At the beginning of the lesson I asked the kids if they liked American music, and if so what kind. My fifth and sixth graders responded with "TODO! Lada Gaga, Beyonce..." I must admit that I felt a little embarrassed that I apparently like the same music as a bunch of 11-year-old Spanish kids. But, we'll just say that music is trans-generational ;)
Speaking of trans-generational, that brings me to the point of my story. The lesson started off with music from the 60's. To accompany the "lesson" I played YouTube videos of The Beatles (not my cup of tea, but I guess they were important to music history lol) and the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." The kids didn't know who The Beatles were, but they recognized Michael Jackson right away. I was a little surprised because he was so young in the video - around 11 or 12 years old. Not to mention that this was before his mysterious transformation from a cute black kid into a middle aged white woman. But I digress, the point is, the kids recognized MJ right away and like the J5 music.
Next we went on to the 70's and DISCO. I played "Disco Inferno" and I could see the great lengths the kids were going to in order to control the urge to dance. As you may know, I think dancing is always a good idea. So I said, "don't be shy, let's dance! It's disco!" The entire class broke out into disco inspired moves and giggles, leaving me wondering, where on earth did a class of 11-year-olds learn to dance American disco??
Then we moved into the 80's - a decade that I am often nostalgic for. Big, frizzy hair (goodbye straightener, hello natural curls - um frizz!), offensively bright make-up, fantasticly mismatched clothing, great dance music and SPANDEX. Clearly one of those perfect moments in history for me. I've always wished that I could have lived much more than my two years in the 80's, but atlas, it just wasn't meant to be. But again, I digress...We got to the 80's and of course the featured artists were MJ and Madonna. When their pictures flashed on the large screen the kids started screaming "El Michael Jackson!!!!!!" After they calmed down, I asked if they knew who MJ and Madge were and why they are important. They enthusiastically answered, "LOS REYES DEL POP!!!!!" (the King and Queen of Pop). Clearly we listened to "Like a Prayer" (my favorite Madonna song) and "Beat It." The kids were totally enamored with MJ's beats and infectious dance moves.
Next came the 90's and my childhood favorites - the Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Spice Girls, etc. I played BSB's "As Long as You Love Me" and Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time." These are songs that I loved when I was my kids' age. They recognized the young Britney Spears, but had no idea of who BSB were. This forced me to realize a highly distrubing fact: these songs came out before they were even born. As if finding my first gray hair at age 21 on my college graduation day wasn't horrific enough, now my childhood music is resigned to "oldies" status to make room for....
Hannah Montana. Or Miley Cyrus. Or whatever the eff she refers to herself as (really, is it necessary to have TWO identities?) The kids are OBSESSED with her and although their English struggles during class, it somehow becomes nearly flawless when singing along to "Best of Both Worlds." By now I've learned that inserting Hannah Montana into a lesson at any capacity will ensure the kids' undivided attention and the ultimate success of the lesson as "muy chuli."
So there you have it. MJ and Madonna really are the undisputed King and Queen of Pop. Their music has the ability to cross generational, cultural, racial and linguistic barriers. I loved seeing that my kids were just as crazy about their music today as if it were still 1984. ¡Que vivan los reyes del pop!
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