SEVENTH-GRADERS HEAR FROM `HOMETOWN HEROES'.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

Most of the guests began with a disclaimer: "I don't consider myself a hero." But as the seventh-graders at Kelly Middle School are learning, heroes are often humble. They can even be shy.

The students have been studying heroes all year - Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez and Abraham Lincoln, to name a few.

On Friday, 15 "Hometown Heroes" - all of them local individuals who have been recognized by the Eugene Human Rights Commission for their work in the community - visited the seventh-grade classrooms to talk about their experiences, their definitions of heroism and their personal heroes.

The purpose, teacher Casey Tiemann said, was to show the students that Eugene is home to its own set of genuine heroes - people whose names can't be found in any history books, but who nonetheless make significant, positive differences in the lives of others.

The guests divided into twos and threes and visited the seventh-grade classrooms; every student had two sessions.

In Tiemann's room, the youngsters heard from Jose Luis Alonso, a multicultural affairs coordinator and teacher at Sheldon High School, and Greg Rikhoff, human rights program manager for the city of Eugene.

"I come from a culture that's very humble, and I don't consider myself a hero," began Alonso, a charismatic speaker who quickly engaged the 22 students.

But Alonso, who spent his first five years in a Mexican orphanage, said he noticed wrongs from a young age and felt compelled to act.

He belonged to a gang as a teenager in Oakland, Calif., and said he sometimes joined in beating up other youths - not a heroic tactic, he said.

But he also would stand up for other kids he saw being mistreated.

"The bottom line is if you want to be heroes, you've got to help each other and protect each other," he said.

He shared his definition of a hero: "A hero is someone who provides hope for others."

Then he walked around the room, looked each student in the eye and asked if they would be a "kind of hero person" at school and stand up for what is right.

All of them answered yes, although a few said it softly with crossed arms and downcast eyes.

Earlier, the same students heard from Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy; Ed Coleman, a black leader and professor emeritus at the University of Oregon; and James Florendo, Native American program coordinator at Lane Community College.

Coleman and Florendo talked about their humble roots and familial heroes.

Coleman's parents never made it through high school, but nonetheless instilled a love of learning in him and his siblings, he said.

Heroes are rarely flashy, he told the students. Often others ask them, and they accept the challenge.

`You don't say, `I'm going to be a hero today,' ' said Coleman, who grew up in the projects in California's Bay Area. "Those are the people you want to avoid."

He challenged the students to make good choices, and offered some stern advice: "You must read! You ever hear that word? You can't get all your information from the boob tube or Game Boy or text messaging."

Florendo, the first in his family to attend college, told the students the world needs new heroes to step up.

"My time now is for you," said Florendo, a grandfather, "and your time is what's going to change our future."

Piercy said she was always a shy kid, and said students who may be reluctant to speak up should realize they still have the capacity for heroism.

"I kind of look at heroes as people who step forward when someone is needed to step forward," she said.

Students asked some probing questions: What goes through your head when you see racism? How do you think you've helped other people? What drives you?

Kenny Carmickle, one of the more prolific questioners, said he found the sessions "inspiring." "I think what they're doing is awesome," he said.

The seventh-grade teaching team hopes to capitalize on that sentiment.

"For these kids, the end result that we're going to be working on over the next few months is that they end up adopting an issue in Eugene that affects them, working on a solution and being empowered to try their hand at heroism, at making Eugene a better place," Tiemann said.

"This isn't a one-time shot where we just reflect on it."

HOMETOWN HEROES

The speakers at Kelly Middle School were:

Jim Garcia, interim Chicano/Latino program coordinator at Lane Community College

Carmen Urbina, Eugene School District parent, family and community coordinator

Jose Luis Alonso, multicultural affairs coordinator at Sheldon High School

Greg Rikhoff, city of Eugene human rights program manager

Ron Chase, executive director of Sponsors Inc.

Ed Coleman, professor emeritus, University of Oregon

Carl Gary, University of Oregon assistant vice provost in the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity

Misa Kawai Joo, multicultural educator

Charmaine Coleman, black community leader and educator

Bob Kono, Japanese-American author and historian

Andrea Ortiz, Eugene city councilor

Ibrahim Hamide, restaurateur and founder of Middle East Peace Group

Evelyn Anderton, director of Lane Shelter Care

James Florendo, Native American program coordinator at Lane Community College

Kitty Piercy, Eugene mayor