My students need 7 ukuleles to learn how to play a simple stringed instrument with which they can accompany their own singing and continue on in music later in their lives.
Remember the fun you had in choir and band? The music friends you hung out with after school? Did music provide a reason for you to go to school each day? My students need motivation to stay in school, to experience wholesome activities and friends. For many, music fulfills these vital needs.
Life for my students is often not easy.
Many come from homes where having dinner each night is not a given, and education isn't considered important. Several are homeless or in foster care. Around 70% of them receive free or reduced breakfasts and lunches daily, and those are often their only meals of the day. Many of them struggle in class to learn the skills on which they are being tested in the spring. The work is often frustrating for them, especially with little support available at home. Yet, when they walk into the music room, they can forget those concerns and let music carry them to a different place. Often, the very students who struggle in the classroom find a welcome reprieve in making music. After school, some sing in the choir. But others would prefer to play an instrument. Some cannot stay after school due to transportation or after-school commitments. I would like to offer an ukulele class to 15 students per trimester during their recess break once a week.
My Project
My ultimate goal for the at-risk population at my school is to fulfill basic needs such as friendship, a sense of belonging in a (musical) family, self-esteem and self-respect, a sense of achievement, respect by and for others. I want to motivate them to stay in school until graduation.
The avenue in which I choose to accomplish this is through ukuleles, an easy-to-learn instrument that students can also use to accompany themselves while singing. In combining strumming with singing, the student has to do two things at once, which strengthens connections in the brain. I will begin with just 14 students per trimester during their noon recess once per week and expand as interest grows and I acquire more instruments through more grants.
Students will learn to play some simple songs with three chords. They will perform for the school talent show, a transitional nursing home, and McTeachers Night (a school fundraising activity). That way, families and the community can be involved.
My students are at a high risk of dropping out of school.
They experience many barriers to completing their education, from lack of family support, to lack of opportunities for discovering and developing a passion, to a lack of motivation to follow through on long-term goals. When there is a void in their lives, it is too easy to join gangs and engage in harmful activities to fulfill their needs. Together, let's provide the opportunity, passion and vision that will help them soar to success!
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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 Ms. Lysen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.