“This was in the SpongeBob movie!” One of my most difficult class of fifth graders proclaimed. I had just played “Wipe Out” by the Surfaris as an example syncopated strumming to use for our ukulele unit.
Years of watching SpongeBob in my own childhood flashed before my eyes. I braced myself for the inevitable chaos: a barrage of machine gun-esque laughter, Patrick impressions and cries to the magic conch.
…but it didn’t come.
They looked at me.
It was a familiar song to them and they were ready to follow me out to sea.
Are ya ready kids?
The choice of “Wipe Out” hadn’t been an obvious one; it was a final choice of desperation and the result of diving deep into Google for the perfect song. I needed a song that was age appropriate, featured syncopated strumming, and had only three chords. Sick of beginner ukulele method books, I was determined on integrating commercial and pop music into my ukulele curriculum.
I wanted to show my fifth graders the sea of options beyond the shallow waters of “Tom Dooley” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” that runs rampant in elementary ukulele curriculum. "Wipeout" was our way forward.
But Why Not Twinkle Twinkle?
The biggest argument for using traditional American children’s songs in elementary music is that most of the children know these songs from their home. Commercial music is ever-changing but traditional songs have been the same for generations.
This idea is outdated.
Schools are becoming more diverse and with that diversity comes a wider range of children’s songs sung at home. To look for musical commonalities, we must look to music that surrounds everyone: commercial pop music. Especially commercial pop music found in children's media, like SpongeBob, summer blockbusters and classic, timeless movies.
Still stuck on finding songs? Just ask the kids. They’re a great resource and they want to share a musical connection with you. Show interest in their musical worlds. Let them teach you.
Communication for Connection
The musical connection between my class and myself swelled after playing “Wipeout”and reinforced our relationship further in the classroom. I showed interested in their musical background and they became increasingly interested in mine.
At the time, I was looking for rewards and incentives for good behavior and what better way than sharing loved music together? I struck a deal: If we had extra time at the end of our last ukulele class, I’d perform a song out of a list of options that they chose. They voted on lead guitar line to “Wipeout”, “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5, or “Riptide” by Vance Joy (a recent pop song that featured ukulele).
“I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 won by a tidal wave, the class even requesting “ABC” as an encore.
“Riptide” was cast out to sea.
Coming Ashore
Out of curiously when writing this post, I decided to look up in which SpongeBob movie “Wipeout” was featured to pass it on as a resource for other teachers.
The song was nowhere to be found.
It wasn’t in any of the SpongeBob movies.
And that doesn’t matter.
What matters is it sounded familiar to the kids. It sounded like something they knew from outside of the classroom. It crossed the ocean to connect my music and theirs and let us use that connection to learn.
Even if that connection was from someone who lives in a pineapple under the sea.