Shut Up and Dance With Me

Image from here, edited by me!

I can imagine what you must be thinking....

"A song title?  One that says shut up?  What in the world?"

I'm right there with you, but there is an educational related story in there, I promise! :0)

My students were working quietly on a fun activity.  They had been quiet for so long, that I put on Kidz Bop Radio for them to listen to.

"Shut Up and Dance With Me," started playing.  I didn't say a word.  Any of them could tell you that shut up is not a nice thing to say.  "It's a bad word, Mrs. Lynch!"

I wanted to see what my kids would say / do.

They started singing along and I just waited patiently.  They get to the shut up part and one of my girls sings quite loudly, "BE QUIET AND DANCE WITH ME!!!!!"

I lost it!  I laughed so hard - she laughed too and continued singing it with "be quiet!"

Then I sat back and thought about it.

In her mind, "shut up" is  a bad word. 
She knew she shouldn't say it. 
She knew that we only say nice things in my class.  (We're bucket fillers, not bucket dippers.)
She knew she wouldn't be singing the correct lyrics, but she didn't care.  She took a risk.
She wanted to make it more friendly, so she did. 

You go girl!

Teaching involves more than just teaching curriculum.

We get into things like life skills, manners, and respecting others

Teaching is also about creating an environment where students feel safe enough to take risks.

This girl wanted to use her manners.  She wanted to show respect to me and her classmates.
She wanted to take the risk to say the right thing, even though no one else might say it with her.  She didn't care.  

I'm proud of her. :-)
Plus, it was an adorable moment! :-)

I guess I'll be singing "Be quiet and dance with me" from now on!

Until next time! :-)
~Stacey~