Educators in Collingswood know one way to combat the blues is to literally turn to the Blues and other great music, like Gloria Gaynor’s “I will Survive.” A recent announcement to parents, with information about Covid-19, also included notice of a 2pm dance party to be held every day. Parents and students were encouraged to tweet videos of themselves dancing with hashtag #2beatcovid19.
Instructions for the Virtual Dance Party included: play it loud, dance, and have fun, and of course, no groups unless the people are in your immediate household. The night before, students are given a link to a popular song, and that song is played at 2pm the next day. This keeps everyone in sync with each other. Teachers recognized that this is a very stressful time for everyone, but especially for students and parents trying to learn together. The mid-day break was a natural point in the day and who doesn’t like to dance?
“I’m a parent in Collingswood where my son attends kindergarten. The collaboration of the district administration and staff flipping from brick and mortar to remote has been as seamless as one can expect in such circumstances,” said Elisabeth Yucis, an Associate Director for Professional Development and Instructional Issues, NJEA. “The NJEA members have been absolutely phenomenal, like the creation of this dance party. It is such a fun activity and my little guy looks forward to it every day now. Each night we get a new song, and then the next day—dance, dance, dance!” she stated.
