From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam. This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached

out to help another in a time of need.

My unsung hero was my...

Max saw me came over and asked how I was doing and if I needed help.

So whoever you are, thank you so much. how I was doing and if I needed help.

So whoever you are, thank you so much.

Today's story comes from Malcolm Campbell.

His unsung hero is his high school civics teacher, Don Lawson. In 1980 when Malcolm was a senior,

Mr Lawson taught a unit on the 1960s and the backlash to the Vietnam War.

And so we were studying the protest and how people have the right to protest if they think their government's wrong.

And for two days we listened to Bob Dylan songs, which has a lot of protest in it.

And so it was really helping us understand that the words in the Constitution can come to life in

lots of ways.

After the second day I raised my hand and said,

is this going to be on the test?

And Mr. Lawson looked at me and said,

no man, this is for you.

And when he said that, I mean, it was,

it was like in the movies, a light went off in my head,

and I realized, oh my gosh, he's planned this material not for the content but for personal enrichment for my own

edification and and I realize at that moment that education should be that.

It really should be about me learning for myself and not trying to please teachers.

...