Moments with Joey – Music

Pin It SCENE 1, INTERIOR. MORNING, FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM. School has just begun a few minutes before. Several of the kids have already presented literature responses. One girl, ‘Becky,’ has just completed her response by playing a song. The teacher starts to address the class as the last few strains of the song fade.

TEACHER: Music is powerful. It has a way of opening up a conduit—or pathway—of time, allowing a person to remember memories from when they first heard it.

BOY 1: Like when a song is used in a movie?

TEACHER: Exactly. The next time you hear that song, what do you think of?

CLASS: (in unison) The movie.

TEACHER: That’s right, because music can speak to us in a way that not many other things can. When a character in a book loves a particular song, we will often associate that song with the character.

BOY 2: Like in the book, The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963?

TEACHER: Exactly! In the story, what is Kenny’s favorite song?

BOY 2: “Yakkity-Yak.”

TEACHER: And what do you think of when you hear that song?

BOY 2: Kenny.

TEACHER: Music can do that for us. In fact one day you’ll be sitting in your car, your own kids will be screaming in the backseat, as you fumble with the radio you’ll come across a station playing “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. Even as you sit there, you’ll be transported back through the years. You’ll find yourself sitting in this classroom for just a brief second; you’ll see all of us gathered together singing to the guitar. It’s at that point that you’ll start to wonder, ‘Did Lance become a lawyer after all?’ ‘Did Bree and Andrew get married?’ You’ll even wonder, ‘Hey…is Mr. Z even still alive anymore?’

JOEY: And is he still as good-looking as when he was my teacher?

[The class bursts into laughter. The teacher, not having lost composure, brings the class back to order and then turns to face Joey].

TEACHER: We can only hope…

[Fade to black].