Lincoln middle school teacher doubles as classroom DJ
Cody Thatcher, a 7th grade history teacher at Schoo Middle School in Lincoln, takes his teaching to another level.
He got the idea to remix popular songs with his teaching topics.
“I was teaching my kids about the black plague and there was a parody song that’s pretty popular on YouTube that they really liked and one of my students was like hey you should make one over something you teach and i said okay, well what do you think?” Thatcher says.
His first song, which he created almost a year after the original idea came up, was an instant hit among the students.
Now, they call him ‘DJ Thatch’ and he has 13 different educational songs on YouTube, all based on top hits.
“It’s really fun and cringey at the same time because you remember them on tests and stuff,” says Ayla Brosman, on of Thatcher’s students. “It just like shows that he’s like interested in us and he just cares about us.”
“When I sing them and then I memorize them that makes it easier if I have any tests on it and its just a lot of fun to listen to them in class,” says student Cole Wilkason.
“I think a big part of teaching especially like teaching middle school or high school kids is meeting them where they’re at and YouTube is kinda a huge thing for middle school kids, and they’re on board with me,” Thatcher says.
DJ Thatch says he’s gotten tons of positive response from students as well as their parents, as well as other teachers at Schoo
“It’s really fun its not like boring like normally people would say social studies is more boring but it makes it fun and exciting,” says student Tia Aldred.
“As a result they’re even more connected now and they’ll talk about it they’re so excited when they see a new song is posted and they’re excited to listen to it in class,” Thatcher says.
It’s even become so popular among students that they asked him to make some merchandise.
Students can now buy hoodies and shirts with Mr. Thatcher’s face on them, and all the proceeds go back to the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation.
