I teach music at a brand new Title I elementary school in rural Georgia. While the students are eager to learn and full of creativity, many have difficulties to overcome. Of the roughly 650 students, all receive free breakfast and most receive free lunch. Because this was a new school, the students had to leave their previous schools that they loved and come to a new and different place. Many of them miss their old school, teachers, and friends.
I teach every student once a week for music, where I hope to provide them with the same rich musical experiences they were receiving at their previous schools.
The students have just finished up their first year in this new building and begun building traditions and their school identity. It was fun getting to know so many new children and discovering their talents. I hope to use music as a means to bring these students together as a family while also teaching them about the wide world of music in which they live.
My Project
As a brand new school, we started with zero instruments and zero budget. This year I have let students play on some of my personal instruments and some donated older glockenspiels ). Halfway through the year we got a few instruments from the district, but they all fit in a box that could fit on one small shelf. Later I was able to receive funding for some drums and two nice xylophones.
What the students need now are some easy to use melodic instruments to play and create their own music independently.
The older students will be able to create melodies for a "Ring Tone" project I'd like to do. They will compose, play, and record a short melody and really use them on cell phones. My younger students will be able to practice basic skills like steady beat on the instruments during song games, creating an accompaniment themselves independent from me and my ukulele, guitar, or piano.
You may be thinking that these instruments are too expensive. I had the same reaction early in my career, but for this project I chose quality yet affordably priced instruments that will last decades. I also requested rolling stands for them and for two that I received earlier this year to limit the wear and tear of moving them around the room. The extra mallets are to help accommodate more students at each instrument until we can grow our collection.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Hinton and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.