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Hidden Gems

Valerie Harper’s Secret Weapon

Valerie Harper, who died Friday, knew more people than other children did when she was growing up. That’s because her family moved often. They lived in Massachusetts, California, Oregon and New Jersey. Harper said in her memoir, “I, Rhoda,” that she made friends easily.
It makes you wonder how many of those children with whom Harper crossed paths looked at her on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and remembered her as the kid in their school. And it makes you wonder further if any of those children could ever have predicted that this classmate would achieve such fame.
They might have seen the future had they known Harper’s secret.
The secret was Harper’s mother.
She was a teacher.
She taught all eight grades at once in a one-room schoolhouse in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Why is that important?
Anecdotal evidence suggests that children of teachers and coaches might achieve more than others.
That nugget comes from John Cook, longtime volleyball coach at the University of Nebraska. He has noticed a special quality in such offspring, and he attributes it to the fact that teachers and coaches love what they do. They’re not in it for the money, and they understand that success requires hard work.
Again, the information is anecdotal only. (It would make a marvelous 20-year study for those of you looking for an interesting doctoral thesis.)
What did Harper’s mother do?
Among other things, she encouraged the children to be open to new experiences. So at a young age Valerie would go to New York and soak in the culture. When it came time for the family to move back to Oregon from New Jersey, Valerie’s mom insisted she stay behind to continue her dancing lessons.
It paid off. Not only did Valerie get better, but she was closer to auditions. Before long, she was in show business and things took off from there.


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