by Nate
We have had an unbelievable year, thus far, working with the youth of Colorado! In January, we begun classes at two new campuses, Shiloh House Littleton and Savio House. Each class has between seven and ten students, all of which are highly energetic and enthusiastic in their participation. The laptops, that we acquired over the break, allow us to reach students who we were unable to before, including enabling the student’s in the after school programs, which we do under Flobots.org‘s Arts to Action program, to actually produce songs of their own.
We are refining our teaching methods, each week, according our classroom experiences, and against the successes of other organizations similar to ours. It has been fun to revise and then test our modified approaches to teaching, knowing that each attempt at improvement translates directly to our student’s successes. There are a number of challenges that working with our specific population mandates we face: coordinating lesson plans with a constantly fluctuating attendance, managing the student’s interest and behavior during class, maintaining interest while assuring the process of learning is progressive, and managing the interruptions during class from other staff and students, among others. We understand that these challenges are not unique to this population and embrace them for the elevated sense of accomplishment success with these students brings. We are consistently reminded of the struggles these students face and applaud each of them for their commitment to their treatment. The level of production, participation, and dedication to their personal, artistic vision, is truly inspiring. The students with whom we work teach us as much, if not more, than we teach them- from perseverance to forgiveness, from the willingness to explore personal insecurities to helping others who face challenges like their own.
We look forward to a magical spring and summer! The music is great. The growth is real. The feeling is contagious.