Those artists actually held those positions in academia at one point in time. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to have these stars as my teacher, although a few of them would probably be very proper and professional while others would probably be hard to take seriously.
Today marks the first day of another school year for ASU students to skip classes, pull all-nighters to write last-minute essays, and go hard at football games. Take it easy in class today by daydreaming about your favorite rock stars standing at the front of your classroom instead of listening to your professor yap about your syllabus.
Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells chick rocker Alexis Krauss was with Teach For America for two years in the Bronx, New York, where she taught non-English speakers how to speak English. Some of Ms. Krauss' time in the studio came while she was still teaching, so she brought a few students to the studio to record the speaking part of the Sleigh Bells track "Kids." Now that's my kind of teacher!
Roberta Flack
The singer of the hit "Killing Me Softly With His Song" taught was once a high school English and music teacher in North Carolina. Flack also taught in the Montgomery County school district in Maryland for a few years before further pursuing her music career.
Gene Simmons of KISS
Before he started wearing crazy makeup and sticking out his tongue all the time, Gene Simmons was a sixth grade teacher in Harlem. But Mr. Simmons didn't quit teaching in order to pursue rock and roll stardom. In fact, he was fired for teaching Spider-Man comics instead of Shakespearean plays since he thought students were more likely to read the comics.
Sting
Sting was an elementary school teacher for two years before he found success with the Police. Mr. Sumner taught poetry, music and soccer, since those were the subjects he cared about. He was the only male teacher at a school run by nuns. Sting is also said to have worked on writing songs while his students were taking tests.
Art Garfunkel of Simon and Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel taught mathematics at a prep school in Connecticut. Perhaps it was his enthusiasm for numbers that made him realize that "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" would pay a lot more than a teaching position.
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