Kids for Coltrane

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On September 28, 2009 I had the extreme honor of being invited  into John Coltrane’s New York home. It is not open to the public yet. I walked through the rooms and on the grounds of this sacred place. My dream is to see John’s home become a place of learning for children.  I know John’s beloved Alice Coltane wanted this too.  It is a historical home that needs much TLC. I am determined to continue to help raise funds for this effort. Please continue to check my blog as this mission continues to move forward.  I want to thank Steve Fulgoni, President of the non profit Friends of the Coltrane Home for allowing this inspirational moment in time to happen for me. Steve told me that the restoration of the beautiful white wrought iron fence and the garden surrounding it was paid for with the funds my Kids for Coltrane students raised in their philanthropic effort.    In this photo I am standing in the room John Coltrane wrote the masterpiece A Love Supreme.

Front porch with wrought iron fence and  surrounding garden

This is a picture of me in  the backyard of the Coltrane Home. If you are interested in helping the non profit Friends of the Coltrane Home transform this precious historic Home into a place of learning, please go to my links section and click on The Coltrane Home site.  Also click on  my John Coltrane page above to hear the music of this  brilliant artist.

On September 26th the National Organization of Italian American Women honored Geraldine Ferraro. It was the 25th Anniversary of her nomination for Vice President of the United States of America. We had a spectacular luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria. Gerry made a speech that had me holding back tears, but the tears won out! It was a powerful and important speech. She spoke with love and deep appreciation for her mother, a young widow, who made many sacrifices to educate  her and her brother.  Ms. Ferraro went on to be a stellar role model and a trail blazer. I have always held her in high esteem. This picture captures a special moment frozen in time for me. The photo was taken by my daughter Victoria.  Here I am listening to Geraldine speak about the importance of education.~ I couldn’t agree more Gerry! Victoria and I stand on your shoulders.  Women throughout the world are grateful to you for your achievements, dedication and courage.

“I hear in John’s music a direct message to me as a teacher, and that is to go on teaching children in a way that respects their individuality. His music tells children to be who they want to be, that it is OK to be different, it is OK to feel, and that we all need to be able to express who we are in our own way to find what writer and philosopher Joseph Campbell called ‘following your bliss.'”   Christine Termini Passarella, Educator

Kindly click on the In The News page  to read more.

Dr. Daniel Levitin author of  This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs posted this article on Facebook. It was written by Michael I. Posner PhD., and Brenda Patoine. Please check out  Dr. Levitin’s books and enjoy this illuminating article.

Click Here to Continue Reading

I just returned from a most enriching summer professional development experience at Harvard University. This institute was designed to help educators prepare students for the future. We explored how globalization, the digital revolution, and advances in neuroscience are transforming education. I was privileged to be in this exploration with educators from all over our beautiful planet.  It was exquisite to learn from world-renowned  Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty and leading researchers and practitioners from around the world.

~ I am incredibly grateful to Veronica Boix Mansilla, Howard Gardner and David Perkins for leading this institute  brilliantly. This was a breathtaking moment in time that  I will truly treasure.  The intellectual stimulation allowed for the participants to ponder these transformative statements as we learned…”I used to think….and now I think….”  We filled in the blanks as we progressed together.  What a wonderful way to learn…exploring thought provoking through lines.  I returned home with clear answers, and with generative questions to explore as I move into the  future of learning.

I am grateful to Mrs. Obama for her deep understanding  of the importance of arts in education.  My students have flourished using Artful Thinking. To learn  about Artful Thinking, kindly read the research going on at Harvard University.  Shari Tishman, Steve Seidel, Ellen Winner, Lois Hetland and other esteemed members of Project Zero are proving the importance of Artful Thinking with their brilliant research.

http://www.pz.harvard.edu/Research/ArtThink.htm

The Kids for Coltrane class learning about celebrating the uniqueness in human beings with a picture of  jazz legend John Coltrane in the background…On June 19th they will perform an original play that is based on the qualities of good character …and sing an original song in honor of President Obama entitled The Dream.

The Kids for Coltrane Club learning the West Coast Swing from dance teacher Michael Pagan.  On June 19th they will dance and sing…One of the songs they sing are original lyrics to Coltrane’s Equinox.  We call it Hamlet’s Child in honor of the legend. Every Friday our club met after school to dance and sing….and just have a great time!!

Who is Benny Goodman? This question was answered beautifully by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on June 6th. I was honored to be invited to this uplifting concert . The orchestra played Bugle Call Rag, King Porter Stomp, Let’s Dance, Moonglow, and my favorite Sing, Sing , Sing. Victor Goines enlightened the children and parents in the audience all about the world  of  Benny Goodman.

The orchestra was incredible.  The audience got up and danced… and shouted out their feelings…something that I had suggested during the teacher’s professional development with Sherman Irby last month…How cool is that!  It was also great to see Sherman on stage with the rest of the guys doing what they do best…making sweet music. JALC’s Samantha Samuels did a fabulous job on this project and she has a really cute baby girl who seemed to  truly love the music.  Along with the marvelous music, we were treated to Swing dancing from the American Ballroom Theater Youth Dance Company. When the show was over the audience jumped up and gave the artists a standing ovation! Who is Benny Goodman? The answer was clear …a virtuoso who brought joy to the world and made people dance, dance, dance.

Here I am with the talented audio engineers at JALC who made sure each and every sound was crystal clear.  Thanks Cynthia Hawkins and David Robinson for taking time out to chat with me and my daughter Victoria.  It was also exciting to be invited back stage to say hi to the artists.   We had a great time and can’t wait for the next Jazz for Young People Concert.