funding for this program [with captioning] was provided by: additional funding is provided by: and: narrator: each video episode has three parts. watch the program, read your book, discuss the program and... rebecca: ♪ that would be enough, enough for me ♪ ♪ everybody needs a dream catcher ♪

♪ catch me! let's hope these cards and letters will persuade mr. wang to let vincent come back. i've talked to him several times on the telephone. he's very polite. he's just not ready to change his mind. he knows vincent loved the program. maybe the cards will convince him that the program's good for vincent. well, let's keep our fingers crossed. ah... hello, mrs. washington. and hello, ms. casey. hello, mr. wang. the children from the after-school program made these cards for vincent. we all want to say how sorry we are about what happened. i see. we also held a prejudice- awareness workshop.

a policewoman came in to help the children understand what happened and why it was wrong. we're sorry about what happened. we miss vincent very much. and we hope you'll let him come back. thank you. vincent will be very happy to see these. i want to apologize again. i feel partly responsible for what happened to vincent. i also want to say how much we want vincent to come back to the program. thank you. i know that vincent misses his friends, too. but we don't want him to get hurt. some parents don't teach their children how to behave. it's a problem in this country. emma: may i speak frankly? yes. i'm an african-american woman. all my life i've had to deal with prejudice. when i was a little girl, kids made fun of me. they called me names. it hurt a lot... especially as a child. but i got through it, and so will vincent. i understand that there is hate in this world but vincent is just a child. parents must protect their children.

now, i know you love your son and i know that you have to do what you think is right for him. but we think it'd be good for him and the other children if you allow him to come back. it'd teach them that it's possible to overcome prejudice but only when we work together. thank you for your concern. i know that you both care... but th is a very difficult decision for our family. mrs. washington and, uh, ms. casey brought these for you. look... this one's from alex. "vincent, you have to come back. "we are a team. "i miss you. alex."

"hope you can come back soon. steven." dad, can't i go back? we'll see. so you think you can handle it? we'll do it nice and slow. i'll count you off: one... two... one, two, three, four... ( student begins to play )

do you think vincent's coming back? i'm sure mr. and mrs. wang gave it some thought but i'm not very optimistic. good afternoon. hi, alex. hi. is vincent coming back? oh, we don't know yet. why don't you go in and sit down. i'll be right there. egypt, come on, honey, come on. how are you today? good. good. good to see you. ♪ oh, look who's here, puncinella, puncinella? ♪ ♪ look who's here, puncinella in the shoe? ♪ ♪ oh, what can you do, puncinella, puncinella? ♪ ♪ what can you do, puncinella in the shoe? ♪ ( all mumbling the song ) ♪ oh, who do you choose, puncinella, puncinella? ♪

♪ who do you oo, puncinella in the shoe? ♪ ( from distance ): ♪ oh, look who's here, puncinella, puncinella. ♪ ♪ look who's here, puncinella... ♪ ( rebecca teaching children a song ) good afternoon, mrs. washington. vincent! mrs. wang! come in. have a seat, please. i'm so happy that vincent is back. i'm sorry about my english. um... my husband and i have... zuo chu jue ding. made a decision. ...made a decision. vincent not coming back to program. we want to return guitar. i'm disappointed to hear that. i'm sorry vincent won't be in the program. vincent... we were happy to have you here.

we'll miss you very much. it was nice here. i liked it a lot. ( mrs. wang speaking mandarin ) i'm sorry, mrs. washington, but my mother says we have to go now. thank you. rebecca and children: ♪ ...laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra ♪ ♪ gay your life must be. rebecca: one more time. all: ♪ kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, ♪ ♪ merry, merry king of the bush is he, ♪ ♪ laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, ♪ ♪ gay your life must be. you definitely got it. alex... i have some bad news-- vincent's not coming back to the program. his parents think it's the best thing for him. we're going to tell the other students tomorrow. i knew it. alex, is your father picking you up today?

yeah. hi, alex. how was your day? hello, rebecca. hi, ramón. do you have a minute? sure. mrs. wang stopped by today and told us that vincent is not coming back to the program. that's too bad. but i have an idea: i think i'll ask the wangs if i can give guitar lessons to vincent and alex at vincent's house. what do you think, alex? yeah! i'd like that. that way, they can keep up the friendship while they learn to play the guitar. i'll throw in the lessons for free. great idea. but i must pay for alex's lessons. no. they're free, i insist. i feel so bad about what happened, this is my way of doing something about it. you can do whatever you want with the wangs but, please, let me pay for alex. but i don't want you or the wangs to pay. i insist. listen, vincent is alex's best friend. it's the least a father can do.

right, pal? so, when do we start? i don't know. i have to ask the wangs first. today, right? take it easy, champ. mrs. wang ( over intercom ): hello? hello, mrs. wang. this is ms. casey from the after-school program. yes, ms. casey. i'm coming down. o.k. hi, mrs. wang. ms. casey, very nice to see you. please, sit down. thank you.

rebecca and emma washington brought the cards to mr. wang at his store. ah... hello, mrs. washington. and hello, ms. casey. hello, mr. wang. the children from the after-school program made these cards for vincent. we all want to say how sorry we are about what happened. i see. we miss vincent very much. and we hope you'll let him come back. thank you. vincent will be very happy to see these. mrs. wang and vincent come to the after-school program to say that vincent is not coming back to school. um... my husband and i have... zuo chu jue ding. made a decision. ...made a decision. vincent not coming back to program. we want to return guitar.

i'm disappointed to hear that. i'm sorry vincent won't be in the program. vincent... we were happy to have you here. we'll miss you very much. rebecca tells ramón her idea for keeping vincent and alex together. she is going to give vincent free guitar lessons. mrs. wang stopped by today and told us that vincent is not coming back to the program. that's too bad. but i have an idea: i think i'll ask the wangs if i can give guitar lessons to vincent and alex at vincent's house. well, mr. wang is obviously very upset and rightly so but i think he is beginning at this point to put his wishes above those of his son. i think he should give vincent another chance to go back to school. if... he can't keep vincent away from that other kids forever. i approve mr. wang's behavior. well, i don't think it's a very good decision but that's what they decide to do because they are hurt.

and at this point, the only one who's paying for it is the little boy. you have to know when to step in and when to let it go. rebecca: mrs. wang... here's what i'd like to do: give guitar lessons to vincent-- free of charge. guitar lessons? can i, mom? uh, this is very kind of you. but why? i feel responsible for what happened to vincent at the picnic. you did not make vincent cry. eh, you, uh... vincent... ban le yi jiao. vincent ( whispering ): trip. you did not trip him. you did not call him names. bad boys did that. i know, but i didn't protect vincent, either. the guitar lessons are my way of apologizing to your family.

uh, this is very kind. but first, i must speak to vincent father. he'll say it's o.k. vincent... ( speaking mandarin ) i'd like to give the lessons to vincent's friend, alex, too. yes! alex? vincent likes this boy. he will take the lessons, too? i will call vincent father. rebecca: i'd like to have the lessons here if it's o.k. with you and mr. wang. yes, here is fine. i'll bring alex here and take him home after each lesson. how much will the lessons cost? oh, nothing, free of charge. vincent... ( speaking mandarin ) my mother says we must pay. oh, no, really, i don't want you to pay.

uh, vincent... ( speaking mandarin ) o.k.? she said, "wait a minute." she'll be right back. ( phone ringing ) hello. mrs. wang: hello, shi wo, mei-lin. hi, mei-lin. ( mrs. wang speaking mandarin ) o.k. ( mrs. wang continues ) mm-hmm. ( mrs. wang continues ) is that o.k.? o.k., o.k., for vincent, fine. mrs. wang: yes, bye. o.k. bye-bye. please, for you. oh, it's beautiful, but i... i can't accept this. vincent... ( speaking mandarin ) my mom said she wants you to have it.

thank you very much, mrs. wang. vincent's father is very happy about the guitar lessons. vincent: yes! vincent... ( speaking mandarin ) ( continues in mandarin ) vincent: my mother says you're a very good person, and she's happy that you came to our house today. thank you. i'm happy to do something for vincent and alex. it's important to keep friends together. my mom says we can do it! alex: cool, when? starting next tuesday, after the program. alex: great! hey, tell everybody the cards were great. some of them were so cool. alex: i will. i can't wait till tuesday! yeah, me neither. i kind of like it here at grandma's house. how about if we get a new house, just for us?

we can't stay here forever, you know? mom says she's going to get a house with a pool. is it hard living in two places-- every other weekend with your mom, the rest of the time with me? sometimes it's hard. sometimes i like it. i know what you mean. dad? do you like ms. casey? everybody likes ms. casey. why do you ask? are you and ms. casey going to date? alex, where did you get an idea like that? i don't know. jimmy peters, at school-- his dad is divorced and he goes out on dates. i don't have time for dates. anyway, ms. casey is going out with uncle alberto. you know that.

do you have any homework? uh-uh. that's what you always say. i'll put the rest of the dishes away. you start your homework. no guitar until your homework is finished. you hear me? dad, do you think i could be a rock star? i thought you wanted to be a baseball player. i think i'd rather be a rock star. well, my son can be anything he wants to be but first, he has to do his homework. now go. mrs. mendoza: alex, you're getting popcorn all over the carpet! please, pick that up right now. i'm supposed to do my homework. first, pick up the popcorn, then do your homework. i bet rock stars don't have to pick up popcorn. rock stars? where is your father? in the kitchen. alex is getting popcorn all over the carpet.

you should teach him to clean up after himself. he was just in here helping me clean up the kitchen. alex, turn that television off this minute! that boy watches too much television. i know, i know. ramón, look at you, digging through laundry. you need a wife to take care of you and alex. i had one wife. that was enough for a lifetime. christine was never the rght woman for you. look, i was young. i made a mistake. are you going to see her tonight? yeah. we're going to try to settle this l.a. business. you're not going to let her take alex to los angeles, are you? not if i can help it. look, mama, i'm sorry. i've got to go.

go, i'll finish this for you. thanks. go on. ramón... i wish you luck. come in. thank you for picking up the popcorn. what are you studying? science-- all about cells, how things grow. i can see you are growing. look at your pajamas! they're too small for you. stop, stop. ¿abuelita? uh-huh. do you think mommy and daddy will ever get back together again? i don't think so, alex. your mother remarried. she's living with her new husband now. well, is daddy going to get married again?

i don't know. maybe... if he finds the right woman. i know somebody he likes. who's that? ms. casey. i'm sure he likes her as a friend, that's all. ( chuckles ) let's go over your homework. tell me what you know about cells. o.k., you see this? this is an animal cell. animal cell. and this is a plant cell. plant cell. they both have cell walls... hey, dad. hey, buddy, let's go. get your things. just a minute. hi. hi, hi... are you o.k.? not really. i had a talk with alex's mother last night. you know, she's moving to l.a. i remember. how'd it go? not very well. she still wants him to go with her.

of course, i want him to stay here. it looks like we'll have to go back to court over it. i don't know what i'm going to tell alex. it's terrifying. the judge may ask him to choose. how horrible. but wait a minute. you spend more time with him than his mother does. true, but who knows what the judge will decide. i'm not looking forward to telling alex about all this. just tell him the truth and that you love him. i got my things. go get in the car, please. i'll be right there. bye, ms. casey. bye, alex. don't forget to practice tonight, o.k.? o.k. sorry to bother you with all this. that's what friends are for. bye. bye.

rebecca offers to give the guitar lessons to vincent for free. so that vincent and his friend, alex, can be together. here's what i'd like to do: give guitar lessons to vincent-- free of charge. guitar lessons? can i, mom? what rebecca did is a wonderful thing. mrs. wang then gives her a very nice-looking chinese vase. please, for you. oh, it's beautiful, but i... i can't accept this. ( speaking mandarin ) my mom said she wants you to have it. by offering this, she will feel much happier. alex told his grandmother that ramón likes rebecca. is daddy going to get married again? i don't know. maybe... if he finds the right woman. i know somebody he likes. who's that? ms. casey. i'm sure he likes her

as a friend, that's all. ( chuckles ) alex asks his father whether he's going to date rebecca. are you and ms. casey going to date? alex, where did you get an idea like that? i don't know. ramón now lives with his mother in her house because he's divorced, his wife is gone. ramón, look at you, digging through laundry. you need a wife to take care of you and alex. i had one wife. that was enough for a lifetime. christine was never the right woman for you. ramón is not too happy. he found out that his ex-wife, chris, wanted to move to l.a. and chris wanted to take alex, their son, to l.a. with her. i had a talk with alex's mother last night. you know, she's moving to l.a. i remember. how'd it go? not very well.

she still wants him to go with her. of course, i want him to stay here. it looks like we'll have to y; back to court over it. i don't know what i'm going to tell alex. just my opinion but if you're going to give up custody of your child so easily what kind of parent are you? i really think the father has... should have the custody of the son. we don't have enough facts to say whether the child should stay with his father or with his mother because at this point we can only see that the child is living with his father. we don't know anything about his mother-- how affectionate she is. it would be very difficult for alex to accept another man. the only solution is to go to court. isn't that even worse? divorce is a very, very difficult and very complex thing especially for the kids. n center wgbh educational foundation]

funding for this program [with captioning] was provided by: additional funding is provided by: and: