Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2006
Lawrence University and five other institutional members of ArtsBridge
America are sharing a $250,000 grant from the National Geographic Society
Education Foundation to bring an innovative geography-through-music curriculum
to elementary
schools.
Lawrence is partnered with Appleton’s Edison School in introducing fifth
graders to “Mapping the Beat,” a curricular initiative developed
by the ArtsBridge program at the University of California, San Diego.
ArtsBridge scholar Sarah Tochiki, ’06, a music-education major from Aiea,
Hawaii, is working with host teachers at Edison to introduce the curriculum.
The National Geographic Foundation grant will
allow Lawrence’s ArtsBridge program to
offer “Mapping the Beat” to additional fifth-grade classrooms in
the Fox Valley starting this fall. Lawrence will receive $30,000 over the next
three years to implement the program.
Using music as a common language, “Mapping the Beat” leads fifth-grade
students on a musical journey through American history. The curriculum explores
patterns of migration
to the United States and the meaning of music within various communities and
ethnic groups and is designed to raise awareness about the geographic features
that determine culture and art forms around the world and to create a connection
between music and its place of origin.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to introduce the ‘Mapping
the Beat’ curriculum to elementary children and their teachers in the
Fox Valley,” says Jasmine Yep, national coordinator of the ArtsBridge
America program. “‘Mapping the Beat’ is
built around three main concepts — environment, identity, and movement — that
were selected for their parallel significance in the study of music. Past experience
with this program has shown that students are truly energized as they create
music in the classroom and come to understand the connection between that music
and its place of origin.”
Founded in 1996 by Lawrence President Jill Beck when she was at UC Irvine,
ArtsBridge America is a university/community arts education and outreach program
comprising a network of 22 universities in 13 states and Northern Ireland and
their surrounding schools. The program creates university and K-12 school collaborations
by partnering university arts students with K-12 teachers to introduce interdisciplinary
arts instruction.
Since its inception, ArtsBridge America has delivered its arts curriculum to
more than 300,000 pupils; provided professional support for more than 1,500
teachers; and made available scholarship support for nearly 4,000
university arts students. Lawrence serves as national headquarters for the
ArtsBridge America partners.