Teacher Creates Friends Theme Song Parody Welcoming Students to Virtual Learning
I've always believed teachers deserved to be cut a way bigger paycheck for the vital work they do. Even more so in the middle of a pandemic with virtual learning and all of the difficulties and headaches that come along with that in these unprecedented times. Teachers are having to work extra hard and come up with extra creative ways to keep their students engaged.
Paul Miller, a high school English teacher in Appleton, Wisconsin made a “Friends” theme song inspired music video to welcome his students to their new normal and to hopefully put a smile on their faces. It's apparent he did just that, and for millions of other people as well. The video has since gone viral with more than 4,400 Facebook reactions and 550 comments. Instead of “I’ll Be There For You,” Miller calls his version, “I’ll Be Here For You.” The lyrics are super catchy too!
Miller shared with Fox News, that it's not a new thing to cover songs for his students. Usually he performs in-person with his ukulele. He also said he created everything in a day! "I wrote the lyrics in a day, I recorded the singing in a day and we filmed it in a day. I had no idea that so many people would see it.”
“Obviously, I am not an expert musician. My intent is to show them that I am not afraid to take a risk and I want them to push themselves as well,” Miller shared. “This year, I have no live students because our district is fully virtual. So, I decided to put the ukulele down and make a music video to send home to my students.”