Dilated Pupils and the Not-So-Soft Bigotry of a Nation

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Dilated Pupils and the Not-So-Soft Bigotry of a Nation takes audiences on a whirlwind tour through the high school doors, past the metal detectors, straight into the lives of three high school students. The show powerfully illustrates the devastating effect of low expectations on student achievement, and the need for change now.

“We were struggling to get our principals all on board with change efforts. Using Dilated Pupils at our principal retreat took all the hemming and hawing out of the room so we could move ahead with the actual work.”— District leader

“I was that guy. I was one of those teachers. I am going to go back to my classroom tomorrow, and I am going to do some things differently.” —Teacher, New Orleans public schools

Challenge adult expectations with Dilated Pupils.

     “We pass through this world but once. Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.”—Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man

Audience Response

     “Kids need to see this show. Teachers need to see this show. Parents need to see this show. I recognize each and every character up on that stage—I know them because I see them every day in my classroom and in the teachers’ lounge. Their stories need to be told, and they need to be heard—because they are real.”—high school teacher, Lancaster, Pa. 

     “This performance is transformative. You can pull a bunch of people together and ask them to change, but they need a metaphor for that change. This is that metaphor.”—high school counselor, Massachusetts 

     “This was really emotional for me. I’m a first-year teacher and I recognized one of those students on stage as one of my own. I thought, ‘My God, that’s [student’s name]—and I’m doing that to him.’ I needed to see that.”—teacher, Baltimore 

     “I was that guy—I was one of those teachers. I am going to go back to my classroom tomorrow and I am going to do some things differently.”—teacher, New Orleans 

     “After seeing that show, I went across the street to the bar to watch the football game. Understand, I'm a big football fan. But all I could think about were those kids.”—higher education administrator, Florida

     “In her one-woman performance, Brooke captures the alienation and frustration of millions of our most disadvantaged youngsters as they struggle to survive, let alone succeed, in the artificial and stifling culture of the traditional urban high school. Mixing street language with poetry, her characters speak as much to the heart and soul as they do to the mind.”—Ron Wolk, founder, Education Week 

     “After seeing the performance, one student took over his own special education meeting. His teachers and parents sat back in amazement as he demanded to see an actual copy of his Individual Education Plan and told the group what he needed to be able to learn.”—teacher, Lancaster, Pa.

     “It was really amazing. Everything she said was true. I wish that I could speak out and speak my mind like that but, every time I try, I get shut down. Thank you for speaking for me.”—high school student, Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Bring Dilated Pupils to Your Community 

     Looking for a way to spark—or simply reenergize—conversations about closing the gap? Bring Dilated Pupils to your school, district or state to focus dialogue, energy and action on issues of raising academic expectations—and achievement—for all students.

Getting Started with Dilated Pupils: Theater Leadership Guide

     Contact Brooke at bhaycock@edtrust.org or 202/293-1217 x330.

 

Show history: 

Conferences



  • Civil Rights Conference, University of Tennessee, Mo.

  • Southeastern Region After-School SERVE Conference

  • Kentucky Association of School Councils Conference

  • National Center on Transforming School Counseling

  • National Center for Urban School Transformation

  • Minority Student Achievement Network

  • Texas Consortium of Teacher Education Programs

  • Hawai'i GEAR UP and high schools

  • The Education Trust National Conference

  • Youth and Race Conference

  • South Carolina Title I Directors

  • Urban Forum

  • North Carolina High School Network

  • Achievement Gap Conference

  • Title I Parents Conference

  • Michigan State Assessment Conference

  • National Association of Federal Education Administrators Conference

  • The Education Trust National Conference

  • Texas Lyceum Education Conference

  • Minority Student Achievement Network

  • The Education Trust National Conference

  • KnowledgeWorks Foundation Conference

  • Ohio School Improvement Institute

  • Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units

  • ACT Nebraska State Education Conference

  • National Title I Directors Conference

  • ACT National Conference

  • American School Counselor Association National Conference

  • U.S. Department of Education, State Directors Conference

  • Mission Arizona Annual Education Forum

  • College Board Forum

  • Patterson Research Conference

  • The Education Trust National Conference

  • The Education Trust–West Conference

  • Paideia National Conference

  • Title I/Chapter I Parents Regional Conference

  • National School Counseling Leadership Institute

  • Louisiana Higher Education NCATE Conference

  • The Education Trust National Conference

  • National Association of System Heads Conference

  • National Safe Schools, Successful Students Conference

  • Public Education Network

K-12 Schools/Districts



  • Fairfax County Public Schools, Va.

  • Virginia Beach District Guidance Summer Leadership Institute

  • Noblesville, Ind.

  • Annapolis High School, Md.

  • South Lake, Mich.

  • Governor Mifflin Schools, Pa.

  • Chicago Area 15, 2007

  • Prince George’s County, Md.

  • Indianapolis, Ind.

  • Raleigh, N.C.

  • Omaha, Neb.

  • Arundel High School, MD

  • Falls Church High School, VA

  • Eugene, Ore.

  • Easton, Wash.

  • Imperial High School, Calif.

  • Wichita, Kan.

  • Ann Arundel County, Md.

  • Chicago Area 14, IL

  • Prince George’s County, Md.

  • Oakland County, Mich.

  • Surrattsville High School, Md.

  • Aiken, S.C.

  • East Baton Rouge, La.

  • Dinwiddie, Va.

  • Chicago, Ill.

  • Clayton County Schools, Ga.

  • Ann Arundel County Public Schools, Md.

  • Cleveland Heights, Ohio

  • Muskegon, Mi.

  • Palatine, Ill.

  • Chattanooga, Tn.

  • York, Pa.

  • Charlotte, N.C., school principals

  • Granger High School, Wa

  • Einstein High School, Md.

  • Ohio Pioneer Center/High Schools That Work

  • Euclid High School Students and Staff, Cleveland

  • Tuscaloosa, Ala. schools, in-service

  • Culpepper, Va. schools, in-service

  • University Park High School, Worcester, Ma.

  • East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, La.

  • York, Pa., elementary schools

  • Fairhill School, Philadelphia, Pa.

  • San Diego Unified School District, All Counselor In-Service

  • Albemarle, Va. district in-service

  • Woodland, Calif., elementary teachers

  • Kansas City, KS., high school students, middle and high school faculty

  • Chattanooga, Tenn. high school students and teachers

  • K-12 counselors throughout the state of Louisiana

  • Falls Church High School, STAR Academy

  • Montgomery County, Md., district administrators

  • New Orleans high schools

  • Nicholasville, Ky., district staff in-service

  • Lancaster Pa., Transition Academy, students and teachers

Colleges and Universities



  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, School of Education

  • George Washington University, Graduate School of Education

  • Ann Arundel Community College, School of Education

  • Bristol Community College

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, School of Education

  • Boston University, School of Education

  • George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development

  • Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health

  • University of South Alabama, School of Education

  • George Fox University, School of Education

  • Boston University, School of Education

  • Central Connecticut State University

  • Alabama State University, School of Education

  • Institute For Educational Leadership/George Washington University

  • St. Cloud University, School of Education, Minn.

  • Southeast Community College, Lincoln, Neb.

  • Southeast Community College, Beatrice, Neb.

  • George Washington University, Graduate School of Psychology, Community Interventions

  • Muhlenberg College

  • Shippensburg University, PA

  • Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, School of Education, La

  • Southern University at New Orleans, School of Education

  • Good Schools Pennsylvania Campus Chapter Meetings

  • American University, Graduate School of Education

  • University of New Orleans, systemwide deans of education

Meetings/Organizational Staff development



  • D.C. State Education Agency, district and community forum, Washington, D.C.

  • Chattanooga School and Community Forum, Tenn.

  • Education Trust–West A–G Oakland Community Forum, Calif.

  • Association of Teacher Educators

  • Chattanooga/Benwood Initiative, Tenn.

  • Massachusetts College and Career Summit, Worcester, Mass.

  • Bright Futures, Omaha, Neb.

  • City Year, Philadelphia, Pa

  • Reg. III Title I Parents

  • Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity, Md.

  • Citizen Schools, Boston, Mass.

  • Education Pioneers, Boston, Mass.

  • Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center

  • National Urban Alliance, NY

  • College Summit, MA

  • State Farm Charitable Foundation, Ill.

  • Casey Foundation Respect Conference, MD

  • Time Warner Foundation, New York

  • GROW Network, New York

  • Black and Latino Male Taskforce, York, Pa.

  • Page 1 Pennsylvania school leadership

  • Teach For America, Executive Directors Meeting, N.Y.

  • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, VA

  • U.S. Department of Education, DC

  • ACORN, Pittsburgh, Pa.

  • Louisiana Board of Regents, LA

  • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

  • ACT Education Advisory Board Meeting

  • Good Schools Pennsylvania Campus Organizers Meeting

  • Good Schools Pennsylvania Community Meeting

  • Public Education Foundation, Chattanooga, Tenn.

  • Louisiana Association of Educators

  • St. Landry Parish La. All Staff In-Service

  • U.S. Department of Education

  • National Education Association

  • Parent Town Hall Meeting, South Los Angeles

  • Louisiana Board of Regents Meetings

  • New Teacher Project Regional Directors

  • University of Louisiana System

  • Boston Plan for Excellence, MA

  • Public Education Network State Directors

  • Public Education Network Board of Directors