“Remember me, don’t have to travel far,” croon various characters from the 2017 animated Disney film Coco. It is the epitome of nostalgia, as its lyrics represent a thread that links many generations through song and music, in general. So when a young six-year-old boy named Stone sang it to his retiring teacher, it was tough for the room to hold back their tears.
In an Instagram clip posted by his father, Dr. J. Mack Slaughter (an ER doctor who goes by Dr. JMack on social media), Stone stands in between two chairs. In one sits his dad, accompanying his song on guitar. In the other is his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kinnard, who just so happened to be retiring after 40 years. Stone casually has one hand in his pocket as he confidently holds the microphone in the other.
‘Remember me…’
But there is nothing casual about this song. Or his performance. With every ounce of his being, Stone sings to her as they both try to fight back tears. The lyrics do a lot of the heavy lifting:
“Remember me, though I have to say goodbye
Remember me, don’t let it make you cry
For even if I’m far away, I hold you in my heart
I sing a secret song to you each night we are apart
Remember me, though I have to travel far
Remember me, each time you hear a sad guitar
Know that I’m with you the only way that I can be
Until you’re in my arms again. Remember me.”
Gratitude for the teachers
His father writes in the comments, “The way HE is trying not to cry. Thank you to all of the incredible teachers out there dedicating so much of your life to these young children.”
The clip has nearly 280,000 likes and has over 9,000 comments from people all over the world. An Instagrammer shares, “Lump in my throat, tears in my eyes. What a beautiful tribute! So heartfelt and pure.”
One teacher shares their experience. “Former educator here…I’m in a very deep puddle of tears. This reminds me of when one of my students who has autism read me my goodbye speech. When I first started teaching her, I was told she was nonverbal, but I knew her voice just wasn’t ready to come out yet, and after six months, got her to a point where she was able to express her wants and ideas, and feelings, but when she read my goodbye letter that she wrote herself in front of the whole school. I was an absolute shambles, and I’ll never forget that moment.”
Family band
Upworthy had the chance to chat with Dr. Slaughter, who has also posted the video under the Instagram handle Slaughter Family Band (@slaughter_family_band). He shares, “We do have a family band! We perform at events in the Dallas Fort Worth area. His brother is 12 and sister is 10.”
As for Stone’s teacher, Mrs. Kinnard, he reiterates that she has just retired, having been “teaching for FORTY YEARS!” He adds, “Hard to see her eyes, but she was basically tearing up the entire song! It made it even more emotional that my son was trying not to cry the entire song too.”
Finding meaning through music
The song had special meaning for Stone and his entire family. “My family LOVES the movie Coco, which is about a boy who finds meaning and reconnects with his family through music! In a way, it mirrors our family’s deep connection to one another through music, as well.”
He shares, “When my wife and I found out that the Kindergarten class was having a retirement party for Mrs. Kinnard, (we) immediately imagined Stone singing “Remember Me” to her. Without even hearing him sing it, we started tearing up!! We knew it would be a really special moment to honor Mrs. Kinnard, singing from the perspective of all of the students’ lives that she’s positively impacted throughout her FORTY years of teaching.”
Slaughter was even able to get Stone to comment on what it felt like to sing to his teacher. The six-year-old said earnestly and to-the-point, “It felt good and sad.”
