Back to school again
Thank you for including me in your Monday, kittens & dawgs! This week’s theme is “School Days” and you’re invited to hit the dance floor with XmasDolly, Stacy, Colette , and ME!
This is a weekly hop for mewsic enthusiasts regardless if you follow our weekly theme or not if you have mewsic to share then we’re ready to dance with you. Otherwise, I ask that you do not link non-mewsic posts below to boost traffic to your site. You’re welcome to leave your URL in comments with a brief description inviting me to check it out. Thank you!
[tweetthis]Tell a friend & hit the dance floor with “SCHOOL DAY” #music with the #4M gals! @xmasdolly [/tweetthis]
Dwayne Reed is a real school teacher who encourages his students through mewsic putting the focus on dreams, attitude, and education. “The Morning Song” is an infectious, cheery ditty to motivate minds of all ages.
The kids at Citizen Academy School put a twist on Bruno Mars’ “Grenada” tune pledging their time to good studies to do excellent in their academic lives. Here’s Teon and his classmates singing “Education Song”.
Kids getting into scuffles is old as time. Really, it is. The first fall out happened between two brothers (Caine and Abel) that didn’t go down too well. Usually things don’t get that bad but bullying on the playground is an ugly truth. If respect is not taught at home for kids to see in their parents or other adults, then bullying will continue. Treat others as you want to be treated = Respect!
This is Curious as a Cathy signing off with a very comprehensive list of songs about school for your enjoyment.
Wasn’t that fun? Wikipedia is an excellent source for more related titles which I plan to give more attention and please feel free to add your favorite selections to my growing YouTube playlist!😘
I’ll see you next week, on the dance floor and I hope you’ll join me tomorrow for a bit of random fun which always includes mewsic with Cathy Chats!
33 Comments
Mike Spain
Nice songs!
Cathy Kennedy
Thanks Mike! I think you meant to put your comment on a different post, though. Not to worry. I’ve done this before. 😀
XmasDolly
Well, here I am… tardy again!!!! My life is one big run here & run there lately. aughhhh anyway you have certainly rocked the house my friend. Woo Hoo!! YOU GET A GOLD STAR!!! And we had one that was the same too!!! Ahhhhh great minds think alike. Put this at the wrong one first… got confused. Dunce cap for me! 🙁
Cathy Kennedy
Marie,
Don’t sweat it, my friend! We all have things to do. The blogosphere is a place to visit at YOUR convenience and on YOUR schedule. 😉 Oh…one of my blogger pals inspired me with a new fun theme we might want to consider using sometime. I’ll shoot it to you via email later today…if I don’t forget. 🙂 Hey, it’s okay. I’ve commented on the wrong post before. lol I wish WordPress offered visitors the ability to edit or delete the authors’ comments. I’m sorta thinking about looking for a plugin that will allow comment changes. Thanks for stopping by to dance with me, girlfriend. Have great day!
mimi
Grease brings back memories, and i like Mr. Reed!
Cathy Kennedy
Thanks for dancing with me, Mimi. I’m thrilled to stir some memories through mewsic. The first Grease is a fun flick. I need to watch the second one. Have a good day!
greyzoned/angelsbark
Hi Cathy,
I love your take on the Back to School theme! All three positive songs were quite impressive. I really enjoyed Dwayne Reed’s “Morning Song” — he should get a Teacher of the Year Award. I bet his students love him.
And the Citizen Academy kids put together a fabulous song with a strong message. Their lead singer was adorable! I got a kick out of how they used “ya” instead of “you”. Lol.
The last song in your trio is a beautiful endeavor to send an all-important message. I’m so glad that bullying is an issue that is put front and center these days. Some people think it’s something new but bullying has been going on forever. It’s just that it was always pushed aside with a “kids will be kids” attitude by so many. Bullying has far-reaching effects, most of them incredibly negative for the victim, and it’s about time schools and teachers and administrations and parents are taking it more seriously than they ever have in the past. In my school days way back when, teachers did very little to address bullying and essentially did nothing to stop it. I know that all too well. Kudos to the folks and the kids who put the RESPECT video together. Well done!
And great school playlist! I was going to use Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard but I had used the song in a recent post so I’m glad you included it. I love this song. Listening to it right now.
And it’s cool that you used the Motley Crue version of Smokin’ in the Boys Room (I used the Brownsville Station one). It was awesome that the Motley Crue cover brought back and re-popularized a great song.
Have a great week, my friend!
Michele at Angels Bark
Cathy Kennedy
Michele,
You can’t get enough positive messages to our kids these days with so much wrong with the world. I think teachers/parents in the late 60s through the 70s still were of the old mindset, kids will work through it. Sometimes that’s all it took, kids pushing through the grime of life to come out all the better for it and then there are those such as yourself who needed help with the matter. I remember there was this one family. The whole lot was very rough straight up and down the bloodline. One of the daughters was mean as mean could be and all the girls were afraid of her. I was happy that she didn’t go to my school but occasionally I would see her in my small community and I made a point to be on the other side of the road so to not be anywhere near her. As scared as I was of her, I can’t help thinking maybe she wasn’t as bad as I remember and then maybe she was but what if she had better direction from home or other family or teachers or neighbors would that be enough to make a difference? I sometimes wonder what became of that girl, too. I tell you one thing, I surely wouldn’t want to be a school-aged kid today. The world has gone mad, mad, mad! All the kids in these videos do a fabulous job. I hope they grow up to be happy, well-rounded individuals instead of the drudge of society. Anywho, so glad you came by to dance and that you enjoyed my mewsic!
Mary B
Great songs today! I liked the kids songs and the teacher’s song as well. It’s always fun to have a playlist, too!
~Mary
Cathy Kennedy
Mary,
It’s fun to find ordinary people put together interesting and fun mewsic vids such as these. They all did such a good job spreading positive vibes for learning and standing against bullies. Have a dancetastic week, my friend!
Kate Larkindale (@Vampyr14)
Great song picks! I’ll be tapping my toes all day now.
Comedy Plus
What a toe tapping way to start off my Monday. Excellent.
Have a fabulous day filled with wonderful music. ☺
Cathy Kennedy
Sandee,
I love Monday Music Moves Me! Mewsic puts me in a great mood to face a new week. I’m so glad you stopped by today.
Patrick Weseman
Great songs. I enjoyed the take on the Bruno Mars song. Thanks for the dance.
Cathy Kennedy
Anytime, Patrick! I’m glad you could join me on the dance floor. 🙂
Joyce Lansky
This is a great one. I love the Grease song and dance! I almost missed the others because I saw the links and went up to comments. I saw another comment about many songs and went back. I love Bruno Mars’s song, but I think he does it a little better than the kid. 😉 It’s good to get the kids involved in the songs and dances, but I’m partial to the professionals . . . that is unless it’s my “Never been spanked” kids singing. As I responded to you further on my blog, I raised wonderful kids without the use of corporal punishment.
Cathy Kennedy
Joyce,
It is good to get kids involved. I think it’s cool to see these youngsters wanting to commit to education because it’s so easy to get side-track with schooling for one reason or another. Yay for you with successfully raising kids without having to spank them. Every kid responds differently in the same situation. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another. I had our kids to tell us that they’d rather have a spanking than placed in time-out or to have other forms of punishment. Thanks for dancing with me today!
John Holton
These are all good! I like the playlist… a lot of songs I wouldn’t have thought of!
Cathy Kennedy
John,
We crossed paths on the dance floor, I see. lol Your selection of “School Day” song is very impressive, many of which I did not include in mine. It’s interesting how the brain works on this subject, isn’t it? I’m just glad my school days are behind me.
John Holton
You and me both. Thank heaven I got in and out of college before all the weirdness started in earnest. If I was looking at colleges now, I think I’d opt for an internship as a welder…
Cathy Kennedy
John,
Welding pays good money from what I understand. I think if I were college age or looking to go back to school now, I’d try to earn a degree online. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to get a learn how graphic design. Some of this you can learn yourself with all the free resources available. The internet is certainly a fabulous way expose oneself to new things. If only I could get motivated to go back to school…online. All I want to do is play, though. *sigh*
John Holton
They say the need for welders is much greater than the supply, and they’re making over $50K a year. All the skilled trades are hurting for apprentices, because the master tradespeople are reaching retirement age and there’s no one coming up to replace them.
Online degree programs are great, and so are the certificate programs (e.g. web design). A lot of universities are posting lectures in some subjects on YouTube, and there are also MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Courses) that are low-cost, free even. I took one through iVersity (which now appears to have vanished) in multimedia storytelling that was very good, and it was free. So the education opportunities are available…
Cathy Kennedy
John,
Our son at one time was interested in welding, so after reading your comment I found a few apprenticeship programs in town and sent the link to DS. I think it would be awesome if he got into something like this somewhere. I’d hate to see this profession die out completely. Free online education is a wonderful alternative and one I’d love to try but my brain isn’t ready to commit to it just yet. lol I hope I can get on board to do this while I have all my facilities in place…well, pretty much in place anyhow. 🙂
John Holton
I read a column once where the author talked about the “high school grads that we make fun of but couldn’t live without.” Education is a wonderful thing, don’t get me wrong, but we’re getting to a place where a college degree is less valuable than proficiency in some skill. And there’s no reason a person can’t (and every reason to) get a college education and work in a trade as well. Good luck to your son.
Patrick Weseman
People at my school get mad at me because I don ‘t think that every kid needs to go to college and that the trades are a good option. I tell the kids that plumbers, welders and others in the trades make more than I do. I have a lot of friends who are making bank being in the trades.
Cathy Kennedy
Patrick,
Not every person is cut out for college. Trade or technical schools are excellent ways to further ones’ education but I love the idea of apprenticeships. This is what kids really need – hands-on learning. All the technical stuff can’t prepare you for real-world applications and situations. For some, this is the way they learn best anyhow. And, you’re right specialized skilled labor can pay quite well. People are too stuck on the “idea” of college to see the big picture because…that’s what everyone does that they fail to think for themselves. Thanks for visiting!
John Holton
Spot on. And the bad thing is, I’m sure there are kids sitting in college classrooms, on the brink of being thrown out for academic reasons, who would rather be welding, or wiring a building, or installing HVAC systems in office buildings, or fixing cars. There is nothing wrong with the trades, except that there aren’t enough young people coming up behind the guys who are retiring. Yes, you get dirty and work long hours, but there are plenty of people who look at the pay and say, “hey, it’s worth getting dirty and working long hours.”
Cathy Kennedy
John,
I wish more people like you and Patrick told kids it’s okay to do something else other than college. There are trades to be learned and need to be carried forward or else these skill sets will be lost forever!
Kisma
Hi Cathy, some excellent choices today. I love the Bruno tune. Hope you have a great week!
Cathy Kennedy
Kisma,
The Bruno Mars school theme parody is inspiring and clever. I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for joining me on the dance floor!
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
I’m pulling double duty this morning because I missed your Peaches & Herb post when you first pubbed it. Herb Fame reinvented his soulful duo over and over again. Tracing the act through the years and introducing his various female singing partners is a wonderful topic that keenly interests me. Please forgive me for being so late to respond to it.
You cover topics thoroughly and completely and I always appreciate that. Today’s post is another example. You found several obscure, on-topic songs and videos. The first person I noticed in this Back To School/School Days themed post was veteran actress Eve Arden in that clip from one of her later career films Grease 2. As a child in the 50s I loved watching Eve in the starring role of Our Miss Brooks, a TV series in which she played a high school English teacher.
I never heard of Dwayne Reed and I enjoyed his “Morning Song” which offers a positive message for kids of all ages. The message is that yesterday is in the past. Take what you learned from it, take the good from it and carry it with you. Let go of that which does not serve you today. Don’t dwell on negative feelings and regret. I also appreciated the school kids taking the pledge of academic excellence in the “Education Song.”
Remember when Aretha Franklin spelled out ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T” in her hit song? I was reminded of it as I watched those school kids rapping about bullying. What a shame it is that bullying has become such a widespread problem in recent years and that today’s students have to deal with it, not only on the playground, but online. The Chuck Berry song reminds us of much simpler times and safer “School Days.”
The first song of this theme that comes to my mind is “The New Girl In School” by Jan & Dean.
Thank you very much for this comprehensive mewsical theme post that coincides with the start of another school year. Have a super week, dear friend Cathy!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom,
Hey, no worries about not catching my Peaches & Herb edition. I just wanted to share it with you since you featured their song, “Two Little Kids” on your site today. Although, I didn’t know Eve Arden by name I certainly recognized her face at the start of the clip. I had to Google to see which woman she was, though. BTW, Mrs. Arden was gorgeous in her younger years, wasn’t she? And, like so many from this era – classy and elegant. I wish we could get back to those days, don’t you? I agree bullying has gotten way out of hand in recent years. You know DH and I have talked many times about the chaos and violence that’s present today. When we went to school it wasn’t uncommon for young boys to have hunting guns hanging on the back glass of their pickups or to carry large knives and not one time did these boys it anger shoot up the school, open fire on kids, or draw their knife. The only trouble kids got into was fighting but the funny thing is after it the fight they were back to being good friends again or at least tolerate one another without drawings fists again. Kids aren’t taught self-restraint. They are all over the place emotionally, like a loose cannon which grow up to be out-of-control adults. You see this with the angry driving, profanity, and lewd gestures. Online bullying is a whole different thing. What I don’t understand is, why don’t people ignore cyberbullies instead of giving in to the taunts? I’m delighted you decided to join me on the dance floor and you’re welcome to link your mewsic post with us today if you want (no pressure and you know you won’t hurt my feelings to decline). The 4M gals aren’t picky just so you’ll know. We just want to see mewsic participants join the fun is all. Well…let me dash for now. Have a good week, dear friend!
Thomas Anderson
Hi again, Cathy!
I just figured out why I missed your P&H post. It ran during my hurricane hiatus when I needed to take a few days off so that I could evacuate my town, travel inland and ride out Irma. At any rate, I am very happy that you directed me to that post and I enjoyed it very much.
The original Dell rats and I agree that there could never again be a place like the Shady Dell. It didn’t happen often but, whenever a couple of young men had a score to settle, they went outside to the parking lot and threw a few punches. Sometimes one or both wound up with a bloody nose, but that was the extent of it. It never escalated into more. I remember a guy punching me in the face on the dance floor one night. I just stood there and kept talking to him like nothing had happened. After a while he walked away, bewildered, and I continued to enjoy my evening at the Dell. I never had any problem with him again. In modern times, disputes often result in somebody shooting up the club and lives being lost.
Thanks, Cathy!