When Lil Nas X dropped his trap-country remix of “Old Town Road” with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus it left many people confused. Now those who are embracing the mashup are making videos to show their love for the song, but one remix has caught our attention because it’s adorable and inspirational.
Third-grade teacher Jasmine A. Merlette, who teaches at Sun Valley Elementary School in Birmingham, Alabama, used the song to get her students excited about standardized testing. She posted a video of her students singing along to an educational version of the song that emphasizes the importance of hard work and determination.
In the video, Merlette and her students sing, “I’m gonna ace my test, I’m gonna raise my score / I’m gonna solve ’til I can’t no more.” Merlette and the kids sing until the beat drops and everyone starts jumping up and down.
When she shared the video on Twitter, it instantly went viral.
In an interview with CNN, Merlette explained how she came up with the song when one of her students shared that they were nervous about an upcoming test.
“‘You have no reason to be nervous. You got this! We have been preparing all year,'” Merlette told the student. “But then I recalled how stressful end-of-year assessments were for me growing up. The goal of our song was to encourage my kids to remain confident and motivated while taking state exams. Music is a fun and easy way to remind them that they possess the tools for success!”
The video even gained attention from Lil Nas X. He responded to the tweet, “I’m cheesing hard as h— watching this. This [is] beautiful, lol.”
You can watch the full video of the third-grade class singing the remix below.
A day in the life of Ms. Merlette…
🍎👩🏽🏫🔥 #MyClassHasBarsss #TurntUpTuesday #ThisIsOURJam #WeKILTOurStateTest #ThirdGradeShawty #YoFavoriteTeacher pic.twitter.com/X7jQ4s1y2p— Jasmine | PsyD Student 🧠 (@futuredrjas) May 1, 2019
