While most parents would normally be gaily singing, “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!” while slinging school supplies into their shopping carts, this year’s return to school is being ushered in on a much more solemn note.
(Thanks, corona, for ruining the fun stuff.)
All parents out there are exhausted, overwhelmed, and generally stressed the F out. The decision of whether or not to send your kids to school this fall is a daunting one, fraught with uncertainty.
And while being thrust unexpectedly into distanced learning was a fresh hell for most parents, plenty of us are just plain scared to send our kids back.
But thankfully, there are many amazing educators out there that are trying their damndest to prepare for a bizarre school year ahead, & to lighten the mood of these crappy times.
An Alabama principal’s parody video entitled “Can’t Touch This” has gone viral because it’s not only a great reminder for students to maintain careful safety measures while in school, but it’s also frigging HILARIOUS.
Dr. Quentin Lee is the principal of Childersburg High School in Childersburg, AL. Like most school administrators, he and his staff have been required to completely re-adapt the school environment in order to accommodate social distancing, sanitizing, etc.
And let’s face it- wearing masks, social distancing from classmates, and missing out on the cooler school stuff is a major BUMMER. The kids know it, the parents know it, the teachers know it, and the administrators know it, too.
But Dr. Lee packaged his explanation of the new standards in the coolest.way.ever.
He made a video -and not just a standard lecture video, mind you- demonstrating what the school’s new rules are…
…and he used MC Hammer’s song “Can’t Touch This” as his inspiration.
(Yup, 90’s fans- the minute the music starts, you’ll want to break out your parachute pants & start shuffling!)
Dr. Lee wrote his own original covid-related rap lyrics and then recruited the assistance of film director Jaylen Mitchell to create his MC Hammer-inspired masterpiece.
And by “masterpiece”, I mean it’s frigging PERFECT.
He opens with admitting that like most of us,
Coronavirus, hits me so hard,
All the teachers say “oh my lord”
Covid, is stressing me,
All the updates from the CDC.
(We’re with you on that one, Dr. Lee. For REAL.)
As he pops up unexpectedly to warn students “can’t touch this!” to fellow students, photocopy machines, etc, he also points out that sanitizing an entire school is no easy feat because:
Same, Quentin. SAME.
Dr. Lee makes his sanitation circuit around the school, reminding kids that water fountains are a no-no, and that:
And of course, being the new King of Cool as far as administrators are concerned, Dr. Lee busts some moves, including a sweet shuffle with a tape measure (6 feet! 6 feet apart!)
Dr. Lee’s video quickly went viral, with over 3.5 million views since it was posted on August 4.
Dr. Lee’s sense of fun in the video is contagious (and so’s the song’s beat!). He paints the somber reality of pandemic life as lightly as possible, injecting humor into a dark time.
While the pandemic is scary business when it comes to schools, his humor makes it less intimidating for parents & students to face.
But what’s also noteworthy is that while it’s fun, Dr. Lee is honest, too.
In lyrical form, he admits that as school professionals, they too are uncertain about this strange snippet of corona life, & are doing the best they can to adapt to our new reality.
School administrators are just as unsure of how all of this will go as we parents are; this is new territory for everyone. But Dr. Lee’s video is a genuinely fun example of staff twisting a positive spin on how students perceive their new school rules.
Seriously, I WISH my high school principal had been this cool (and that was way back in MC Hammer’s heyday)!