As students across the world have had to adjust to taking lessons online, Ed Sheeran chose to offer an elementary class some much-needed motivation. The singer surprised a Zoom music class at a South London elementary school to teach the children one of his songs and impart some of his wisdom.
Timothy Spoerer, the music director at Ecclesbourne Primary School, was teaching his music class over Zoom when the kids had a very special surprise visitor. According to The Sun, Ed Sheeran hopped on the call to chat with the kids and teach them some lessons.
Sheeran began by giving the students a tutorial of his hit song “Perfect” on guitar. Afterward, Sheeran held a Q&A session with the kids and answered questions about his schooling and decision to make a career out of music.
Sheeran told the students that because he didn’t do well in school, he thought that meant he wasn’t smart. “I basically wasn’t very smart at school I thought I was an idiot for a very long time,” he said. “I couldn’t do maths, science, and English, and I was told to be successful in life you had to do those things.”
The singer said he received a lot of support from his dad to pursue music: “I loved playing music, that’s what made me happiest. My dad always said to me, ‘If you want to be a musician work really hard at it’. I wanted to make music my job but it was a lot of hard work and struggling; essentially the way I got my income and paid my bills was by playing covers at weddings.”
As for new music, Sheeran told the students that he’s continuing a self-imposed hiatus in order to focus on his family life.
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.