California elementary school teacher rewrites Lizzo lyrics to teach students 'they are great'

A second-grade teacher at a California elementary school has rewritten a Lizzo song to teach her students they are great.

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Dorothyhoney Mallari, who teaches at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg, recast the singer's 2019 song "Truth Hurts" with more student-friendly lyrics.

Mallari, 32, danced on the classroom tables -- while wearing heels -- and sang as her students enthusiastically joined in, KTVU reported.

"I think it worked well," Mallari told the television station Wednesday. "I just liked the beat."

Lizzo's original tune is explicit but Mallari's is upbeat and the students took a liking to it immediately.

"Let's be great, 'cuz I know we are great. Whoo! I just took an ELA test, turns out I'm 100 percent that smart," the rewritten lyrics say.

"You want to have a food friend who's committed, help you with your homework. Just a little, you know, I'll hold you down because you got my back," the students sang in a video posted on the Pittsburg Unified School District's Facebook page.

Mallari told KTVU she comes up with a class song each year to reflect what music her students might be listening to.

"We were talking about flexible seating and classroom culture," Mallari told the television station.

Mallari filmed the video from a tripod and then sent it to school district officials, who loved it, KPIX reported. School officials posted the video on Facebook and YouTube.

Mallari is "such a good teacher and she uses these songs to inspire," school district spokeswoman Nicky Mora told KTVU.

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