Newmarket special education teacher Jeff Stephenson went out on a limb and performed a cover of Green Day’s song, Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), simply to make his students and their families smile at the end of a tough school year.
Stephenson, who teaches students with high-functioning autism in grades five to eight, rewrote the lyrics to reflect the COVID-19 times, particularly the last three-and-a-half months when schools were shuttered to stop the spread of the new coronavirus and learning was thrusted into a virtual environment.
The educator’s “COVID” cover of the song opens with the lyrics: “Another online lesson and working here at home, the floor lines in Walmart direct you where to go, so we’ve made the best of this task within our mind, it’s not for everyone, but, hey, give it more time, our school year was unpredictable, maybe next year will be fine, I hope you remember this time of your life…”
“My main goal was to make people laugh and enjoy a moment, but most important, when I rewrote the lyrics to that song, I hope our kids and adults and everyone in between will remember this time,” said Stephenson. “Because I do think there is a lot of room for change for the better and, hopefully, people are a bit more mindful about what’s happening around the world and everyone can help make that change.”
The video was posted to YouTube on the last day of school and has so far garnered 1,953 views. It shows Stephenson playing air guitar on a children’s toy guitar and making silly faces while he sings and provides running commentary on such things as the “TP” shortage in stores, physical distancing in store aisles, and “for what it’s worth when I wear a mask, I smile”.
“I found that sharing my dramatic side and being willing to do something like that at an assembly or with these videos, it’s a chance for me to model some of what I teach in the program, like taking risks and connecting with more people,” he said.
Transitioning to online learning has been a challenge, Stephenson said. “I was such a quiet and shy kid and didn’t start drama until Grade 11. It really wasn’t until then that I started being a bit more outgoing and taking those social risks, and I don’t think people fully realize the benefit of it, to face that fear of public speaking or looking silly in front of people and just kind of letting that go, it really makes you feel good, actually.”
Practising social skills is an important part of Stephenson’s classroom teaching, but the pandemic has provided an opportunity for students to practise the “new normal” of technology social skills, either over the telephone or by video chat.
“I taught a social adjustment class, and every June I’d perform a silly and funny dance at the end of the year in front of the entire school,” he said. “Of course, I wasn’t able to do that this school year because of COVID, so I did three videos for the students.”
The two other musical videos found Stephenson rewriting lyrics of popular Disney songs.
