We received a wonderful email from a student teacher named Jennah Mazour about her use of the song "Contact" with her students and, with her permission, now share it with you:
My name is Jennah Mazour and I am a student teacher from the University of Northern Iowa. I teach Elementary ESL (English as a Second Language) and Middle School Spanish in the District of Columbia Public School System. I am an active Phish fan, but beyond that, I am a passionate supporter of The Mockingbird Foundation's cause, and of the integration of Arts and Music into mainstream curricula. Although my field of language teaching is not mainstream, I believe that music is a language all its own. When a common tongue is not shared between people, music can be that meaningful, communicative medium in which to convey, teach and elicit authentic language. I just wanted to share how I put my philosophy into classroom practice.
I had eight non-native-speaking four-year-olds to whom I would teach English five hours a week. We concentrated on learning goals from Houghton-Mifflin's Pre-K standards and themes, which were: letter and sound recognition, shapes, and "what makes up a community?". I decided to share with them the song "Contact" because of its focus on cars, roads and homes (all components of a community, no matter what country you come from) and its emphasis on the word "tires." I did this lesson on the same day that we were learning the 'T' sound and words that start with 'T'.
After the children heard the song a couple of times, they engaged in follow-up activities further supporting the question, "what makes up a community?" They really took to "Contact," and enjoyed singing along and tracing the circular shape of a tire every time that Mike said that word -- that is, if I could get them to stop dancing around! In terms of its topical features, the repetitive and enunciated lyrics of "Contact" are ideal for English language learners. Also, because of its light-hearted tone, it is practically a children's song by nature. Beyond it being 'fun' for them, I really think it served as a great tool supporting the concept of community, and it exposed them to a 'T' word in a simple sentence that they could comprehend ... although I did have to clarify what "abode" meant!
I believe this activity supported the common belief that The Mockingbird Foundation and I share, which is that ANY music can be used in ANY classroom effectively to motivate students in a unqiue and creative way. I did not do this to indoctrinate young phans, of course, but simply to use a beautiful, clean, and intelligent song as an engaging teaching resource. Language instruction, whether it is teaching a foreign language or teaching English as a second language, can and should be a major player in the progressive movement to integrate music into the classroom. No student should have to give up speaking with someone of another language (or culture) who, in effect, says, "Forgive me if I don't sing in your key."
Thank you for your time and all that you do with this admirable foundation in the name of children!
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Go Panthers!
Thanks for sharing.
Prince Caspian - Daoist - seems to be content afloat upon the waves.
Wilson - Yeah, he took the Book. Ended free thought. Totally Legalist.
And unfortunately I forget who I used for Confucianism.
It was a good enough lesson that the kids got me a copy of the Phish Book as my farewell present at the end of the semester.
We have uploaded a new Record Club. What's some of the stuff spinning this time around? Check it out!
MC5,Ween,Dave Mason,The Tages,UFO,Frank Zappa,The Salt and West Coast Pop Art
And that's just a small sample of what you will hear on this episode! This is an extremely psychedelic program this time around with some amazing stuff thrown in that will take you on a journey of music that is hardly covered in this time and age. Sit back and get comfortable because you are in for a few hours of deep psychedelia with Bob & Ron as they give you the goods and open your mind to a new and expansively growing library of music history that is not always easy to tap into with the commercial world bearing down on us each and every day.
Don't forget to click on the follow button on our Mixcloud page to be included in awesome prizes, contests and give-a-ways. Also go to www.theslopingcompanion.com and click on the Twitter and Facebook buttons. Peace from the ether.
Sit back and give it a listen @
http://www.mixcloud.com/robertchampion/bob-rons-record-club-archive-4-episode-70/
Again, thanks for the support!
-Champion
Us Iowans have a special kind of bond with Vermont--being two of the few states who do revenue bottle recycling and all Thank you everyone, I was more than flattered when they suggested posting this. We underestimate how much of an affect, positive or negative, 6 hours a day can have on kids.
I first saw Phish in Ames back in '96, then again in '99.
I keep hoping they'll stop at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines...
I'm in Mason City.
I also believe that music is something that should be incorporated into education. Often times when the students are writing I play music and they love it. Phish is usually on that list, especially the nice, relaxing Harry Hood jam (which they now request..my 1st graders!) Like you said, its not about creating little Phish phans but using music in a way that motivates and keeps everyone in a light and happy mood.
Keep up the good work and good luck in you career!
I am also a teacher that uses Phish as a learning tool. In my physical science class I use jams to teach cooperative learning strategies, synergy and improvisation. These concepts are essential to the success of lab groups and allow all students to become leaders, even if it is just for one sentence. Sometimes that's all Page can get in! I'll play short excerpts like the Woosta Hood or the UIC Limb that shows everyone passing ideas back and forth and ask the kids to describe what they hear and who the leader was in the music. Their answers are quite sophisticated and we eventually get to the fact that everyone in the band has a time when they are a leader, just like a good lab group that has the potential to be greater than the sum of their individual parts. They never forget the concepts and some students even say, "Don't be rock star Trey," when someone is dominating the conversation.
Thanks for your wonderful letter and good luck on your teaching career!
That being said..
fellow teachers out there, if you know your principal or district is looking for a passionate and energetic LICENSED K-12 ESL or 6-12 Spanish teacher (no TFA here) I am willing to move anywhere! except for maybe Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas...