HEM gets guitars from site that matches donors with classroom needs
Pamela Glasser, the music teacher for Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow Elementary schools applied for funds for guitars from Donors Choose, an organization that has donors give money to classrooms and teachers.
The organization was started by a history teacher. In 2000, Charles Best, a teacher at a Bronx public high school, wanted his students to read Little House on the Prairie. As he was making photocopies of the one book he could procure, Best, according to Donors Choose website, thought about all the money he and his colleagues were spending on books, art supplies and other materials. He felt there were people out there who'd want to help, if they could actually see where their money was going. Best started a website where teachers could post classroom project requests and donors could choose the ones they wanted to support. His colleagues posted the first 11 requests. It spread and currently Donors Choose is open to every public school in America.
Glasser got her grant, allowing her to purchase six American guitars. She keeps them at Medicine Elementary.
"The name of the project was called, 'Medicine Bow Pickers and Strummers,'" Glasser said laughing. "If you put a cutesy name on a project, the Donors Choice website promotes it and I also put it on my Facebook page."
Glasser said, by putting it on her Facebook page she heard from former classmates who wanted to help her and the school.
"We got money from across the country and it got fully funded in two months," Glasser.
She said the project was funded at $700.
Glasser said not only the older students are interested in learning.
"Even the little ones are learning basic guitar skills, like holding it correctly and strumming," Glasser said. "It is about giving them a head start."
She picked guitars as the musical instrument to fund because there is a guitar curriculum at Medicine Bow Elementary, but it had not been taught for some time.
Glasser offers guitar at the high school level at Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School, so she feels teaching at the elementary school level, some students will come to HEM somewhat advanced.
She starts teaching note reading at third grade so that by junior high, the students are advanced and it helps them appreciate the instrument and how far they can go in their studies.
Glasser said if you want to hear the picker and strummers from fourth, fifth and sixth grade at Medicine Bow, a concert is planned for May 9.
Reader Comments(0)