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  • I love this next story so much.

  • After learning his students couldn't afford haircuts,

  • a kindergarten teacher in DC was inspired

  • to treat his school to a day of pampering.

  • His videos from that day have received millions of views.

  • Take a look.

  • Oh, girl.

  • Let me see.

  • Oh, dirty.

  • Yes, [INAUDIBLE].

  • Oh, that's a good cut.

  • Let me see that.

  • Yes, sir.

  • I'd love to see it.

  • Let me see them nails, girl.

  • You had to bring the lip gloss.

  • All right, good night.

  • Oh, my.

  • Still got it.

  • You still got it?

  • You like it?

  • Yeah, sir.

  • He's still got it.

  • Yeah, sir.

  • From Washington, DC, please welcome Azel Prather.

  • This is crazy.

  • You're an amazing guy.

  • You're a good, good man.

  • I appreciate it.

  • OK, so I understand your students

  • and your family are excited that you're here.

  • We love Ellen.

  • My parents are here.

  • They love Ellen.

  • My grandma is probably-- hi, Grandma.

  • She's probably watching me.

  • They watch Ellen too.

  • They know who's on there.

  • So--

  • Hi, Grandma

  • --that's Ellen.

  • Yes.

  • We're here.

  • That's so cool.

  • All right, so tell everybody about your school.

  • So it's a Title I school.

  • I'm about 350 students.

  • I'm working early childhood education.

  • So I'm pre-K3 to kindergarten, so about three to five years

  • old.

  • And it's pretty much like a safe haven for us.

  • They get to come in.

  • And they know when we're in school,

  • it's a great place for them.

  • It's a safe place for them, and we're

  • going to learn to have fun.

  • Yeah.

  • It's a safe haven because, well, yes.

  • That's what you hope that all schools are.

  • Not all schools are that.

  • Yeah.

  • It's a different kind of neighborhood.

  • My kids go to things that we probably couldn't imagine.

  • It's crime ridden, poverty.

  • Sometimes we're at recess.

  • We might hear gunshots and got to go inside.

  • So for them to be able to come inside and come to my class

  • and come in that school, and they

  • know that we're OK in here, and we're going to be good,

  • and we're going to have some fun, that's

  • what I want to provide to them.

  • OK, so you're providing all that.

  • And then you decided to add on top of that the pampering day.

  • Yes, yes, yes.

  • How did that come up?

  • I just I just know my kids stories.

  • I know a lot of my parents might work multiple jobs.

  • They don't have the time to take their kids

  • to get their hair done, or their nails, or their haircuts.

  • Sometimes they may not have the resources the money.

  • So I just wanted to find a way where I can bring that to them.

  • And I know what it does for them.

  • I know how I feel when I get a haircut.

  • I see you got your hair done.

  • I know how you feel.

  • So I wanted them to have that same joy

  • and feel that same joy.

  • So I wanted to bring that to them,

  • and I was glad that we were able to.

  • How did you put that together?

  • You must have reached out to people.

  • Yes.

  • I reached out to a lot of people in the community,

  • reached out to my friends, to my resources,

  • and just had them come in and provide.

  • And they all say yes.

  • And they were able to help me out and bring smiles

  • to my kids' faces.

  • Yeah, I mean, the kids reactions, that's precious.

  • [APPLAUSE] Yes.

  • So you call your kids, your family.

  • Yes, they're my students.

  • But they're literally my nieces, my nephews, my sons,

  • my daughters, my little cousins.

  • Whatever that realm is, I'm that to them.

  • And I love being that to them.

  • It's much more than just a teacher/student thing.

  • I care about them outside of school.

  • I'm going to their games on the weekends.

  • I'm picking them up.

  • I'm at the cheerleading competitions.

  • They get come kicking with me.

  • We go to Dave & Buster's, Chuck E. Cheese.

  • They're my friends.

  • So it means literally every single realm

  • that I can be for my kids I want to be there.

  • How lucky are they to have a teacher like you.

  • That's amazing.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • All right, more Azel after this.

  • We'll be back.

  • We're back with the DC teacher Azel Prather.

  • And your students sound amazing.

  • So, of course, I wanted to meet some of them.

  • So come on out, kids.

  • What?

  • [MUSIC, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, "HAPPY"]

  • (SINGING) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.

  • Because I'm happy.

  • Clap along if you feel that happiness is the truth.

  • Because I'm happy.

  • Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.

  • Because I'm happy.

  • That's crazy.

  • Hello there.

  • Look at your hair, how good it looks.

  • What do you say?

  • Thank you.

  • You are welcome.

  • OK, tell me your name.

  • Lyric.

  • Lyric.

  • Amar.

  • Amar.

  • Journey.

  • Journey.

  • Journey.

  • All right, Lyric, Amar, Journey.

  • OK.

  • Do you want to tell me why you like this man so much?

  • Yes.

  • No, go down the whole list.

  • Tell them all.

  • Tell them all the reasons.

  • Tell them the whole list.

  • He teaches how to dance.

  • I do.

  • I do.

  • We do dance.

  • How to dance?

  • I can't wait to see that.

  • What else we do, Amar and Journey We do anything else?

  • He make sure we're happy every day.

  • Oh, that's good.

  • Make sure you're happy every day.

  • That's the most important thing.

  • Hey, listen, is this your first time to be on a plane?

  • Yes.

  • Oh, how was that?

  • Fun.

  • Yeah.

  • What did you like about it?

  • What did y'all on a plane?

  • I saw airplanes.

  • OK, we was on one.

  • What you see?

  • I seen one out the window.

  • You shouldn't be seeing one that close.

  • I see the city.

  • The city?

  • I saw the clouds.

  • The clouds, yeah, up there.

  • And now you're staying in a hotel.

  • What's the hotel like?

  • Fun.

  • Yeah?

  • It was very fun.

  • What's fun about it?

  • What y'all keep asking about?

  • Go to where?

  • The pool!

  • Oh, yeah, the pool.

  • All right, you got pampered.

  • What was your most fun part about getting pampered?

  • My nails.

  • Yeah?

  • The nails?

  • My hair.

  • My hair.

  • Yeah, it's all-- my hair, my nails.

  • You are a good man.

  • As I said, you do so many things.

  • You walk the students home, you take care of them on weekends,

  • you go to the sporting events, you constantly pay out

  • of your pocket, which so many teachers do

  • to help your students and their families

  • buy clothes, shoes, groceries.

  • You help Santa deliver gifts to all 342 students

  • at your school.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • Thank you.

  • And instead of fixing your car, which is currently in the shop,

  • you spent $7,000 to open a foundation

  • to help your students.

  • Yeah.

  • I didn't realize how much a nonprofit really cost.

  • But I knew by doing it I'll able to reach more people,

  • and more people will be able to help me out and donate.

  • You do what you gotta do in order--

  • Sure.

  • We gonna win.

  • Instead of fixing your car.

  • Sure.

  • All right, well, I am partnering with Hyundai

  • to celebrate people who make life

  • better for their communities.

  • Don't do that.

  • And they want to make your life even better

  • with a new Hyundai Sonata.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • Come on.

  • That is crazy.

  • Oh, that's crazy.

  • Get in, get in.

  • Where are you going?

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • Oh, this is nice.

  • This is nice.

  • Yep.

  • I like this.

  • I like this too.

  • Oh, my gosh.

  • Sonata is sleek and stylish.

  • And it can park itself with a touch of a button.

  • And we also want to help your students go--

  • I want you to see--

  • Look in the trunk.

  • There's so much space back here.

  • That's crazy.

  • Come on.

  • No.

  • We want to give your foundation $20,000.

  • Oh, my God.

  • Oh, my gosh.

  • Ellen, is this for real?

  • This is for real.

  • Are you for real?

  • Thank you so much.

  • This is crazy.

  • All right.

  • We'll be right back.

I love this next story so much.

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