Thursday, March 25, 2004.

Educator and humorist Bill Cosby shares a laugh with NYSUT President Tom Hobart and Shanker Award honoree H. Carl McCall at Thursday evening's opening session of the union's 32nd annual Representative Assembly.

"The Cos" came out rooting for the cause.

Dr. Bill Cosby merged his trademark, sometimes irreverent humor with pro-education messages to inspire more than 2,000 people to walk the walk on opening night at the Representative Assembly.

An educator and humorist, Cosby focused on the plight of inner-city schools, urging teachers to march quietly to make the needs of poor children known. Budget cuts too often target education, he said.

"I want to hear your footsteps," he said, urging teachers to protect their profession and the children who are most in need. "I want you to protect them," he said again as the crowd erupted in applause. "What happens in the city is not far from the suburbs."

Cosby said the message is clear: Classrooms that are meant to hold 18 students are filled with 34, students have books with pages missing, and schools are run-down.

"You all are the saviors and the souls and you are the people that have the worst set-up," he said.

The familiar and well-loved entertainer bemoaned everything from overweight children coming to school having just breakfasted on jelly doughnuts and soda, to teen violence caused by far too much television. Too many parents today often try to buy their children's love, he said.

Cosby chuckled at himself for speaking to a roomful of people "who would've kept me after school." A self-admitted slacker in school, he said, "I didn't want to do a thing and I took the blows." He recalled a teacher who kept telling him he was bright, and the young Cosby would respond by saying, "I know that. Leave me alone!"

What goes around, comes around, however. Years later, when Cosby was a student teacher, he was assigned to teach math to a group of students under the tutelage of a former teacher he had challenged on numerous occasions. When Cosby turned to the blackboard to point to math diagrams he had worked on until 4 a.m., a student from the back hollered, "Why do we have to know this stuff?" Cosby said his former teacher fell off his chair laughing.

He fondly recalled the dedication of a teacher who was thrown out of her family for wanting to teach poor black kids in the neighborhood where Cosby grew up. He also spoke of a teacher who took him to movie and dinner — his first time in a restaurant.

Introducing the beloved humorist, NYSUT President Tom Hobart also paid tribute to Cosby's son, Ennis, who wanted to teach children with special needs. After Ennis was murdered, Cosby and his wife Camille started the Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation to help people with learning disabilities.

When Cosby walked out on stage with his friend and fellow speaker H. Carl McCall, he was greeted by a stage full of union leaders wearing "Hello Friend" sweatshirts.

His friendship with children continues with his series of children's books, Little Bill, and his newest children's book, Friends of a Feather.

As the first African-American to star in a weekly TV drama series, Cosby won two Emmy's for his role in "I Spy." His animated series "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," which drew stories from his life, his family and his friends, ran for 12 years. From 1984 to 92 he starred in the sitcom "The Cosby Show."

A veteran of the Navy, he attended Temple University, where he first practiced his comedy routines at nightclubs. By 1963 he appeared on "The Tonight Show."

Cosby has a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts. He and his wife Camille have four daughters.

Delegates respond enthusiastically to Cosby's humor and insight.