Oh The Pressure

Something interesting happened Friday. For those who don't know, I teach freestyling to 4th and 5th graders. For those who don't know what freestyling is, it’s the art of improvised rhyme, emceeing, or rapping if you will. Think improv comedy for rapping, or rap battles, or rap cyphers.
Any what, I had 4 student in my class, 3 show up for this performance Friday, and only 1 wants to perform.
I explained how what they are demonstrating is easier than what we did in class. Still no go. I even talk to some of the parents and they couldn't convince them to perform.
I decided to not force to force them, but I had one trick up my sleeve. The host called the freeystyle class to the stage. I take the mic and demonstrate what freestyling is all about. Then I explain my game called freeystyle flash. On the projector screen are two words that rhyme. My willing student would rap a phrase using those two words. The phrase would be completely improvised by the student. He rocks the first two words "house" and "mouse." The crowd loves it.
I go to the next pair, "blue" and "shoe." Ask my second student if he wants to try. With a little hesitation, he agrees. Rocks it. My third student, which was like pulling teeth just to step on the stage, was still like "I ain't doing it." Time for my trick, I said to the crowd "Maybe you can get him to give it a try." They go crazy. There chanting his name, clapping, and screaming. In deciding to go for it he gives me the nod. Third pair of words go up "best" and "test." The kid that was so convinced he couldn't do it, rocked it the best.
I guess this proves to me that we are social creatures. Society can bring out the best in us just easily it can bring out the worse in us. As hard as we like to act sometimes, we all need someone to validate our existence before we begin to validate it for ourselves. What do you think?

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Oh The Pressure