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.
Amar.
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.
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.
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.