Empowering Teachers to Successfully Engage Students
stacycannamela
A BIG MESSAGE FROM LITTLE STEVEN
Welcome to the first issue of TR Backstage. For those of you who are new, the mission of TeachRock.org is basically threefold: to keep the arts in the DNA of the public education system; to create a new methodology to teach a generation that is smarter, faster, and has absolutely no patience; and eventually, to substantially affect the dropout rate. The mission of TR Backstage is to provide an exclusive, in-depth look behind the curtain for those who support this work.
Hereâ€s my backstory. I was a teenager in New Jersey. A misfit, a freak, I didnâ€t fit in anywhere. School wasnâ€t reaching me. It didnâ€t speak to my needs or interests. I saw no future in a society I was supposed to be a part of. Then the Beatles saved my life. Rock and Roll. And Soul. Music. The Arts are what saved my life. And thatâ€s why I started the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation--soon to be renamed Rock and Soul Forever Foundation--and the TeachRock Music History Curriculum.
The Arts need to be integrated into every aspect, grade level, and discipline of the school system to inspire, motivate, and reach out and be relevant to kids who are just like I was. We canâ€t tell this generation to “learn this now and someday youâ€ll use it!†We need to give them something they can use NOW! We need to teach in the present tense, not some distant unimaginable future.
Itâ€s vitally important that we provide curricula that students from communities that grew up around Rock, Soul, Country, Salsa, Hip Hop and other styles will recognize. We need to reach the part of their brain that responds emotionally, instinctively, that uses imagination rather than facts and specifics. Something that makes them relax and feel more comfortable about the very process of education. Then theyâ€ll be more receptive to math and science. And right now is when kids need us most.
Right this minute weâ€re collectively facing a national health crisis and are about to deal with a serious economic recession while simultaneously pulling the band-aid off our never-healed wounds of race. Weâ€re here to empower teachers with curriculum that can help them process these moments with students. And we can tell it is working--since the pandemic started, traffic on Teachrock.org is up nearly 400% as teachers look for resources to help them reach students on the other side of a screen.
We cover the waterfront. From Little Richard to Lizzo, and every Ramone, Howlin†Wolf, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Willie Nelson, Aretha, Springsteen, and Slipknot in between. All in the service of keeping kids engaged, in school, and on the path to become the critical thinkers that will keep this country moving. We need to teach kids HOW to think, not WHAT to think.
As the 30,000 educators who joined us on my Teacher Solidarity Tour know, we are on your side. Weâ€ve watched you spend countless hours assembling lessons to fill the voids of outdated or missing textbooks. We know you dig into your own pockets to support your classrooms, and our mission has always been to provide you resources for free.
But we all know, nothing is actually free. We need our fantastic lesson writers to work for us full time. Which means they deserve to be paid. I have organized many fundraisers in my life. They are a lot of work, they use up a lot of energy and time, and frankly, I do not like doing them! So I am hoping, with your help, TR Backstage Magazineâ€s yearly subscriptions will be all we need.
Our 40,000 teacher partners will receive this magazine for free. But if everyone reading this can identify one supporter-- just one--to subscribe for $10 per month, our entire annual budget can be underwritten by the magazine. Find a supporter that believes in you and believes in us. Thatâ€s all we need. Just one. And have them mention your name on the subscription form at Backstage.teachrock.org/singup. Itâ€s our way of asking for your support while continuing to offer a meaningful service in return. Each monthly issue will feature insider info, exclusive content, as well as perspectives from my education friends that wonâ€t be published elsewhere. It will be a way for you to express yourselves and speak directly to your peers about which educational tools are working, and what else you need.
We hope you dig this first edition of TR Backstage and share it and our mission with others who will support the cause. Because Rock and Soul is cool, but living a healthy, happy, educated, enlightened life is the next best thing!
