The Facing History School Newsletter

Dear Friends:

This time of year, as school draws to a close, I feel so many things—happy, sad, exhausted, energized, and thankful.

We’ve had a wonderful first year at FHS. We set a lot of goals, and embarked on an educational journey that is turn ing out to be life changing for both our students and ourselves. I am happy to say that we have made good progress our goals. We are only at the beginning of our journey, though, and we know that there is much more to do as we prepare our first class of students for graduation in 2009.

Since my last letter the students have grown so much.

Photo by Stephanie H.
Students in our arts program, run by our collaborating partner Working Playground, performed at Working Playground's annual fundraiser. At the event, they met and worked with artists Rosie Perez, Sway, Ally Sheedy, David Cross, and Michael Ealy. The students also met and introduced winners of this year’s Reebok Human Rights Award at an assembly hosted by FHS. New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein taught a class in early June. He focused on the history and inequality of education. He charged our students with helping to change how society treats minority children who grow up in a world that is not always fair.

Students seized the opportunity to show what they had learned through our portfolio assessments, which took place June 15-20. This is the second time students have gone through this process, and they are beginning to show real progress. They have been working on the portfolios since the beginning of May. We were amazed and delighted to see how many students stayed at school late to complete assignments. Students who realized they could have done better wanted to revise assignments. Teachers began their own journey of reflection about what they did well and what they want to change next semester. Our portfolio schedule allowed each teacher to visit all the other classes. The experience has been great for both staff and students.

As we close this year we are already planing for next year. At our second annual Family Orientation we met many parents and students who are excited to attend our school in the fall. Many of the students had listed FHS as their number one choice in the high school lottery. They heard good things from their friends and family members who are currently attending the school.

As we assessed the success of our curriculum this year, we have decided to make a few changes. Facing History and Ourselves will become a separate semester-long class (the subject is South Africa for 10th graders, and Holocaust and Human Behavior for 9th graders). The English class will extend to a full year for 9th graders. 10th graders will start a Biology/Chemistry Science program, preparing them to take both the Living Environment and Chemistry regents by junior year. We will continue to have Akido, Tae Kwan Do and Yoga. In addition, we are writing a grant to incorporate the Battery Dance Company into the arts curriculum.

For our speaker series, we have already scheduled Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone and author of Fist Stick Knife Gun to be with us in September.

We are sad to say goodbye to three staff members, Caroline Markel, Svetlana Soubtoch and Samantha Berkley. We will miss them. They have made a difference in the lives of staff and students. At the same time we welcome our new staff members for next year:
Crystal Fresco -Humanities
Daniel Braunfeld - Humanities
James Gray - ESL
Safiya Connell - Special Education
Giovanni Anchundia - Special Education
Lisa Margulies - Math
Maria Graziosi - Math
Caroline Torres - Social Worker
Marci Jaffer - English

So this is not goodbye, but rather, “See you in September.” Thanks for your continued support, good wishes, visits and, most of all, thanks for believing in us as we do what Chancellor Klein and many others in the education world call ‘God’s work.”

- Gillian Smith

Our success story of the month not only shows off the efforts of one student, but also demonstrates the hard work of the staff:

One of our students hasn’t completed an assignment all year. He struggled with attendance and paying attention in class. Then, a few weeks ago, he completed his first assignment—a persuasive essay on the death penalty that was part of a debate project. This was a major triumph for a student who hasn’t been happy at school all year. All of a sudden, he’s coming to school regularly, wearing his uniform, and showing off the completed assignment to all his teachers—to prove that he can do the work! Why did he do the assignment? Well, the in-class activities that prepared students for the essay were a particularly effective example of “scaffolding,” or building up to an assignment step by step. First, students made statements about their arguments, and then answered a series of questions that helped them build a solid, four-paragraph essay that used evidence to back up their point. This slow progressive build up to the final essay helped prevent the assignment from becoming overwhelming, and gave this student—along with many of his classmates—the confidence to undertake the whole assignment. The student is now enthusiastic about attending summer school, which will enable him to pass on to 10th grade in the fall.

Posted by Newsletter at 11:48 AM | Permalink

by Molly Schen, Director of Program Growth & Development at Facing History and Ourselves

“Let’s open a new school.” This was a bold experiment for the 30-year-old organization, Facing History and Ourselves. And it is always an adventure for the teachers, the first class of students and their families, and the principal! I’ve seen many schools open, and many new schools falter, so I was holding my breath a bit this year. And indeed, there have been considerable surprises and challenges, from an abundance of boys (70% boys in this first 9th grade class!), to a less-than-perfect facility (lacking a gym, air conditioning, and a well-stocked library), to figuring out what “Facing History” looks like in a math class.

This is one example of what Facing History "looks" like at FHS. Here's another:

(Photos by Stephanie H.)

Even though it is a scant nine months old, the fledgling school should flap its feathers proudly for its many accomplishments, most especially coming to the end of a smooth and spirited first year. It already distinguishes itself for:
· Students who are known as individuals and feel cared for
· Academic classes (especially strong in Humanities, but evident throughout the classes) that explore Facing History themes of identity, group membership, choices, ethics, justice, participation, and legacy
· Advisory sessions that explore many of the same themes in the context of students’ lives
· Many visitors and a hearty band of faithful volunteers
· The arts as a significant form of student expression
· A speakers’ series often open to other students and guests, featuring upstanders and scholars, academics and activists

The lion’s share of the credit goes to staff at the Facing History School who stepped up to the plate under the able and indefatigable leadership of principal Gillian Smith. I am not the only one to remark on staff camaraderie: their respect and affection for one another is readily apparent. It’s not unusual to see two teachers talk quietly at the copy machine in the main office, elbow-to-elbow, figuring out how to deal with a disruptive student. And when they get together, they have been known to laugh uproariously on more than one occasion! Almost all of the teachers are returning next year—a signal of their strong commitment to the school, to one another, and to the students.

What of the students? The teachers worked hard to set a tone of caring and high expectations, but it was up to the students to create a community. Last September, the kids didn’t know each other. It’s hard to believe now, but Advisory sessions in those first weeks were muted, even a bit awkward. When I asked students what their school’s name meant to them, a couple of kids just shrugged. A few thought they would be studying a lot of history. Now, in June, many students speak eloquently about grappling with lessons of the past in order to make sense of their own choices. They describe their own choices this year—to stop teasing, to hold back from joining a fight outside of school, and even to call adults for help—as well as times they succumbed to peer pressure and old patterns. They continue to make connections between their own choices and roles and those of people they studied in their “Holocaust and Human Behavior” class last fall.

Behind the scenes, over a dozen staff members of Facing History and Ourselves pitched in substantially to help the school with curriculum development, consultation on lesson plans, logo creation, arrangements for the speakers’ series, fundraising, technology support, volunteers and visitors coordination, financial management, public relations, leadership support and more. Special thanks go to Kevin Feinberg, Eve Crevoshay and Catina Bacote for their extraordinary efforts this year.

An enormous amount of work lies ahead. The school staff and staff at Facing History and Ourselves have much more curriculum development to do for the upcoming grades. We all have high hopes for creating internships to suit student interests. We must bolster academic supports for struggling students as well as nurture student aspirations so that kids will reach higher than they dreamed possible. And we need to help students and their families plan for college and other post-high school plans!

To all of the friends of the Facing History School: THANK YOU. Keep visiting! Participate in the life of the school if you can! We’ll see you next fall.

Posted by Newsletter at 11:45 AM | Permalink

June 15-20: Portfolio Presentations
June 22-23: Washington, DC trip
June 27: Stepping Up Ceremony
June 28: Report Cards Distributed - Last Day of School!
July 5: Summerbridge begins for incoming 9th grade students

Posted by Newsletter at 12:00 PM | Permalink

On Tuesday, June 13, 2006, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein returned to the Facing History School, seven months after speaking at FHS’ opening ceremony. He addressed students in Emily H’s Humanities class about inequities in public education. To begin, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-685120512941127226&q=facing+historyhe outlined three themes to address historically: 1) the role of leaders and leadership in changing the "system," using Martin Luther King, Jr. as the model, 2) the importance of understanding and "facing" history, emphasizing how important it is to know history—and how important the mission of FHS is, and 3) why he is trying to transform the schools today and create small school like ours.

After talking a bit about Reverend King, he asked students to reflect on whether race matters to us today. The Chancellor concluded, with the students, that race matters a great deal today. In order to understand how, we have to look at the history of the United States. He gave four examples of important moments in our history that helped to explain the issue of race in the United States:
· The Constitution did not address slavery despite its claim to address the freedoms of all people.
· President Abraham Lincoln made sure three important Constitutional Amendments were put into place after the Civil War addressing both slavery and race.
· The 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision sanctioned the “separate but equal” concept in this country. (This sparked some lively discussion in class about whether or not separate but equal is acceptable.)
· The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision reversed the findings of Plessy v. Ferguson. This case was argued by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Following the review of these important legal decisions, Chancellor Klein asked students to pair up to discuss how to best desegregate schools. To frame the discussion, he first mentioned the policy of bussing, and described how unsuccessful it was in many places. He then talked about the current Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which argues for equal funding for all public schools (but doesn’t address desegregation), and then about Affirmative Action.

The class ended with questions from the students, which turned into a good discussion of how FHS students can present themselves as professionals who are proud of their school. They talked about how, because of stereotypes about African Americans and Latinos (who represent over 95% of our school!), it is even more important for them to "dress for success" and conduct themselves professionally.

We had a great time hosting Chancellor Klein at FHS. We were very proud to have him come to the school and share his thoughts with us, get to know our students, and let us know how important these issues are to him. A great big “Thank You” to the Chancellor! Note: to see a video clip of Chancellor Klein speaking about Facing History and Ourselves and the Facing History School, click here.

Posted by Newsletter at 10:30 AM | Permalink

To the incoming freshman class from the upcoming sophomores of Emily H’s advisory

Photo by Stephanie H.

If I knew last year what I know now…

I would come to school on time and wear my uniform every day

I would try harder from the very first day of school

I would learn more English so that I could talk more with the other students and participate in class more

I would not worry so much because it’s not that serious

I would avoid people who provoke me so that I could enjoy school more and stay out of trouble

I would stay out of people’s business and let them make their own mistakes

I would participate more so that I could pass my classes and graduate on time, without having to go to summer school

I would know that not everyone needs to like me

I would know that first impressions aren’t always correct, that I should give people a chance

I would know that someone I meet the first day of school could be my best friend for life

I would know that everyone feels stressed out and overwhelmed and exhausted sometimes, but that I will survive

I would know that not everything is worth getting into a fight or argument over, and that sometimes you just have to let things go.

I would know that school is a lot better if I just keep a positive attitude!

Posted by Newsletter at 10:23 AM | Permalink

In our first year at The Facing History School we conquered many challenges as we worked to meet the needs of our Special Education students. The first two months of school were used to assess students' academic levels and structure the services we were providing. We found that many of our students were reading below grade level and had difficulty with comprehension. In addition, some students considered writing to be an enormous challenge. As we became aware of the varying academic levels in each class and the fears that students face, we were able to set ambitious goals with attainable benchmarks. Our task was to support our students academically and emotionally as they worked toward personal success. Although this would be an enormous undertaking, Principal Gillian's enlightened view of what our students could do created an attainable vision for our first year at Facing History.

It was clear that our Special Education students would need more support then they had received in their past schools. Our Child Study Team convened and decided that each of our students would be better served in a Collaborative Team Teaching classroom setting. With this instructional model we are able to conduct many of our classes with both a content teacher and Special Education teacher. The particular roles of each teacher varied by subject area depending on their expertise and comfort levels. This method allows every student in the classroom, regardless of ability, to receive more individual and personal care. Students that were once accustomed to failure are now consistently experiencing success.

Although this change has not been easy on the teachers due to scheduling changes, planning, instructional methods and varying teaching styles, I am proud to say that our students are progressing both emotionally and academically with this model. The dedication of our staff to make Collaborative Team Teaching a successful approach to educating all of our children is a testament to their love of each child. We are now able to look at individual students and measure their personal success, which has been pleasantly overwhelming. Our hopes and dreams for the future of The Facing History School are immense, yet with consistent faith and support I know our students will continue on in life as successful leaders in the world.

Collaborative Team Teaching benefits all students, because it places an additional teacher with specialized expertise into a classroom where everyone can benefit from the services. This is especially true because many of our special education students struggle most with focusing on their work. In Emily H’s Humanities class, we have developed a strategy for making test taking more productive for all of our students. In asking six volunteers to come to a separate room with the special education teacher, we give some students a change of pace, and we give all of the students a chance to be in a smaller group with fewer distractions. We’ve noticed a dramatic difference in how the students do on tests with this arrangement. The smaller groups help the students focus, so they do better work—and they do more work. With this strategy, we’re helping the kids do the best they can do, and we also avoid isolating students and stigmatizing them. And when the grades come back, everyone is much happier.

Posted by Newsletter at 01:35 PM | Permalink

Like many small schools, at FHS we work hard to carry out the school’s mission: to allow our students to grow into well- rounded citizens capable of making independent decisions beneficial to the whole community. While the school is bound by New York State Regents Requirements, as teachers we aspire to create an innovative and engaging curriculum in all subject areas that will excite our students and support them to achieve.

In May-June 2006, our students had an exciting opportunity to work on the United Nations Project. After learning about algebraic equations and inequalities in math class, they were given the responsibility for preparing and facilitating one of the United Nations Foreign Aid Committee’s budget meetings.

Students learned that one of the UN’s purposes is to have nations work together to help each other. Often, the members of the UN choose to give grants to poor countries to help reduce poverty. However, the UN only has resources to help those countries in the greatest need. As “members” of the United Nations Foreign Aid Committee, our students had to decide which countries were qualified to receive foreign aid. We agreed that only countries in which the number of people in poverty was more than one-half of its population would be eligible for aid.

Students were asked to write inequalities that represented the eligibility criteria. After meticulous calculations (all the numbers they used were real), they found out that of the 14 countries that applied for foreign aid (Honduras, Rwanda, Tunisia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Argentina, Colombia, Uganda, Tanzania, Peru, Madagascar, Hungary, and Zambia), only four were qualified to receive it. Honduras, with its population of 6.9 million, has 3.5 million people living in poverty. In Zambia, 9 million out of 10.5 million people can’t afford such bare necessities as food and shelter. In Madagascar, 12.2 million out of its 17.5 million are badly in need of foreign assistance. Uganda, with a population of 26.5 million, has 14.5 million people living in poverty.

It broke our hearts to deny assistance to such countries as Tanzania and Peru, where 15.2 and 14 million people respectively live in abysmal poverty. “It is so unfair! In absolute numbers, these two countries have the biggest number of poor people! Can we make an exception to our one rule?” questioned our decision–maker Jessica W. Many students agreed with her. Others insisted that poor countries shouldn’t learn to rely on the outside assistance but to come up with solution to fight poverty within their own borders (such as adapting innovative agricultural approaches, educational programs targeting control of the population’s growth, and similar measures). My C Block class decided to urge the United Nations to create an additional supply of food and medicine for future emergencies in poor countries, which are otherwise do not qualify for aid.

As a teacher, I was delighted to observe how my students have grown academically and emotionally over the course of the year, how mature and concerned they have become about the events both inside and outside of our school. Talking about professional gratification, what can be better than to hear: “Lana, what can our class do to make the lives of those people a little bit better?”

Posted by Newsletter at 01:33 PM | Permalink

It is Tuesday morning. I’m at The Facing History School on West 50th Street in Manhattan. Kristina, in whose classroom I volunteer, is beginning her “Experiencing Literature” class with a required fifteen minutes of silent reading. I pull out my own novel and join the students. “Independent reading time is sacred silent time,” says Kristina. It means you actually read, consciously. At the end of the fifteen minutes, all students write in their reading logs in response to a question Kristina has put on the board: “Given what you’ve just read, what do you think will happen to your main character next? Support your opinion.” Having had 30 years of experience in teaching and educational administration, I’m blown over by the quality of teaching at The Facing History School. Kristina is passionate, creative, and engaged with her students. She doesn’t simply teach the content of the literature; she teaches responsibility, respect for others, and appropriate behavior.

After silent reading, it’s time to go to the computer room to research the context of the novel Of Mice and Men. Some students are geographers, others are sociologists, biographers, or psychiatrists; they work in pairs to find appropriate information. A girl who would not acknowledge my presence a month ago calls me over—would I help? I am delighted!
“What are geographic features?” she asks.
“Well, we're talking about the land—what it looks like. Are there rivers, mountains? What is the quality of the soil? All this influences how people live.”
“Oh,” she says, “OK.” and gets to work. I watch her copy sentences from the screen.
“No,” I tell her. “You need to take notes in fragments and then paraphrase when you answer the questions. Otherwise you’ll be plagiarizing.” I find Kristina and ask her whether I might review some directives about note taking with her students. I’ve found my niche: to make a contribution to the teaching and to make a real connection with a student.

Students at work together. Photo by Stephanie H.

Kristina is not the only one. Emily W. in whose forensics class I also volunteer is equally creative and equally dedicated to having her students develop into responsible adults.
“I’m enormously pleased with those who turned in their homework last week and enormously disappointed with those of you who didn’t. You can check your performance on the chart on the wall.”
In this class, there's no fudging; each student can verify what he/she produced. Emily’s class is about identifying evidence to support a theory/opinion. Who did the crime? How do you know? Which witness can you trust? Why? The students work in groups of 3-5. There’s no teaching to a test; it’s all about good old Facing History critical thinking. And they're learning just that, partly because someone is honoring their opinions—as long as they can substantiate them. It's amazing how well these young people do.

Why do I volunteer at The Facing History School? Well, it seems to me to be life-saving work. I think, at the academic level, most of these youngsters have never seen study as an adventure, as something engaging, even fun. FHS turns them around. And at a more significant level, these students haven't had a great deal of respect. At Facing History School they are respected in accordance with their behavior and, as a result, they learn to respect themselves. I love being part of that process; it gives my day meaning.

I've been involved with Facing History for about 25 years. I'm a “Holocaust kid.” I was never in a concentration camp, but I was in Czechoslovakia when Hitler invaded, and left 5 months after the occupation. My German governess took me on a troop train through Germany to a ship at Bremen. Twenty-three members of my family died at Auschwitz. This means I have a stake in the work of Facing History and have done presentations in classrooms in Boston, New Jersey and New York about my and my family’s experiences. It’s painful to tell my family’s history to the students, but there is no one else left to bear witness. I will continue to do that work, but volunteering at The Facing History School is a new opportunity. It’s about the future of these young people, and if we can help them to read consciously, to think clearly, to debate responsibly, then perhaps they will be able to use their own pasts to create their successful futures.

Posted by Newsletter at 01:32 PM | Permalink

As the year comes to a close I look back on the first year journey of the Facing History School’s English Language Learners (ELLs). Their academic progress, along with their progress in learning the English language, is remarkable. In thinking about the progress of my students since the beginning of the year, I can attribute the success of our ELLs to various factors.

I believe the achievements of our English language learners are made possible through FHS’s content-based approach. English language learners at our school are enrolled in all the same core classes (humanities, experiencing literature, math and forensics) as all other students. This allows them to be exposed to the same content and experiences as all other students. For example, in humanities class we created identity tree collages, read Holocaust themed literature and had a Holocaust survivor visit our classroom. With the assistance of Emily Reidman, our visual arts teacher, we will begin our final Holocaust and Human Behavior project of creating memorials. In forensics class, ELL students were exposed to the same curriculum of deductive reasoning, where they were able to observe, analyze and interpret evidence from crime scenes. They were able to use this knowledge and the working vocabulary learned throughout the semester to create a final crime scene of their own. Facing History School’s curriculum makes the ELLs feel part of the school and part of the FHS community.

What has also helped the English language learners to be successful this year is the amount of support they receive from their fellow classmates. In each class there is a range of English proficiency levels, from beginning to advanced English speakers, readers and writers. Despite this range, each student is patient, supportive and encouraging of classmates who may need extra time and help. I have seen students take on leadership roles and assist classmates in understanding readings and concepts, assisting in pronunciation, spelling, editing and more. One instance that clearly sticks out to me happened in my ELL humanities class. Students were working in book clubs, and each group had a different novel about the Holocaust to read. One student was having a hard time with reading and pronunciation in English. Another student in the same book club had a brilliant idea. He decided he would read a sentence aloud and allow his classmate to read and repeat the words. This continued and worked wonderfully for a good page! The student who was having difficulty was able to read and feel accomplished in front of his peers. This peer check system, which so naturally has developed, is amazing to see and has furthered the success of many of our ELLs.

In addition there is another factor that contributes to the success of not only our ELL program, but the school as a whole. In many classrooms the teacher is not the only adult in the room. On any given day I normally have at least one other adult with me. We are fortunate enough to have classroom volunteers from Facing History and Ourselves and tutors from New York University who help give our students more individualized attention and support. I have seen how the students have come to depend on these individuals who visit our classroom weekly. There is one book club in my Humanities class that is reading Daniel’s Story, by Carol Matas. They love to read aloud to each other, especially when one of our volunteers, Susan Blum is there reading right there along with them! They welcome the focus and reading encouragement she provides them. My ELL students actually cheer and greet the volunteers when they enter the room. Distracting it may be, I think it’s wonderful that they are that excited to see these volunteers every week. It’s a support system that both the students and I have come to rely upon.

This year’s journey with the 9th grade English Language Learners, although has had its bumps in the road, turned out to be a fruitful year for all of us. One statement that I think captures the year came from Lissania M., who is learning English as a second language this year. In the beginning of the year she refused to speak or write in English. Somewhere after mid year Lissania began reading aloud in English to the class, writing paragraphs and speaking in English. What she said has stuck in my mind and is something I don’t think any teacher can ever forget: “There are a few things about this school that I don’t like [the school uniform], but I would not leave this school because I know that I am learning.”

Posted by Newsletter at 01:30 PM | Permalink

Teaching Community Building Through African Drumming at FHS
Harold D. Akyeampong, Teacher, Applied Music Class

The enthusiastic chants of the call and response, “Agoo” and Amee,” and the thunderous drumming suites Ogunbela, Munpurugu, Kpanlogo and Karl-Kitan are some of the traditional and creative processes that students at FHS learn as they make music together. These exercises help the students learn to building communities, showing tolerance and developing self-expression through African drumming.

Being in this class has brought out my talents as a versatile musician. I have been playing drums for 5 years but being with Harold has really unearthed my true and real skills. -- Olivia M.
I have learned a lot of great beats. The teacher is doing an amazing job of showing us his culture. He has a lot of patience. I don’t feel lost at all in this class. I like the Kre-Ke-tan beat the most. It’s pretty interesting. -- Alexa F.

A part of FHS’ effort to promote multiculturalism, Applied Music is part of the school’s rigorous program and one of the new ways of teaching students to think beyond ordinary drumming. In many traditional cultures around the world, people celebrate life with music. In Africa, making music is a communal event where both the performers and the audience play important roles. Drumming plays a significant role in these life celebrations. I have designated the Applied Music program as a “Percussion Discussion” to teach my students about the importance of effective communication in life. The primary goal of the program is to use the school’s four habits of learning (Independence, Interdependence, Interpretation and Voice) to achieve broader objectives of developing academic, artistic and life skills.

Our Drums, Our Voice
In my class, students—each in front of a drum—sit in a semi-circle with the teacher in the middle, representing the African village square where a community’s important deliberations take place. As a class we see ourselves as a community. Since we mostly play as an ensemble, this helps the students explore how to work in a team.

Photo by Stephanie H.
When the class voted for me as the class captain, that made me proud and excited. The challenge for me as a leader is a life skill I cherish in this class. I have learned a lot of new beats like Munpurugu, Karl-Kitan , Kpanlogo and more. -- Edward A.
This is my favorite class and Harold is my favorite teacher. I love the endurance playing technique; it helps us to stay focused, coordinated and is good for our health. -- Victor C.

I have introduced my students to various types of musical instruments, which include traditional African drums and contemporary instruments such as the popular Conga drums. Ngoma, Dundun, Kinkini, Dawuro Nta and Awosowa are some of the traditional African musical instruments used in class. Using essential questions and following lesson plans, my students are learning about how the instruments are made, what they are made of, which people make them, and how the environment influences how people make music in their respective countries. They are also learning about the role of music in various world cultures. The have seen how African music has influenced the West, especially American contemporary music including gospel, hip-hop, rap, house, orchestras, etc.

As with all new programs, the beginnings of the classes are not without challenges, especially for the many students who are not familiar with cultures other than theirs. In this class, I have taught my students both hand and stick techniques. Students are also learning some African chants, call and responses, as well as some African songs. Pronouncing authentic African names has not been easy for some of them but they seem enthusiastic about it, so many of the students are doing their best. Students are also learning how to deconstruct traditional musical pieces from Africa and composed rhythms through special techniques taught in class. With these techniques, many students have come out with exceptional skills. Students such as Olivia M., Talisa V., Mac J., Victor C., Aisha D., James M., Valentin A., Eddie A., Joshua A, Jonathan V., Daveen D., Aileen E., Travis N., Ebony M. and Janina A. have demonstrated some excellent artistic skills.

In order to make connections, students listen to different genres of recorded contemporary music—gospel, reggae, dancehall, reggaetton, jazz, house, country, rock, hip hop, rap, salsa, meringue and highlife, soukous, and zouk from Africa. Students also have the opportunity to watch video documentaries and shots of people making music in Africa and in other cultures.

Applying the Four Habits of Learning
African traditional drumming is mostly played in an ensemble setting. As the students practice this way, they develop their skills in one of FHS’ four Habits Of Learning, interdependence. They also learn a life skill by learning how to work together, accept constructive criticism and build confidence.

Students are also learning how to play as soloists or individuals. These skills develop the independence habit of learning. By playing individually, students are inspired and informed by the drumming vocabulary that they learn in class. To reach that level of independence, students have to apply another habit of learning known as interpretation. Drumming in Africa imitates the nuances of the human voice and is used mostly to communicate. Drumming, therefore, is a language, and to play well, a student needs to learn its alphabets to communicate well and effectively. Students are learning how to brainstorm these sources and are learning how to play distinctly so that dancers and the audience can hear, interpret and enjoy their performances. They build these skills by listening to traditional music, composed rhythms and contemporary music and interpreting the pieces through a process called deconstruction. To express themselves and play well, the students have to apply all the principles learned and to bring out their own rhythms—their own voice.

Photo by Stephanie H.
I love those tones and bass techniques; it makes drum playing not too complex to learn. On top of it, my father is a drummer in a band; he is enthused about the skills I have mastered in this class. -- Jonathan V.
This class reminds me of my Cuban heritage and I love it. -- Joshua A.

Among the highlights of the past semester were the opportunities for the students to perform at the school’s opening ceremony in November 2005, where the New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein was the special guest of honor. The opportunity to perform at the Bowery Poetry Club in January was the culminating event for the first semester. On June 5, some of our students represented FHS at Working Playground’s annual Urban Arts Festival. Along with some of the drum students—who were featured in the Metro newspaper the next day—FHS students also read their poetry and presented photography. The event was hosted by actress Rosie Perez!

At these events, the students not only performed before an audience, but they learned the application of stagecraft as well as how to participate as audience members. For the current semester, my class has had the opportunity of hosting guest master teachers Kofi Badu, Charles Dankwa and Ofori from Ghana, West Africa. We have also welcomed the first black director of the Musical STOMP, Mr. Everett Bradley, to our class, courtesy of FHS partner Working Playground. The current class has also had the opportunity of performing with a professional performing group from Ghana, the Elmina Dance Ensemble, during their visit to the United States in March 2006. Internally, we have collaborated with Emily Reidman’s Studio Arts class of and Randi Cecchine’s Video Documentation class.

Our Future
The Applied Music Class is a class that impacts all students. In this class, students are learning how to play instruments, sing songs and play games from Ghana, and other parts of Africa. This enhances their appreciation for cultures other than theirs. The class also equips students with knowledge in musical cultures around the world and how it affects the everyday life of the people who practice it. The class teaches the students how to be creative by emphasizing self-awareness, greater listening skills and confidence in solo and ensemble performance setting. The experience gained in playing together teaches them to be team players, show tolerance for each other’s opposing or supporting views, cooperation and responsibility. The ultimate goal in this class is the acquisition of a life skill that will transform students to be productive world citizens to promote global peace and understanding.

So this is our story at FHS—where percussion is not only for entertainment and students are made to think creatively.

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