent
were truants under California law and that estimate is probably
low.

>> "Nickel bags of marijuana or dime bags."

>> "Yeah."

David Okarski>> Some jurisdictions approach truancy more
seriously than others. In Los Angeles County, police can detain
and cite children found off campus during school hours. The
county-wide daytime curfew has proved an important crime-
fighting tool.

>> "Now are we going to take somebody to jail for this?"

>> "No, but we cited them all."

>> "For what?"

>> "Truancy."

>> "Okay."

Susan Reizman>> Well, we definitely have found that there is
some link between truancy and juvenile crime.

David Okarski>> Orange County's truancy response project pays
for Deputy District Attorney Susan Reizman's twice weekly talks
to families of children who are skipping school.

Susan Reizman>> I think the message is two-fold. It is, on one
hand, to educate them as to what the law is on truancy, what the
program is here in Orange County, and that we are prosecuting
parents and students for truancy law violations.

Susan Reizman>> "Right now we often hear, especially from
parents of teenagers, that my child won't listen to me, they're
out of control. Until they turn eighteen, children are
ultimately your responsibility."

David Okarski>> Parents like Marco Martinez appreciate the
information, but often feel powerless to make their kids go to
class.

Marco Martinez>> In fact, another mother of a student was
saying that she takes them right to the front of the door. But,
unfortunately, you know, that school is big and there are so
many students, they take off for the opposite side of the
school.

David Okarski>> If the children and their parents don't get the
Deputy District Attorney's message, they could end up here at
the Betty Lou Lamoreaux Juvenile Justice Center in the courtroom
of Presiding Judge, Robert Hutson.

Robert Hutson>> When they come to me, they have a choice of
just one of two things. They're going to be in school in the
community of their choice or they'll be in school in the
Juvenile Hall, but they will be in school.

David Okarski>> Judge Hutson convenes a weekly truancy court.

Robert Hutson>> I have, more often than not, successful stories
where the children finally realize that, by getting to the
court, leaving the school setting where there's sort of a
familiarity and a safety and they're now facing a representative
of the government in the form of a judge and there's no nonsense
accountability there, the smart children conform, pick up their
britches and go to school.

David Okarski>> Back in Paramount, the hardcore truants end up
appearing before the School Attendance Review Board.

Reneshia>> S.A.R.B.?

David Okarski>> It's called S.A.R.B. for short. Gwen Baker
says every California school district should have one.

Reneshia>> When I got a notice, I was thirteen. The S.A.R.B.,
that's when they kind of like scared me a little bit.

Gwen Baker>> A lot of kids have come to my office and said
thank you because it's hard to break away from peer pressure,
but what they're finding is, if they tell their friends that the
judge is making me go to school, then it's much easier. Go
figure, but that's their world.

Cynthia>> It really helped me when I was at S.A.R.B. and I seen
the lawyer right there because I'm almost thinking they're
helping someone. I could be sitting there in the future helping
someone else that was going where I was going. I want to get
there. I want to go to law school.

Greg>> At first, my grades were A's, A's, A's. Now they're not
so good right now. Now I got to make up all the work.

David Okarski>> So you were getting A's before you left school?

Greg>> Oh, yeah. 4.0.

David Okarski>> In what subjects?

Greg>> All of them. Math, my electives, language arts,
economics.

David Okarski>> One recent study by the Public Policy Institute
of California suggests school attendance may be a more important
factor in improving reading and math skills than class size or
teacher qualifications. The lesson is simple. The less you go
to school, the less you learn.

Reneshia>> Right now, yes, it's hard. Sometimes I do feel like
giving up, but I just sit there and think like since I came this
far, I'm not going to stop until I finish.

Greg>> A big event for me was Ms. Baker. She made me realize
that I really have to come to school and get an education before
I get off track or before something happens. I thank her for
that.

Cynthia>> First I kept on seeing my parents' reactions. I
started skipping school and I would get home and listen to them
yell at me and say that I was doing the wrong things. I knew
they were right and that's why it really bugged me. I don't
want to see them like that anymore.

Greg>> If I stay in school and get my education and get good
grades, I think I have a good shot at getting a football
scholarship. A good shot.

David Okarski>> You mean go to college?

Greg>> Yeah, go to a four-year university.

Reneshia>> After I graduate, I want to go to a four-year
university because I want to major in real estate and I want to
be a real estate agent.

David Okarski>> Gwen Baker says these and other bright talented
students can achieve their dreams if adults care enough to make
sure children go to school. David Okarski for Life and Times.

Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and
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and Times".

Val>> Here's a Hollywood trivia question for you. Who was the
first and only black singing cowboy in the movies? Hint: he was
also called "The Bronze Buckaroo". Well, his name was Herb
Jeffries and he starred in a film called "Harlem on the
Prairie". It was the first full-length musical western with an
African-American star. Now a short documentary has been made
about Herb Jeffries. It was one of the pieces featured in the
Veritas film project. Here is "Egyptian #24" directed by
Darroch Greer.

[Film Clip]

Herbert Jeffries>> So I came out to California in 1936. I
walked into Mr. Gill's office and he said, "What can I do for
you?" and I said, "I'm trying to find somebody who might be
interested in making some black cowboy pictures because there
are thousands of these little theaters throughout the south and
only white cowboy pictures." He said, "Wow, what a great idea.
Let me call my distributor." He picked up the phone and said,
"I got a guy here who's been traveling through the south with
Earl Hines's band and he's interested in somebody making some
black cowboy pictures to play in all those segregated theaters."
He said, "I'll take all you got. How many you got?"

[Film Clip]

Herbert Jeffries>> He got everybody, a beautiful girl to play
the lead and couldn't find a leading man. Either they couldn't
ride, they couldn't sing or they couldn't act. They did screen
tests on about twenty of them. So in desperation, I just went
to him and said, "Why don't you let me play the part? I can
ride, I can sing, I can act." He said, "Oh, you don't look the
part. It won't work." I said, "Paint me up. Put on some
makeup and make me look darker." So they gave me Max Factor's
Egyptian #24.

[Film Clip]

Herbert Jeffries>> I went to hear Ellington in my hometown in
Detroit. So I went in there, you know, dressed in a big ten-
gallon hat and my cowboy suit, walked up in front of the
bandstand and Ellington saw me and he said, "Ladies and
gentlemen, The Bronze Buckaroo, Herb Jeffries." He asked me to
get up and sing a song. I did with the band. Then he said,
"Come to my dressing room during the intermission. I want to
talk to you about something." So I went into his dressing room
and got a chance to chat with him and he asked me if I would do
some theater engagements and some hotel engagements with him, so
I agreed. I wound up by staying with him for three and a half
years.

[Film Clip]

Herbert Jeffries>> I did "Jump For Joy". Again, in "Jump For
Joy", I was not supposed to be in it. I didn't match the color
scheme, according to the producers. John Garfield, who was a
very good movie star at that time, had invested some money in
the show. We'd been running about six weeks successfully and
Garfield came backstage. He said to me, "Mr. Jeffries, I hope
you don't become offended by this, but you just don't match the
rest of the cast." He said, "I think we ought to put some
makeup on you." So they went back and got some more of that Max
Factor's Egyptian #24 (laughter).

So I went out there to do my number and we were dancing around
and I looked down in the pit and I saw Ellington with the most
horrifying look on his face I ever saw. When I was down in the
dressing room, Ellington flew in and said, "What in the world
are you calling yourself doing? Al Jolson?" The next thing I
knew, Mr. Garfield and the makeup man were in the room and
Garfield said, "Well, I guess that doesn't work at all. I'm
sorry. Let's just go back to where we were." (laughter)

[Film Clip]

Herbert Jeffries>> All I know is that if four drops of black
blood is so potent that it can turn all the rest of you into
what it is, that's got to be some kind of super blood and
probably the only thing that I would have regretted, if I were
one who was being called a mulatto or octoroon or the various
different names that they call people, I would wish to have more
of that blood.

Val>> In 2003, Jeffries was inducted into the National Cowboys
of Color Hall of Fame and, a year later, he was inducted into
the Hall of Great Western Performers.

To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us
by mail at this address:

Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or
contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val>> His name is synonymous with genius. He cracked the code
of physics and revolutionized the way we look at the world. He
is, of course, Albert Einstein. But even Einstein had some good
years and some not so good years. 1905 was a very good year.
That's the year the twenty-four year old patent clerk explained
the nature of life and created the special theory of relativity.
Now a comprehensive presentation of Einstein's life and theories
has been gathered together at the Skirball Center. Patt
Morrison visited the Skirball to learn more.

Patt Morrison>> What is it about Einstein that makes his name
and his work resonate even with people who don't understand it,
like me?

Diana Buchwald>> It's a very interesting question that Einstein
asked himself many, many times. He started asking himself that
question as early as the 1920's. Most famously, he told Charlie
Chaplin that "people smile at you because they have no idea what
you're doing. People smile at me because they think they know
exactly what I'm doing."

Einstein is probably the best-recognized representative of
modern time. The combination of his revolutionary papers on
rethinking space and time and the fact that these papers and
this theory were confirmed after the end of a horrid war
propelled Einstein into worldwide fame around 1920. He tried to
publicize science as much as possible. Einstein tried very hard
to explain very difficult science, complicated concepts such as
you will see in this exhibition, to the general public.

Patt Morrison>> Everyone is familiar with the concept of dog
years versus human years, that one human year supposedly equals
seven dog years. Einstein's concepts about space and time
really made possible the notion of the elasticity of time and
time travel. For example, Einstein was born 125 years ago. If
he had left the earth when he was born traveling at almost the
speed of light and were to come back today, he wouldn't be 125
years old. He'd be seventeen years old. That's the difference
in the change in time accorded by space.

His time here at CalTech at -- in the early 1930's, he wintered
here for three years. What did he do in California? He enjoyed
some of the California attractions, he went to a movie premier,
he went to a date orchard, he went to Santa Barbara.

Diana Buchwald>> He came to California not merely to relax in
the sun, but to be around what were at the time the foremost
astronomers and astrophysicists in the United States and
possibly in the world. The California Institute of Technology
at the time had the largest telescope in the world.

Patt Morrison>> This was Mount Wilson?

Diana Buchwald>> Mount Wilson, the sixty inch and the hundred
inch Hooker Telescope. And with this telescope in the late
1920's, Edwin Hubble and other scientists had discovered that we
live in a dynamic universe, not a static universe, a universe
that is expanding fast. This was a conception that was totally
foreign to scientists almost a decade or so earlier, so Einstein
came to see for himself this marvel of technology.

Patt Morrison>> What most people don't realize, I suppose, is
that there are two theories of relativity and each of them does
something very different.

Diana Buchwald>> Absolutely. Einstein's theory of special
relativity which we're celebrating now with this exhibition,
published in 1905, and the second one was Einstein's generalized
theory of relativity which he completed in 1915, a decade later.
The special theory of relativity applies to systems in motion
such as trains and cars and so on.

Patt Morrison>> This is the famous equation.

Diana Buchwald>> And an addendum to this famous first paper in
special relativity is the famous equation E equals MC square,
the equivalent of energy and mass. The special theory of
relativity was the foundation for the generalized theory, which
is a theory about space and time, the relativity of space and
time, the non-existence of absolute space and time.

Patt Morrison>> This exhibit demonstrates how space time, the
fabric of space and time, can be warped by mass. Think of the
surface of a trampoline. If you roll a tennis ball across the
surface of a trampoline, it just rolls right across. But if you
put a bowling ball on that trampoline and then roll the tennis
ball across, the bowling ball's mass alters the behavior of the
tennis ball. It's not going to roll in a straight line. So if
you move closer to this, this demonstrates how your mass alters
this particular fabric. Move farther away and you see that it
diminishes.

There was one breakthrough he contributed to that he ended up
regretting, which was nuclear war. In fact, he spent a good
portion of the latter years of his life as a pacifist proposing
nuclear disarmament. He had written very passionately about
that and spoke as well.

Diane Buchwald>> Einstein was a pacifist, to our knowledge, as
early as the outbreak of World War I. That is half a century
before the first nuclear bomb was exploded over Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. He held this position adamantly until Hitler's rise
to power and, in particular, until the invasion of Poland in
1939 when he changed his mind. In 1939, he contributed his
famous letter that he wrote to President Roosevelt which you can
see here in the exhibition urging the United States government
to embark on research in nuclear matters in particular because
he and his colleagues were well aware that in Germany an atomic
bomb might soon be built.

Patt Morrison>> Einstein was born in Germany and died in the
United States, but he considered himself a citizen of the world.
He also considered his strongest bond to be with the Jewish
people. He didn't really practice rituals, but he felt himself
very strongly a Jew. He was a supporter of the Jewish homeland
and, in his later years, he was offered the presidency of Israel
which he declined. But he also urged that Jews and Arabs manage
to find some peace between themselves too. He strove for peace.
He also strove for a unified field theory, the holy grail of
physics, one theory to tie everything together.

Diana Buchwald>> Right. In his theory of special relativity,
Einstein combined dynamics and electromagnetism. But his theory
of generalized relativity needed to be reconciled or combined
into one whole unified theory with other theories of forces
between atoms and nuclear particles, for example. Einstein
devoted himself to this project, as we mentioned, for twenty-
some years, thirty years, did not find the satisfactory solution
and, to this day, we have not yet managed to combine all the
known forces and interactions and properties of matter, energy,
space and time into one. So he left us a lot to do and he knew
that.

Val>> And where, might you ask, is Albert Einstein buried?
Nowhere. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at an
undisclosed location. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala.
For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see
you next time.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> Next time on Life and Times --

A special look at Southern California healthcare. How can we
insure thousands of needy children and why are free clinics
heading for a financial cliff?

>> There is fundamentally something wrong about that and I
think that, unless the public gets up one day and wakes up one
day to say this is not right, I don't think fundamentally it's
going to change.

Val>> A healthcare special next time on Life and Times.