Wisconsin teacher welcomes students to ‘virtual school’ with 'FRIENDS' theme song parody

A high school teacher in Appleton, Wisconsin, welcomed his students back from the summer break by performing on his ukulele a recreated FRIENDS theme song, I’ll Be There for You by The Rembrandts. In a post shared on his official handle on Facebook, English teacher Paul Miller shared a video parody with a singing twist and lyrical modification that now goes as, I’ll Be Here for You, to express his support with respect to distance learning amid the coronavirus outbreak. Seated on the table in an empty classroom, Miller’s heartfelt footage was watched by significantly a large portion of the online audience and accumulated over 4.4k likes, as well. 

In his annual tradition of the first-day-of-school musical welcomes, Miller this time kicked off with a song for his students related to the virtual classroom. Miller’s rescripted FRIENDS composition that begins as, “So no one told me that the school was gonna be this way,” meanwhile he wonders where his students had disappeared, as he barges from one to the another of those deserted classrooms. Further, in the song he goes, “I got my lessons ready but the students are MIA,” tuning the words perfectly with the Netflix series’ theme song. Further in his foot-tapping video, the lecturer sits in his office transferring the actual book into virtual on his laptop as he sings, “We can still have a great year, ‘cause I’ll be here for you.” The encouraging lyrics have taken the Internet by storm as FRIENDS fans and students launched an outpouring of appreciation for the diligent and supportive teacher. 

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Musical welcomes a ritual

This wouldn’t be the first time the enthusiastic lecturer has voiced support for his students. In 2017, Miller performed a parody of I Will Survive for the musical welcomes. Listing his reasons for commencing classes with a welcome song, Miller told local broadcaster NBC15 that learning is about challenging one’s skills and pushing ideas, so he tends to get a little uncomfortable in front of the students on the first day. And therefore, he performs to uplift his spirit and theirs. Social media received the video with hoots and admiration.

“Learning is about being uncomfortable and challenging your skills and pushing your ideas, so I try to get a little uncomfortable in front of the students on the first day,” a commenter wrote. “You need a theme song! I'm sure Claire can set that all up,” joked one other. “Love this!!! You’re so creative,” appreciated the third. 

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