Dropping a Discussion Beat

Guest Dragon Dropper Julie Berger recounts a powerful (and musical!) moment from her 11th grade English III class last week: 

During a class discussion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance,” students were offering their interpretations of his message. One student spoke eloquently about the challenge of truly being ourselves, when the student next to him, so taken with his ideas, intoned the first line of a song from the cross-generational classic, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit: “If you wanna be somebody …”

Not missing a beat, I grabbed my pen as a mic and continued, “If you wanna go somewhere …” Other students, clearly getting a kick out of this soulful outburst from their teacher, picked up the rest of the song: “You better wake up and pay attention.”

This playful moment initiated a musical rest-of-discussion. As the initial speaker continued his thought, another student put down a back beat. Other students picked up on the beat, infusing our discussion with a new energy. The beat continued as the next speaker picked up the thought. It seemed to fuel engagement and excitement, and it fit in perfectly with the discussion on celebrating individuality. It also provided much-needed laughter in a class that has often been a behavioral struggle for me throughout the year.