Tim Hartman Storyteller/ Assembly performer

The Key
My father was a talented person. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do or, at least, figure out how to do. He drew, wrote, invented, fixed, painted, sang, tore down and then built all over again, and found time, through it all, to be helpful to anyone who asked. However, his journey wasn’t exactly what he had hoped it would be. He would have liked to have flown planes, or been an artist, or even gone into the ministry. Frankly, he was talented enough to have done all of those things. However, his father insisted that my Dad go into the family business. My Grandfather’s business was upkeep on, and repair of office equipment. You know, those huge old mechanical adding machines where you would input some numbers, press the button, and after a few ‘ka-chunk, ka-chunks!’ the answer would appear. At one time my Grandfather held contracts for most of the biggest corporations in Pittsburgh. Though, that’s not to say that it was huge money-maker. My Grandfather and my Uncle George had to work long, arduous hours to make a living, and my Dad inherited the business and the long hours.
I saw how hard my Dad had to work, and how frustrated he often was that it was a job he was forced accept, even though he never totally gave up all of his other talents.
In retrospect, I sometimes find myself weeping on my father’s behalf. He could have pushed his sons into that same cycle…but he didn’t. He made it absolutely clear to us that we could be whatever we chose to be if we were willing to break that cycle and work hard to achieve it. For that I am forever grateful to my Father. The final irony is, my oldest brother became a pastor, and then later a writer. The next brother down became a pilot for the Airforce, and in retirement has had the same spirit as my Father for dropping anything he is doing to help others. I became an artist and then an actor. This happened because my Father gave us permission to find and live our passions, something that was denied him.
Because of this, one of my most successful assembly programs is called ‘Goaltending’. I work very hard to teach the children that it is absolutely possible to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves in this life. And even if those goals don’t look like what they imagined them to be, the hard work they will have put in will serve them well in whatever situation they find themselves. That is truth. It is not just MY truth, it is a universal truth.
I received this note recently from a seventh grade African American student from a local school. He wrote, “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for giving us permission to follow our dreams. My Father told me that I could never make it to the NBA, which is my dream. So thank you for saying I could follow my dreams.”

Ran across this video today. It's from a decade ago when I performed at Dormont Elementary School. Kind of fun. A little blurry though.

Tim Hartman Assembly Dormont School, Elementary, High School, Arts, Art Watch Tim Hartman Assembly Dormont School, Elementary, High School, Arts, Art Videos on TeacherTube.

Another group of happy kids after some great storytelling!

In the last several weeks I've performed at Baker Elementary in Upper St. Clair, North and South Kiski Primary schools and Foster Elementary in Mt. Lebanon. Anne Atwood at Foster Elementary School said, 'Thank you again for coming to Foster Elementary today. The kids loved the stories and I have never seen that many children listen so intently as they did during the story of Goryo Hamaguchi. Wonderful lessons to teach to our kids. Thank you!'
A great, affordable assembly is just an email away at [email protected] or call me at 412.734.5111. OR visit my updated website at timhartman.com

Tim Hartman Storyteller/ Assembly performer Over a million kids can't be wrong! More than 2 million children, over a 30 year period, have been entertained and educated by the assembly programs of Tim Hartman. Call: 412.734.5111 or e-mail: [email protected]