A new school year is here. For children, whose learning styles are a challenge
to educators, that first day of school can be a date with the unknown, fraught
with fear, excitement and a whole mix of feelings in between. The stomach says it all. As the student enters the classroom, that
first day, let it be with awe, the feeling that says that what you are about to
experience is like nothing you have ever experienced before. ("We're Smarter Than Adults"-9/2012, A Hat, A Mat and Music, 5/2012)
Let music be a part of the school day from the
beginning. Music has a profound effect
on the brain, a calming or energizing welcome to the beginning of a new day. (The
type of music will decide the effect on the brain and body.) ... In a special education class, music should be
the order of the day, as it relieves the stress that may be present in the
young at-risk mind. (A ‘snack’ bar containing
homemade food, fruit and veg. should be available. Pizza, doughnuts and freshly
made pasta-all class made- can be available or sold, a reminder of the learning
outcomes of the class.) The special ed. classroom should be like home in all
ways possible.
Within the confines of the classroom environment, it is the
teacher, the student’s trusted advisor, who sets the tone and steers the
classroom in the direction of its learning goals. Let the teacher, whose years
of training for this monumental undertaking, have the freedom to do what must
be done: to extract all there is from each child amid the chaos and silence that
sometimes reside inside his mind!
From 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m., it is tea time, a period of
calm, the planning of the day's events, tasting, and music appreciation. It is a structured time for listening and
conversation, valuable skills learned early in life. Let us not be haste in our
judgement of what is happening or not happening within the walls of this
classroom. There is a plan. (The teacher knows it as does the principal. She is
a trained professional) Let us not be in a hurry to introduce the alphabet and
numbers, the foundation upon which words, thoughts, thinking and learning are based.
For special children, a different approach is required that softens their view
of school and their place within it ... For the rest of the school day, let it be a softened approach with
music at its core.
The at-risk child is many
things. He is young, awkward, shy, aggressive, has poor self esteem, attention
and memory skills. He manifests moments
of genius, occasionally, but no one fully understands the complete picture. He
is at the mercy of those who put him on a waiting list for testing to determine
what problems are hampering his learning ability. So we wait. Let us assume there is a problem and act
accordingly. ... The Arts are the secret weapon in the teacher’s arsenal of
teaching strategies and tools for those at-risk students. Studies have shown
the powerful influence of The Arts on academic learning. Music can begin, simply, as a
theater for listening and movement. The lessons are not important. Structure
is. The whole body must be prepared for
the vast universe of learning that will occur. (Do not focus simply on the brain. There is a body attached!)...
Ask teachers what is best suited for their class and they
will tell you-just leave me alone to do my work. Let music rule the day. Let
its companions- listening, singing, and movement- become as much a part of the elementary
school curriculum as the letters of the alphabet and numbers always have been. Preparing
the whole body helps to prepare the whole brain for the job that awaits: higher
order thinking/academic learning. (Music is math. Singing is words.) Together
they become an invincible dynamic duo. Let the music play!
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