There appears to be at least one glint of hope amidst Chicago’s continual public school woes. His name is Mr. Dwayne Reed, and he’s so happy to meet you.
Reed, a fresh-faced first-year teacher at Stenson Elementary School, opted to leave the black-and-white syllabi in the Xerox machine and instead create a charming music video welcome to his students. Aptly titled “Welcome to the 4th Grade,” the 25-year-old Chicago native sings and raps about himself (“I dress to impress, but I still rock sneakers”) as well as the creative teaching methods he hopes to implement during the school year (“Like making songs to remember what you hear”). Shot in the school with the help of a producer and director, he sent the video to students’ parents and posted it to social media and YouTube. As of Sunday afternoon the video had garnered just shy of 900,000 views and over 15,000 likes.
“The song and video emphasize the reality that hard work is a must, but that school and learning can certainly be fun!” reads the YouTube clip’s description posted by director Ty Gotham.
Reed emphasizes the necessity of intellectual labor in the classroom: “But absolutely no day dreaming, working hard till the bell starts ringing” he says before dipping again into his catchy, breezy chorus. He also stresses the importance of “keeping it positive” and for students to maintain respect for themselves, one another, the school staff, and of course their teacher, who spent all that time and energy crafting an earnest, inspiring video message to them.
(Via US News)
