May is Asian American, Pacific Islander Heritage Month. An important celebration, but one that doesn’t typically draw the fanfare of February’s Black History Month, or Hispanic Heritage Month. However, with the popularity of Disney’s Moana and Lava songs I have found an easy engagement piece that allows students access a part of the world they […]
Cultural Curriculum
K-pop Listening Lesson
K-pop (abbreviation of Korean popular music or Korean pop; (케이팝) is a music genre originating in South Korea, characterized by a wide variety of audio-visual elements. Although it includes all genres of “popular music” within South Korea, the term is often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music drawing inspiration from a range of styles and […]
Crossing Borders Music
Crossing Borders Music produces moving music that tells compelling stories by composers from under-represented cultures – music that invites audiences to challenge assumptions and learn more. Crossing Borders Music also presents educational programs to foster young people’s awareness of the diversity and richness of cultures and their music. The mission of Crossing Borders Music is to […]
A&GC: Week 3 – Colombia
Part blog post, part field notes. This post is part of a series of reflections on a 10-week elective I’m both teaching and conducting active research on. Entitled” The Arts as a Path to Global Citizenship” our goal is to explore our roles as global citizens using the arts to approach complicated and difficult topics, such […]
A&GC: Week 2 – Bursting Stereotypes
Part blog post, part field notes. This post is part of a series of reflections on a 10-week elective I’m both teaching and conducting active research on. Entitled” The Arts as a Path to Global Citizenship” our goal is to explore our roles as global citizens using the arts to approach complicated and difficult topics, such […]
A&GC: Week 1 – If the World Were a Village
Part blog post, part field notes. This post is part of a series of reflections on a 10-week elective I’m both teaching and conducting active research on. Entitled” The Arts as a Path to Global Citizenship” our goal is to explore our roles as global citizens using the arts to approach complicated and difficult topics, such […]
Let’s Celebrate Lunar New Years
Lunar New Years is the single most celebrated holiday in the world! All across Asia countries and cultures enjoy this holiday much in the same way we celebrate New Years Eve. Based around the Chinese Zodiac calendar each year ushers in a the reign of a new animal, and depending on the year you were […]
Graphic Novels for Global Citizenship
UPDATE: FULLY FUNDED! As part of a larger 10-week elective course I’m preparing for, I wanted to teach a short unit using graphic novels. However, we have no communal library at our school and acquiring a class set of texts can be expensive. Regardless, I think that Global Citizenship is an important worthwhile goal, and graphic […]
Winter Concert: A new approach to old ideas
With another year in the books I wanted to take a look at what I felt was one of the most successful Winter Concert / Holidays Shows I’ve ever put together. A thematic show is something that a lot of music teachers struggle with, since there are only so many options year after year. […]
Beyond What: The Why & How
I tend to focus on a lot of practice and tangible activities. Functional thoughts and ideas that you can take directly into the classroom and implement immediately. Sometimes as an educator you need to take a step backwards and look at your lesson from a philosophical standpoint thought and think beyond simply ‘what’ you are working on, […]