What it’s like to be a child star at midlife.
Kami Cotler (Elizabeth, the youngest sibling on The Waltons), teacher and education consultant, Los Angeles"Usually parents of my students tell their children that I used to be an actor. So I say to the kids, 'OK, I’m going to give you time tomorrow to ask as many questions as you want.'
"They always ask, 'Why are you teaching, how much money did you make, and do you know any famous people?' I say, 'I teach because it’s interesting. You guys are always surprising me. But acting is frequently boring; you have to sit around and wait a lot. How much money I made is none of your business; it’s a rude question. And I met Carol Burnett.' But kids don’t know who she is. Then that’s it. I’m just a regular educator again. Trust me, if Britney Spears decided to be a high school teacher, she would be totally uncool within a day and a half. The kids would whine, 'Ms. Spears gives us too much homework.' "
At the time of this interview, Kami Cotler was the founding co-director of the Ocean Charter School, in Los Angeles. She now serves on its Board of Trustees, and she has just joined the administration of the Environmental Charter High School, in Lawndale, California, where she will help develop and then run their new middle school.
Originally published in the July/August 2009 issue of MORE. Read more more wild "What It's Like" stories.
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