Here are some quotable excerpts from our Ideas/Info section…
A song may jolt us. It can unlock our shared ancient yearning for peace, the mystical energy tapped as we view an unspoiled vista. The emotions released by a song (or speech, play, movie) can help validate the principle of environmental protection being more important than individual property rights….That is why art and music are so important. They can define, mystically, who we are. Without the dreamers, there is no hope society can save itself. Margaret Mead is correct. A folk song can save the world.
(Fred Starner, A Folk Song Could Save the World). [David Suzuki thinks so too…]
…the songs that I gravitate toward tend to be simple without being simplistic, and direct without being preachy, about things that children can connect to easily in their own experiences. And, of course, the songs which are the most fun to play with and add to with an audience, also will continue to be fresh and enjoyable for them (and me)…
I love to sing outdoors, so that the natural sights and sounds of the environment can creep into the experience, and can be the springboard for other songs and conversation about how our world works. And while we’re at it we might try to make some music with a piece of grass, or an acorn top, or listen to the wind through the leaves.
(Dave Orleans, Earthsinging in Your Own Backyard)
Students, especially elementary age kids, love music. So, if you embed learning outcomes within an activity that youngsters are already physically and often emotionally invested in, they will be much more likely to remember the content of the lesson….
There are many ways that music (and the arts generally) can be tapped to teach all subjects. I would like to offer the musical intelligence mode as a natural place to begin a more active use of Multiple Intelligences theory in classroom and outdoor education teaching and learning….
Musical melody can often hook their emotional (affective) energy as well, increasing the chances that they will care about saving the species. In general, teaching kids to care – about themselves, those around them, and other living things – is one of the biggest gifts educators can offer. Utilising our affinity for music facilitates such a synergistic benefit.
(Peter Lenton, Tapping Music to Encourage Environmental Literacy)
If opportunities for participation in all these various kinds of musical activity are presented to students and accepted by them as worthwhile, it does not guarantee that an environment ethic is being developed. However, since and environmental ethic must necessarily begin with an awareness of and appreciation for the resources involved, it may be assumed that positive involvement in these kinds of activities could be a good beginning….
All of these experiences–listening, performing, creating–help to fulfill that personal desire to respond individually to a basic question: What meaning does this (fact, idea, concept, generalization) have for me?
(Jean Hoem, Music and the Environment)
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