Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

I know at least a few readers who will sigh, wishing I would have dug deeper into brownielocks list of holidays and chosen something a little lighter such as Spring Fairy Day or something more fun like National Common Courtesy Day. I know.

But, regardless of where any of us sits on the continuum of this politically and socially charged issue, I was driven by the belief we could all agree to celebrate an inspiring woman who Shines.

Jane Elliott was a teacher who in the 1960s developed and facilitated an activity in her third grade class titled, Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes. She did it in response to Martin Luther King's assassination and as a way of making discrimination palpable - a concept so complex that third graders and adults still can't seem to come to consensus.

If you've never seen or heard of Jane Elliott's work, consider watching the video clip below. If you have seen it then you will probably still want to treat yourself to another look. I show this video every time I facilitate Leadershape and I still cry every time I see it:

Here are at least three reasons why I think Jane Elliott, this elementary teacher from Iowa, shines.

She believed her nine year old students were capable of caring and understanding. In a day and age when it feels like academic standards in our schools are lower than ever before and indifference among students is rampant, it is energizing to know that high expectations work. 

She took a stand and wasn't afraid. Gutsy and innovative teachers are hard to find, because there so many excuses behind which one can hide - time constraints, legalities, parents, or politics. Jane Elliott recants all sorts of stories about how she and her family were threatened apropos of her work. Yet she remained committed to opening students' minds to a topic we still find easier to avoid. 

Jane Elliott believed that teaching was not simply transmitting information, but that it was also about igniting in young people an opinion - a passion for something. She used her teaching job as a platform for doing art and forty years later her art is still influencing society. 

Today I celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by saluting a white woman whose work, ironically enough, took much of the same conviction, faith, and moxie as that of Rosa Parks. Two women who make me proud.

Shining off until tomorrow...