A popular suburban Chicago fourth-grade teacher who went viral after posting a YouTube rap video welcoming his students to class is at it again—this time with an important holiday message.
Dwayne Reed, a first-year student teacher at Jane Stenson Elementary School in Skokie, posted a rap video titled “Welcome to The Fourth Grade” on YouTube last August. Its views skyrocketed to more than 1.2 million since its posting and now Reed is back with a new inspirational and seasonal message for his students and viewers:
Be thankful.
“Instead of taking much for granted, or simply breezing by the significance of Thanksgiving, I created a video that would emphasize how fortunate my students and I are,” Reed told NBC 5 Tuesday. “I wanted them [my kids] to know that we should be thankful for whatever we've got, whether it'd be a lot or a little. And I figured a catchy song and video life help them remember this truth.”
Reed said he and his crew, producer Stephen Thompson and videographer Ty Gotham, shot the video downtown Saturday and edited the footage into the early morning hours Tuesday before posting it on YouTube.
“Hopefully the song and video reminds people how fortunate they are to be alive and encourages them to express their gratitude,” Reed said.
Last August, users on the social media site Reddit were quick to share Reed’s “Welcome to the Fourth Grade” video, encouraging him with praise and offering to donate school supplies to his class.
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Reed responded with enthusiasm.
“Regardless of how cheesy it is, if it helps [my students] remember something, if it helps them excel on the test, or in life, I’m fine with it, I’m backing it,” he said. “You can’t disconnect music from true life, so if we want our students to live excellent lives, we gotta have music involved in that.”
