Georgia teachers make a virtual connection to students with viral rap video
Georgia teachers who made viral back to school rap video speak to FOX 5
Two high school teachers in Georgia are receiving praise for their back-to-school rap video, which has gone viral.
ALBANY, Ga. - It is arguably one of the most popular rap videos on line right now. With more than four million views on all social media platforms, Audrianna Williams and Callie Evans have become the virtual classroom queens of hip hop this week from Albany.
Williams teaches A.P. History and Sociology at Monroe Comprehensive High School. Her fellow Albany State University grad teaches Economics and Journalism.
"It was very exciting to see how many shares we were getting, likes from our friends and celebrities and it was mind-blowing," said Ms. Williams.
They took Jack Harlow's hit "What's Poppin’?," wrote new lyrics based on virtual learning in the COVID-19 pandemic and recorded the video last week with the school's cheer leading squad. They posted it Sunday night, just in time for the first day of class on August 17.
Georgia high school teachers back to school rap becomes viral hit
A pair of high school teachers from Georgia have become online sensations after they starred in a back-to-school rap video.
"We just wanted to motivate them, especially with us doing virtual learning for the first time ever. We just wanted to just ease the nerves because it was a whole lot of nerves going into the new school year with virtual learning," said Ms. Evans.
The video went viral within a day, even Jack Harlow took note of the teacher's rap skills.
"He said, 'Yeah, Miss Williams,' so that gave me an extra boost and made me feel so good about the song, said Ms. Williams about Harlow’s response to her Instagram post.
It was, in fact, a much needed boost. Dougherty County residents took quite a hit from COVID-19 with hundreds of men and women falling ill and many dying early on in the pandemic. Nearly everyone knows someone effected by the virus. The high school teachers kept that in mind as they penned their back to school theme song.
"We did have a lot of students impacted by Covid19, so we just wanted to uplift the students just to let them know that you can overcome adversity no matter what you're going through, just push through," said Ms. Evans, who also coaches the Monroe Comprehensive High School Cheerleading Squad with Ms. Williams.
Both teachers agree, their plan to get students excited and engaged was a success.
"It definitely worked. The first day of school, they had to log in for virtual learning and that was literally the first thing they said was 'Oh my gosh, did you see such and such posted you?’ It actually made the class go by smoother, they were engaged, they were listening and they were participating."
Beyond the likes, dope lyrics and dance moves, the educators just wanted to make a solid connection. In an era where distance is encouraged for the sake of public health, Ms. Williams and Ms. Evans are just glad they found a way to get closer to their students and the community.
"Not just Dougherty County schools, but all of Albany is behind us and we're just so appreciative of this moment," said Evans, whose made several back to school videos with Williams.
"To see that this is happening and all we did is stay true to ourselves is mind blowing, so that's probably the best thing that I've learned," said Williams.