My Inspirational List of Songs for Educators

Back in November, David Guerin wrote in his blog a list of 80's songs that serve as an inspirational list for educators.  He came up with ten.  I came up with five that have inspired me as a person and educator for years.  The first one is a late 70's song, three from the 80's and the last one from the 90's.  

I want to thank David Guerin for helping me to reflect and enjoy writing this blog post. 

1. Three Little Birds (1977) by Bob Marley.  A mistake. A misunderstanding. A miscommunication. A difficult situation. A difficult conversation. Errors are part of life and schools are full of mistakes. Students are not the only ones who learn in a school. Adults can learn too, especially from a mistake  I love this song because the reminder is real simple: "Don't worry about a thing/cause every little thing is gonna be alright."

2. Pressure (1982) by Billy Joel. Teachers and educators can all relate to pressure. Lesson plans, grades, parent conferences, formal observations, testing ... I can go on. Pressure comes with the profession. Pressure helps build character. Pressure is also a good teacher. 

3. Sign of the Times (1987) by Prince. Here is an artist keeping it funky and real. The late 80's saw a lot of social and political issues like AIDS, the anti-nukes movement among others. We are still dealing with many issues today and connected educators keep students engaged in currents events. 

4. Rebel Without A Pause (1988) by Public Enemy. Sometimes educators have to buck the system and rebel. Sometimes they take risks and look at things in a new and different way. In the spirit of Public Enemy, being a rebel in the classroom can help stimulate thought and inquiry in students. Being a rebel helps students develop their own voice and power to think, question, collaborate, and create. 

5. Optimistic (1991) by Sounds of Blackness. No matter what adversity comes our way, our job is to be optimistic and believe that ALL children can and will learn. Yes, THEY CAN LEARN in our classroom, under our watch. This also serves to help uplift one when we have had a bad day, week or month.  One of my favorite verses from this song is "If things around you crumble/No, you don't have to stumble and fall/Keep pushing on and don't you look back."

What songs inspire you as an educator?

When it gets challenging, what songs do you listen to?

I would like to know your video list.

Feel free to share!