For the past three weeks in my second grade classes two teachers have been teaching the Stevie Wonder hit, “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” One teacher has continued to press the song and continues to base his instruction on the words of the song. He insists that it is a Christmas song even though I pointed out to him that it says in the first stanza that it says ‘it is just another ordinary day.’ The routine has been to play the song while the kids listen for key words and fill them in. Then in following classes, I will read the song line by line as the students repeat the words.
The teacher, who insists that it is a Christmas song, is having the students memorize the entire song. After I read it, he and I sing it to the class as the students mumble along and the tape plays in the background. The last three weeks in class, I have found it increasingly difficult to read this song with a straight face. Already, when he and I read dialogues in class, his intonation is very suggestive. I haven’t found the right way to tell him that most every thing he says sounds likes he is asking me out on a day, even with phrases like, ‘this room is a cold as a fridge.’ It has taken most of my will power not to truly belt out, ‘No Halloween’ along with Stevie, but so far I haven’t lost my sanity.
11 years ago
1 comment:
What is that game where everyone sits in a circle and one person whispers into another's ear and the message is passed around the circle and at the end it doesn't resemble the original message?
This is SO funny! If ever a song was NOT about Christmas, this is it. Hillarious. An excellent study in the importance of taking interpretation with a grain of salt....In fact, the more I think about the lyrics, the funnier this gets!
Post a Comment