“I honestly don’t remember a point in my life without Hannah Montana.”
Hannah Rodriguez of Naples, Florida has loved Hannah Montana since the series’ very first episode.
“I got into Hannah Montana the day it premiered in March of 2006, and I was hooked that night,” Rodriguez says. “She came into my life at four years old and it was the biggest thing.”
Her love for the show – and the iconic character herself – has blossomed from childhood birthday parties and blonde-bang wigs into the ‘Montana Minute,’ a unique daily routine she shares with her class as a second-grade teacher.
“A ‘Montana Minute’ is when she plays a song and we grade it,” her students explain. “We get a little piece of paper… you have to write the name of the song, and then we play a song from Hannah Montana. And then you have to grade the song- you have to fill in the stars- and then you write what you liked about it.”
The daily activity is meant to serve as a quick ‘brain break’ between subjects, mixing an enriching, low-stress task with Rodriguez’s favorite childhood show.
Though many of her young students weren’t initially familiar with Hannah Montana, they quickly grew interested in the pop star’s double life.
“Hannah Montana is such a cool story, and I feel like it’s every kid’s dream,” Rodriguez says. “They were immediately hooked.”
Rodriguez films herself during these daily breaks, posting videos to her TikTok account. It wasn’t long before she went viral, and her unique ‘brain break’ caught the attention of more than just social media: she was invited to attend the taping of the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special”
“Introducing the Hannah Montana Minute, I never in a million years would’ve thought that I would get invited to watch the 20th anniversary filming,” Rodriguez says. “I cried my eyes out as soon as she came out. Just seeing her in that wig, I never thought that I would ever get to see that again.”
The super-fan’s surprises didn’t end there, however. Her class was also gifted a special ‘thank you’ video from Hannah Montana herself, or rather, Miley Cyrus.
“Getting to hear her say my name and mention the Montana Minute, the fact that what I’m doing in the classroom made it all the way to Miley’s ears, that’s just insane,” Rodriguez says. “Hannah Montana has taught me to just go after your dreams.”
Watch the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special now on Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney is the parent company of ABC Localish and this station.
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