A Missouri teacher has found a fun and engaging way to connect with his fourth grade students by using classroom callbacks that feature lyrics from superstar Beyoncé.
Jeremiah Kim told "Good Morning America" he was inspired to start using the callbacks when he noticed social media users embracing the #beyoncemutechallenge trend during the singer's Renaissance World Tour earlier this year. The trend typically included Beyoncé singing the lyric "Look around everybody on mute" from her 2022 song "ENERGY" and the audience falling (or failing to fall) silent for a brief and dramatic pause before the performance continued.
"I don't want the boring [callbacks], like, 'If you can hear my voice, clap once,'" said Kim, who teaches at Frontier Schools, a charter district in Kansas City. "I've always been predisposed to callbacks that are a bit more interesting. And so, once I saw those videos from her concert of the mute challenge, I just kind of ran with it."
The callbacks, often based on song lyrics, have been an effective way for Kim to get his students' attention throughout the school day, and his TikTok posts about the callbacks have gone viral.
"We use a callback and it brings everyone back together because the expectation of a callback is once they do their part, they're supposed to stop what they're doing. They're supposed to talk with the speaker and they're supposed to keep their voice off so they can hear directions. We are using it all the time," Kim explained.
The 27-year-old teacher said his young students have been loving the energetic exchanges this school year.
"The first day that I introduced it, I played snippets, the school-appropriate parts and got them invested in that way, and then they were into it," said Kim, who has been teaching for the last six years. "We really enjoy it. And it was partially because I was like, 'I'm a huge Beyoncé fan. This is just really fun for me. So let's make this fun for all of us,' and then they just got really engaged."
His favorite callback to use is the mute challenge, which has become a classic of sorts in his classroom.
"I really like the 'Look around everybody on mute' because that just feels so powerful," he said. "I know why Beyoncé does that at concerts now, because when you say it and it goes from loud to silent, there's a palpable energy there and it really gives us momentum to move into the next thing."
For other teachers of young students, Kim said he highly recommends using upbeat callbacks that children can relate to or understand.
"I feel like [callbacks are] one of those things where it should be a standard teacher practice," Kim said. "No one wants to be yelling over a class of 30 because that's exhausting for you. That's exhausting for the kids. Using a callback is just an effective way to get attention and to bring it back."
