My students all have special needs and attend a special school that serves the entire county. At this school, students have very small class sizes and received individualized attention that focuses on their disabilities and abilities.
Whether physical, mental, or emotional, they all face daily challenges not common in mainstream classrooms.
Most of my students have multiple handicaps or are moderately to severely disabled. However, they do not allow it to interfere with their passion for listening to and performing music. My students love to learn and love to play instruments. For most of them playing an instrument is very therapeutic and motivating and allows them to become more outgoing and self confident.
My Project
"Can we play guitar today?" is the question I hear every day from at least one class of students. My middle school students have an intense desire to learn to play the guitar, however, our current guitars are too small, too old, and literally falling apart. With new guitars my students will finally be able to learn something which truly interests and excites them. They find the sound of a guitar to be soothing and therapeutic and believe it is a valuable instrument to learn. Most of the students interested in learning to play the guitar have an emotional disability and sometimes have difficulty coping with the world around them. Through music, I am teaching them positive methods of dealing with overwhelming and upsetting situations. Learning to play an instrument such as the guitar is an invaluable skill for students in this situation and it is a skill that they can retain beyond the classroom.
Music helps students relax, focus, and provides a positive distraction from negative situations.
By donating to this project you will help students with special needs learn better methods of coping with the stress of everyday life. You will help them discover happiness, relaxation, and hope.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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