The notably homeschooled musicians can finally say that they’ve spent time in a classroom — not as students, but as teachers on the digital series Celebrity Substitute
Growing up in Highland Park, Billie Eilish and Finneas developed the bulk of their creative tendencies while being homeschooled by their parents. With no particular curriculum to follow, they approached each lesson with curiosity toward whatever sparked their interest at the time. Needless to say, it took them pretty far. And now, Eilish and Finneas can say they have spent time in a classroom — but as teachers, not students. On the latest episode of the digital series Celebrity Substitute, the duo takes over an elementary school class at Highland Park’s Garvanza Elementary.
With first-grade teacher Ms. Fowler in a different room, the musicians brought in some lessons in songwriting inspired by the loosely structured format of their own educational upbringing. “Kids are so deep and relentless,” Eilish told host and Recess Therapy creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum while explaining her nerves around teaching. At the end, while passing off some advice for future celebrity substitutes, she added: “Let the kids do their thing, I guess.”
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Following the classroom’s instincts, Eilish and Finneas wrote the winter-themed song “I’m Just a Polar Bear.” They’ll share writing credits on the track with a dozen six- and seven-year-olds who came up with the idea to write about a lonely, socially inept polar bear. “I’m just a polar bear, but nobody cares and it’s just not fair,” they collectively sing on the chorus. Luckily for the polar bear, he makes a friend in the end. And luckily for Finneas, he gets to explain what a slant rhyme is when a student makes a suggestion that leads to the lyric: “But I made a friend with a snowman/And it’s not the end, I’m on the mend.”
“Kids, no matter how young, have cool, advanced taste in art,” Finneas said. “That’s been my takeaway. With Billie’s first album, there’s no swear words on the whole album. I’m kind of proud of that because, to me, you could be five years old and love that album.” The Garvanza Elementary class was familiar enough with Eilish to recall seeing her on TV when her hair was bright red, but she couldn’t care less about the Grammy Awards. The kids are alright.
