| Good teaching and learning is about good vision – of seeing things with a different lens and doing things in a way they haven’t been done before. Thus, Jennifer Gray and her fellow teachers at Fred Seymour Elementary School must be among the best teachers in the country.
How else would you be brave enough to get Grade 1 and 2 classes to record, produce, illustrate and market a compact disc recorded in two hemispheres? The project began when parent Cal Wilson co-wrote the song "Love Will Keep the Circle Strong" with Jeff Rolheiser, and later travelled to Litein, Kenya.
"Following his trip, the two of them thought it would be a great project," Gray says. "Cal brought the idea forward to our music teacher, Bruce Anderson and our principal, Brenda Zugman. They both agreed that Fred Seymour needed to be involved in this work. The Grade 1 and 2 classes took the project on as an entrepreneurial project."
As part of the process, the students learned the song in January and then set up in the gym to record in February. In March, a group of people travelled to Litein to record with their children’s choir, while back at the school the students designed the CD cover and insert. An official CD release party was held in May and sales are strong. Along the way, graphic designers taught the students about their craft and recording engineers demonstrated sound techniques. The children even created the media invitation.
The disc itself is a charmer, from its bright, inviting artwork to its 14 endearing, sunny songs. Kenyan touches flavour the entire disc, with most songs sung in Swahili. Its summery music would be comfortable drifting across the clouds at a garden party or as inspiration for young children grooving to new rhythms.
"The excitement generated from this project is contagious," Gray says. "Parents are learning from their children about generosity and the importance of making a difference in our world. The children, once empowered, can meet very lofty goals. This is curriculum at its best. Where better to learn math than talking about profit and covering our expenses, counting boxes of CDs, keeping inventory. Where better to learn writing than writing meaningful letters to members of government, media and other honourable guests to come to our CD release party. Art, advertising, posters, public speaking, music, geography… the list goes on in terms of what children have learned.
"Our students truly are global citizens making a difference in our world. This is not a project on the side orchestrated by grown-ups, this is the day-to-day work of our students. The learning has been amazing!" |
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