Can We Listen to Stick Season? - Health Class Updates

Biking during "Stick Season"

Stick Season by Noah Kahan is hands down the number one requested song for me to play in P.E. class. I agree with my students- it's a catchy, lively tune by a talented Vermont musician. And yet, you won't hear it blasting from the speakers in the background during a game of hula hut. 

Instead, 3rd -6th graders recently listened to "Stick Season" during health class as part of learning to analyze influences, particularly in reference to drugs and alcohol. We discussed how a song like this might send mixed messages. Students noticed that on the one hand, Kahan admits that "even smoking weed does not replace" the memories of his break-up and the gloomy lyrics throughout the song is a testament that substance use did't lift him up. Statistically speaking, those who turn to drugs and alcohol in times of distress are more likely to become dependent on them. We brainstormed as a class other ways to cope with stress like biking, reading, drawing or talking to a friend or trusted adult. 

On the other hand, Noah Kahan is a wildly popular, looked-up-to musician whose mere mention of smoking and drinking normalizes these activities. That fact that the part of the song that gets most stuck in my head is the lively, musically upbeat chorus "I'll drink alcohol 'til my friends come home for Christmas" is reason enough for me to not blast it in P.E. class, though I realize (and explain to students) that influences aren't usually a direct cause and effect situation. Rather, these subtle messages build up in our subconscious over time and being aware of them is more important than sheltering ourselves from them.  

Students enjoyed choosing other favorite songs to listen to analyze and are studying the direct effect of tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and illegal drugs on the body and brain. Next time you're listening to the radio with your student, chat about what you each think the influence of different songs might be. 

In first and second grade, we've been learning about the 4 steps of advocacy- Think, Learn, Tell, and Encourage. We studied different healthy and safety habits and are considering how we could tell and encourage others about them. We listened to a read aloud by the author, Chris Barton, of What Do You Do With a Voice Like That?. It tells the story of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan beginning as a young child and the advocacy work she did in getting others to vote and fighting for equal rights for all. Ask your student what healthy habit they've been encouraging others to partake in.

In Kindergarten students have been learning about being their best selves by working through challenges. We have read or will be reading Winners Never Quit by Mia Hamm and Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull. Next time your kindergartner is having a tough time remind them that they can do hard things just like Wilma Rudolph!