When it comes to word association, "drumming" and "cooperation" are
two pretty unlikely combinations. But at two of the District's
schools, those two words are very much interrelated.
At Sunset School in Fort Lauderdale, for example, the school's
music teacher uses an innovative hands-on drumming curriculum
to teach severely emotionally disturbed students cooperation
and social skills. "Our kids tend not to know how to
work well with others or in groups," explains Stephen
Haley, "and they need to learn those skills so they
can integrate into the business world later on in life. The
drum circles we form are very good for fostering that skill."
Mr. Haley's high school class has 15 students in it. The
curriculum allows the students to work on guitar and keyboard
on their own and then group together for the drum ensemble
portion. "We rehearse, go over an ensemble we already
know and often work on a new one during each of the 90-minute
block sessions we have daily," explains Mr. Haley. The
program is now in its second year under Mr. Haley's guidance
and he's already seeing students learn how to work well together. "Our
goal is to help the kids to work together with their peers
and develop some social skills, adds Mr. Haley, who attended
an intensive study program in Wisconsin conducted by the
founder of the World Music Drumming organization in preparation
for teaching this class. Mr. Haley - a former bandleader
himself and a teacher at Sunset since 1989 - studied with
master drummers there and learned how to teach drum ensembles
that are based on the African tradition of drumming.
Designed for students who are not percussionists, the curriculum
is structured so that students first learn to perform based
on listening to and feeling the music, versus reading music.
That enables them to play some pretty sophisticated stuff
fairly quickly, explains Mr. Haley. "In order for them
to play these ensembles, there are three or four parts going
on at the same time and the students must learn to synchronize
with them." According to Mr. Haley, the students are
often surprised they've been able to accomplish something
so difficult, and that's good for their self-esteem.
Former band director and 13-year veteran of music education
James Mader also teaches World Music Drumming each day to
195 students at Fort Lauderdale's Parkway Middle School for
the Performing and Visual Arts. His class varies in difficulty
depending upon grade level. Mr. Mader, who served as a pilot
for the program in 1997, appreciates how the drumming program's
curriculum coincides with Broward County's character education
program. "It places a keener focus on character education
and life skills," he explains, "and emphasizes
teamwork, cooperation, balance and community."
Mr. Mader, who teaches non-performing arts students, especially
likes the fact that World Music Drumming is so effective
at getting every student to participate. "Even students
with disabilities can take part in this curriculum, which
employs such instruments as steel drums, xylophones and bells. "The
nice thing about this program is that although students are
developing their reading and math skills, they're learning
how to feel the music first, which enables them to get turned
on by the music much faster than if they had to learn to
read music first. This program helps my students to become
better learners in their academic classes by developing their
focus, critical thinking skills and mathematical skills.
It also develops their appreciation for other cultures by
downplaying what makes us different while celebrating what
makes most cultures similar."
