Dear Friend of The B Team
Does it make sense for startups to embed
purpose in their companies, when often their hands are already full just
maintaining viability? What policy or tax changes could governments
make to support small and medium-sized businesses to take action on
important social and environmental issues? How can businesses use their
influence for positive impact in the communities where they operate?
Earlier this month B Team Leaders Sir Richard Branson and Marc
Benioff came together in San Francisco, along with 100 + tech
entrepreneurs, to explore the answers to these questions and more for
business leaders building purpose-driven companies.
You can read the full conversation and all the insights here.
The launch of Born B During their conversation, Richard and Marc announced the launch of Born B,
a new movement for entrepreneurs and startups interested in embedding
purpose in their core DNA. The leaders of these new companies were
encouraged to seize the opportunity to manage their businesses in
progressive and innovative ways from the start, rather than backwards
engineering them when they become large and complex. We call this being
“Born B”.
The Born B community will be lead by B Innovators, industry disruptors committed to working on The B Team Challenges.
We will continue to work to grow and support this community through
events, online resources and our partnership with B Corp during 2016.
If you are interested in finding out how your company can get involved in the Born B movement you can get started by:
As all governments meet in New York this month to sign the Paris
agreement we will continue to advocate for national leadership that
enables us to attain the long-term goals needed to limit global
temperature rise to 1.5℃.
Warmly, Keith Tuffley Rajiv Joshi
Managing Partner & CEO Managing Director
The final chord of "the Blackfish effect" has finally resounded, with a stunning and unprecedented corporate policy announcement from SeaWorld.
In January 2013, the documentary Blackfish premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival, telling the story "about Tilikum, a performing
killer whale that killed several people while in captivity," according
to the official film synopsis. Three years later—a period marked by sustained activism, multi-platform distribution and unrelenting media coverage—SeaWorld officially announced on March 17, 2016, that it will officially end its orca breeding program and end orca shows at all of its theme parks.
The decision didn't happen overnight, and neither did the social
impact. The pathway to change was paved over three years of ongoing
pressure, sparked by an emotional story told in an intimate, authentic
way unique to documentary storytelling. The signs of social impact
appeared quickly. In December 2014, about a year and a half after the
film's July 2013 theatrical premiere, the stock price of SeaWorld had already declined by 60 percent. A California state lawmaker proposed legislation in April 2014 that would have banned California aquatic parks
from featuring orcas in performances. Although the proposed law was
unsuccessful, it garnered national media coverage and elevated the
issue.
How and why did Blackfish inspire this kind of impact over a
three-year period of time? From a vantage point at the intersection of
documentary storytelling, grassroots activism, multi-platform
distribution and media strategy, the explanation can be broken down into
six key elements:
1) Amplified Community and Sustained Grassroots Activism
The issue of animal rights is supported by an existing and vocal
community of advocates, and the opportunity was ripe for cultivating new
activism by the time Blackfish came along. The Oceanic Preservation Society, the organization elevated by the 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, publicly and immediately supported Blackfish through its own communication channels, including posting and distributing an online open letter to support the film, and joining with the filmmakers in a public statement. The major contribution of the grassroots infrastructure to the Blackfish
movement came from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals);
in fact, the intersection between the film and the organization's
activism amplified the ongoing impact dramatically. In an expansion of
its own efforts targeting SeaWorld as far back as 1998, PETA launched an aggressive renewed campaign
that combined physical protest and digital social action. After the
film's major premiere on CNN, donations to PETA—formerly on the
decline—spiked, enabling the group to finance continued grassroots and
media stunts well after the film's premiere. (In 2015, as reported by
the Los Angeles Times,
PETA reported a budget of $4.5 million after a deficit of more than
$250,000 just two years earlier, as well as $43 million in contributions
in 2015, a 30 percent increase.)
With the new public spotlight well beyond the animal welfare
community, PETA continued to leverage the momentum of the film at every
possible moment in the distribution and media cycle. Among its public
actions during the past three "Blackfish Effect" years, PETA organized anti-SeaWorld actions at the 2014 Rose Bowl Parade—covered by major media outlets, including CNN, Blackfish's broadcaster, Huffington Post and others—and financed an ad campaign about orca breeding (an angle covered in the film). PETA's website, SeaWorldofHurt.com, continued the pressure and momentum, and the public followed—from about "30 visitors per day before the Blackfish broadcast premiere to more than 1 million in 2015.
In short, the film wasn't released into a cultural or grassroots
vacuum. It fell into a prime spot with a social-change infrastructure
ready to leverage a strategic distribution strategy and well-produced
story. In its seminal 2008 report, "Assessing Creative Media's Social Impact,"
The Fledgling Fund notably wrote about this crucial element—deeply
understanding the social issue and a movement in order to understand
where and how a story might be positioned to fuel change. The
intersection between SeaWorld, Blackfish and PETA is a textbook example.
Adding to the well-orchestrated and vocal NGO activism, celebrities' tweets and support for the film
engaged their own fans and followers, which raised and deepened the
level of public awareness about the story. Combining the multiplying
factor of celebrity endorsements and public attention—greatly enabled by
a smart distribution strategy—allowed the story to reach outside the
animal welfare community. It stretched well beyond the choir. The outcry
became louder and louder, impossible to ignore or dismiss as insular,
niche activism.
Courtesy of Dogwoof
2) Strategic Distribution Following the Sundance Film Festival premiere, the filmmakers licensed the US rights for Blackfish
to Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films, not only for a theatrical run, but
for TV distribution, a move that has become increasingly strategic for
documentary filmmakers in the contemporary marketplace. In at least one study about contemporary documentary viewers,
watching at home on TV is the top way to access documentaries, and
streaming is increasingly crucial (although avid documentary enthusiasts
are also willing to find documentaries in theaters). For Blackfish, in terms of a broad-appeal TV outlet with an even-handed ideological audience composition,
a premiere on CNN was not only a mass-viewer distribution strategy, but
one that fired up a synergistic publicity and news media machine. Not
only did the network use its news platform to air stories about orcas in captivity, the network published an interview with a SeaWorld spokesperson
the week of the premiere, assuredly contributing to viewer and media
anticipation. CNN was rewarded for its publicity strategy with a ratings
sweep on the October 23, 2013, premiere date; according to The New York Times,
"The channel swept the ratings among every group under 55 years old.
That meant not only the group that is most often sold to news
advertisers, viewers ages 25 to 54, but also the younger age groups used
for sales in entertainment programming." The network continued to keep
the story on the agenda by illustrating multiple sides of the issue, including at least one opinion piece
criticizing the film's lack of focus on marine conservation in aquatic
parks. Following the CNN broadcast, in a near-perfect multifaceted
distribution strategy primed for visibility, Blackfish was
released on Netflix in December 2013, which enabled the film to leverage
the considerable publicity and buzz already generated by the steady
media coverage throughout every distribution phase.
4) Social Action Embedded in the Story
Social action campaigns around documentary films can vary from the
filmmaking teams' intentional strategies to organic responses from
viewers to a story. In an ideal strategic scenario, the organic viewer
response to the story is matched by an intentional campaign, if it
exists. But in either case, the call-to-action efforts tend to succeed
when the action is clear—and when it is conveyed by the film's story
itself (not only the marketing materials around it). In stories with
institutional or complex solutions, articulating a call to action can be
challenging, but offering concrete individual actions works. In the
case of Blackfish, although the social action directives were not directly articulated or advanced by the filmmakers,
the identification of Tilikum's captive home was clearly embedded in
the story itself. The audience understood SeaWorld's role, and the
film's advocacy story about orcas in captivity issued a clarion call.
(It's important to note that in an early interview, director Gabriela
Cowperthwaite did not advocate shutting down SeaWorld but instead discussed other ways to help captive orcas. Of the final SeaWorld announcement, though, Cowperthwaite said, "The fact that SeaWorld is doing away with orca breeding marks truly meaningful change.")
Courtesy of Dogwoof
5) Emotion
The story evoked empathy, an emotional response that is an
evidence-based powerful driver of attitude shift and intended action in
response to storytelling. Blackfish focused on a specific named orca living in captivity, Tilikum, as the key character, a deliberate narrative choice
made by the filmmaker. She did not lead with or rely on statistics, and
it turns out, this really matters in a story's ability to spark emotion
and action. Although research in the area of narrative persuasion
focuses primarily on human victims of suffering, according to psychologist Paul Slovic,
"When it comes to eliciting compassion, the identified individual
victim, with a face and a name, has no peer…But the face need not even
be human to motivate powerful intervention." This core notion of empathy
and an individual story can help to explain why the story evoked such
resonance from a narrative perspective. Tactics alone won't do the
trick.
6) Measurable
Capturing the measurable social impact of a documentary is highly individualized, with varying research methods and approaches
that work. The best method depends on either the goal of the project or
simply a hypothesis and a deep understanding about what kind of impact
the film may have on the issue, based on an understanding of where the
issue resides in media or public discourse—from changing personal
behavior to instituting policy change and beyond. In the case of Blackfish,
the intersection of both organic and organized social action, constant
media coverage, and accessible financial data from a publicly traded
company provided some metrics of correlational impact. The readily
available metrics emerged steadily, from mid-2014 media reports about SeaWorld's financial trouble to a Washington Post analysis from December 2014,
which detailed a steady stock-price decline throughout the film's life
cycle from theatrical to streaming distribution in 2013. The ongoing
metrics of doom offered encouragement for the grassroots efforts. Each
publicly available signal of decline, from attendance to stock price,
offered a new opportunity for the ongoing SeaWorld-Blackfish media story to renew itself and keep the issue in the public and journalistic spotlight.
Can the film claim a final causal connection to the reported
financial misfortune and sustained public outcry and the final SeaWorld
announcement? In the same way that much social change can't be
unequivocally attributed to a particular and exacting turn of events,
not precisely. But causal connection is an artificially high bar. It's
hard to deny the role of the "Blackfish effect" in the steady negative impact that culminated in a dramatic corporate policy change.
Considering documentary film and TV's increased role as
advocacy-infused, emotional investigative storytelling, as well as the
increased ability for audiences to watch documentaries on places like
Netflix, CNN Films, HBO, PBS and other outlets, individuals and
organizations working at the intersection of social justice and media
are right to learn from this example.
Caty Borum Chattoo is a documentary film producer, media strategist and researcher, professor and co-director of the Center for Media & Social Impact
at American University's School of Communication in Washington, DC. She
was a juror for the international 2014 BRITDOC Documentary Impact
Awards, which honored Blackfish as a film that demonstrated positive social impact.
Tags:
I love it when performers at the level of @BetteMidler give back in such personal ways. Yes, the argument could be made that she has probably enough cash to fix this problem, but I love CrowdFunding and think it's tremendous that individual people who love and support the arts can make such a direct impact on dysfunctional public school auditoriums!
I want to share this story below and the CrowdRise campaign where each of us can help. I can think of a dozen schools in Chicago that could use her help!
Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz, Executive Director, sponsorKIDS Charities Chicago, Illinois
Story & Link:
@KimKardashian Put your selfie to work…for a good cause! Donate, RT, I’ll match $$ 2-1,” the legendary star said in a cheeky tweet yesterday.
Midler is raising awareness of her initiative Stages For Success, which she launched with the Jeckyl Foundation.
“A few years ago I launched Stages for Success, a campaign to
modernize outdated and dysfunctional public school auditoriums,” she
said. “We’ve completed several successful transformations so far, and
are hard at work on our 2016 project, a fantastic performing arts high
school where the auditorium needs a major overhaul. We need your help to
make this happen.”
To show your support, click here.
Love Bette Midler's Work! https://www.crowdrise.com/bettemidlersstagesfo
John Hopkins Study Says Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom
New Horizons John Hopkins Education
Music helps us learn because it will--
establish a
positive learning state
create a
desired atmosphere
build a sense
of anticipation
energize
learning activities
change brain
wave states
focus
concentration
increase
attention
improve
memory
facilitate a
multisensory learning experience
release
tension
enhance
imagination
align groups
develop
rapport
provide
inspiration and motivation
add an
element of fun
accentuate
theme-oriented units
WHAT ARE SPECIFIC WAYS MUSIC CAN BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM?
Here
are three areas of teaching where integrating music can be highly
effective. For each intent, there is a rich repertoire of classroom
techniques that can be used simply and easily by anyone-a brief example
is given in each. These techniques work for people of all ages and from
many societies. The very young, teens and adults will experience an
increase in their effectiveness and joy of learning from these uses of
music.
LEARNING INFORMATION Music can be
used to help us remember learning experiences and information. In Active
Learning Experiences music creates a soundtrack for a learning
activity. The soundtrack increases interest and activates the
information mentally, physically, or emotionally. Music can also create a
highly focused learning state in which vocabulary and reading material
is absorbed at a great rate. When information is put to rhythm and rhyme
these musical elements will provide a hook for recall. Here are three
ways we can use music to help us learn information:
Active Learning Experiences Music
will activate students mentally, physically, and emotionally and create
learning states which enhance understanding of learning material. For
example, play music with an association for your topic in the background
while reading a concise summary of the important information. The more
interesting and dramatic, the more easily the information is remembered.
In a social studies class, I have read Chief Joseph quotes and a brief
synopsis of his tribes' famous journey toward Canada while playing
native music in the background. This introduction to the "Last Free Days
of the Nez Perce" is powerful and memorable because the music helps
students to appreciate the experience and set the mood. To activate
information physically, play upbeat music during a related movement
activity or role-play. For example, while learning about the flow of
electrons in electricity, I play Ray Lynch's Celestial Soda Pop
while we create a classroom flow of electricity. Some students are
stationary neutrons and protons while others are moving electrons. When
we add "free electrons" like a battery would, the electrons begin
flowing and voila! we have an electrical current! Ray Lynchs' upbeat
music keeps us moving and makes the role play more fun.
Focus and Alpha State Learning Music
stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of
deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content
information can be processed and learned. Baroque music, such as that
composed by Bach, Handel or Telemann, that is 50 to 80 beats per minute
creates an atmosphere of focus that leads students into deep
concentration in the alpha brain wave state. Learning vocabulary,
memorizing facts or reading to this music is highly effective. On the
other hand, energizing Mozart music assists in holding attention during
sleepy times of day and helps students stay alert while reading or
working on projects.
Memorization Songs,
chants, poems, and raps will improve memory of content facts and
details through rhyme, rhythm, and melody. Teaching these to students or
having them write their own is a terrific memory tool!
ATTENTION, ATTITUDE AND ATMOSPHERE (The
Three A's) Preparing for a learning experience can make the difference
between lessons well-learned and just passing time. Certain music will
create a positive learning atmosphere and help students to feel welcome
to participate in the learning experience. In this way it also has great
affect upon students' attitudes and motivation to learn. The rhythms
and tempo of musical sound can assist us in setting and maintaining our
attention and focus by perking us up when we are weary and helping us
find peace and calm when we are over-energized in some way. Here are two
ways to use music for attitude, attention and atmosphere:
Welcoming and Attention Background
music is used to provide a welcoming atmosphere and help prepare and
motivate students for learning tasks. Music can energize lagging
attention levels or soothe and calm when necessary. Simply playing music
as students enter the classroom or as they leave for recess or lunch
totally changes the atmosphere. Depending on the music, you can enliven,
calm, establish a theme or even give students content information with
content-songs!
Community Builders Music
provides a positive environment that enhances student interaction and
helps develop a sense of community and cooperation. Music is a powerful
tool for understanding other cultures and bonding with one another.
Selecting and playing a classroom theme song, developing a classroom
"ritual"---such as a good-bye or hello time that uses music, or other
group activities with music are ways to build lasting community
experiences.
PERSONAL EXPRESSION Music
is the doorway to the inner realms and the use of music during creative
and reflective times facilitates personal expression in writing, art,
movement, and a multitude of projects. Creation of musical compositions
offers a pathway to expressing personal feelings and beliefs in the
language of musical sound. Here are two ways music can help us express
ourselves:
Creativity and Reflection Background
music is used to stimulate internal processing, to facilitate
creativity, and encourage personal reflection. Playing reflective music,
such as solo piano in either classical or contemporary styles, as
students are writing or journalling holds attention for longer periods
of time than without the music. In one study, students wrote twice as
much with music than without!
Personal Expression through the Musical Intelligence The
creation of music expresses inner thoughts and feelings and develops
the musical intelligence through understanding of rhythm, pitch, and
form. Writing songs related to content allows students to express how
they feel about issues brought up in historic incidents, social studies
topics or literature. Students can also create an instrumental
"soundtrack" with simple rhythm instruments that auditorily portrays a
particularly important scientific discovery, a poignant historical
event, or the action within a novel.
THE MUSICAL ECHO
As
you begin to resonate with your new musical classroom experiences, you
may find transformations occurring in other aspects of your life. Your
students may share with you wonderful experiences occurring in their
lives because of doorways which were opened through the inclusion of
music in the learning process. When this happens, celebrate and bless
the connections to life meaning that has occurred. Everything that we do
as teachers has echoes and reverberations that contribute to the whole
of life. If there are no echoes it may mean that what we are teaching
has less meaning than we thought. Expect and enjoy the miracles that
occur!
LEARNING THEORY AND MUSIC
Educational
theorists have long sought answers to the question of how we can best
teach students to learn well. Models for teaching have evolved and will
no doubt continue to be developed. Some of today's' leading learning
technologies embrace the use of music to assist in learning. Nearly all
methods can be enhanced through the use of music. The guidelines
provided in this book can help teachers and trainers learn how to use
music no matter what learning methods are being used. Special note is
given here to three successful learning models in which the use of music
is particularly relevant.
THE MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
In
1983 Howard Gardner, psychology professor at Harvard University,
presented his Multiple Intelligence theory based upon many years of
research. Promoting the concept that intelligence is not one entity but
that there are many different forms of intelligence, Gardner has
awakened a revolution in learning. Multiple Intelligence teaching
methods recognize eight (though there may be more) forms of
intelligence: visual-spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical,
bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, and most
recently naturalist. Multiple Intelligence teachers strive to broaden
students familiarity and skill levels in each area.
The Multiple
Intelligence teaching model emphasizes education for understanding
rather than rote memory or the mimicking of skills. Practical hands-on
skill development is coupled with factual knowledge and the ability to
apply skills and information in real-life situations and make meaningful
contributions to society.
Development of the musical intelligence
can be greatly aided by the use of music throughout the curriculum. In
addition to learning about musical elements and how to create music, the
musical intelligence involves developing an ability to respond to
musical sound and the ability to use music effectively in one's life. As
a musician who has taught general music in public and private schools I
can speak to the value of having students hear music throughout the
school day as a means of increasing musical intelligence. The more
students listen and respond to a variety of music, the more they will
know about music on a personal, real-experience level, the deeper will
be their understanding of why people throughout time and around the
world create music, the greater will be their ability to use music
productively in their lives, and the more eager they will be to develop
their musical skills because they will understand, appreciate and enjoy
music more!
As a music teacher, I can say that the methods for
using music in the classroom not only enhance the learning process but
also contribute to the development of the musical intelligence.
ACCELERATED LEARNING
In
the 1960's, Dr. Georgi Lozanov and Evelyna Gateva researched ways to
increase memory abilities including the use of music in the classroom.
Their successes caught the attention of the world. Teaching techniques
developed from their creative experiments and today we have a solid
format for effective multisensory and whole brain learning called
Accelerated Learning. This book does not describe the full philosophy or
method designed by Lozanov. It will, however, draw upon the knowledge
of music in Lozanov's method to share successful ways of using music for
learning.
The use of background music during lectures, vocabulary
decoding, or group readings is a cornerstone of Accelerated Learning
techniques. Two methods for using music, designed to create very
different but equally effective learning environments, were developed
through Lozanov's methods. They are called concerts. The Active Concert
activates the learning process mentally, physically and/or emotionally
while the Passive Concert is geared to place the student in a relaxed
alpha brain wave state and stabilize the student's mental, physical and
emotional rhythms to increase information absorption. Both teaching
methods result in high memory retention. Used together the two concerts
provide a powerful learning experience.
Another component of
Accelerated Learning techniques is the recognition that the learning
setting and student comfort level with learning is of great importance
to student success. Lozanov's methods included using music as students
enter the classroom, leave the classroom and during break times to help
establish a positive learning atmosphere.
TURNING MUSIC ON IN YOUR CLASSROOM
You
will find many ideas that feel comfortable and exciting to you in this
book. You will probably also find techniques that do not resonate for
you. Keep in mind that you do not have to use music in all the ways
presented here in order to be effective in enhancing learning through
music. The addition of even one music technique in your classroom will
add richness and improve the learning process. My suggestion is for you
to begin your musical journey by incorporating one technique that
resonates greatly with your teaching style. When you have mastered this
use of music in your classroom, go on to explore a new method. Your
students enthusiasm and response will be a guideline and incentive for
future ideas and uses. Music for Learning Suggestions Focus and Concentration Music
Play as background music while students study, read, or write to:
· increase attention levels
· improve retention and memory
· extend focused learning time
· expand thinking skills
Relax with the Classics. The LIND Institute. Accelerated Learning research indicates slow Baroque music increases concentration. It works!
Velvet Dreams. Daniel Kobialka's exceptional music-favorite classics such as Pachelbel's Canon at a very slow tempo.
Celtic Fantasy. Kobialka uses the warmth of Celtic music played slowly to facilitate relaxed focus.
Music for Relaxation. Chapman and Miles. Quietly sets a calming mood.
Baroque Music to Empower Learning and Relaxation. The Barzak Institute uses slow and fast Baroque era music to hold attention.
Mozart and Baroque Music. The Barzak Institute. A useful compilation with 30 minutes of Mozart and 30 minutes of Baroque music.
Mozart Effect: Strengthen the Mind Enhance Focus with Energizing Mozart, selected by Don Campbell.
An Dun. Calming the Emotions Chinese music that actually does calm and appeals to all ages.
Accelerating Learning. Steven Halpern's music assists learners in focus and is good background for reading-free-flowing and peaceful.
Creativity and Reflection Music
Play as background for activities such as:
· journalling or writing
· problem-solving or goal-setting
· background for project work
· brainstorming
Pianoforte. Eric Daub. This thoughtful classical piano music sets the tone for introspective creativity and processing. Excellent!
Medicine Woman I or II. Medwyn Goodall gives us music to delve into deep thoughts and meaningful feelings.
Oceans. Christopher Peacock. Motivating and great team-building music.
Mozart Effect: Relax, Daydream and Draw. Don Campbell's collection of reflective Mozart for gently enhancing creativity.
Fairy Ring.
Mike Rowlands' touching music in a classical style. Long cuts hold the
mood. Good for reading with important information or stories.
Living Music and Touch. Michael Jones uses solo piano music to encourage reflection.
Welcoming Music
Play as background for entries, exits, breaks. Use to:
· greet your students
· create a welcoming atmosphere
· set a learning rhythm
· expand musical awareness
Dance of the Renaissance. Richard Searles. Delightful music of 15th-17th century England. This upbeat music appeals to all ages.
Emerald Castles. Richard Searles. Pleasing sounds of the Celtic countries played on acoustic instruments.
1988 Summer Olympics. Various rock songs from the Olympics that inspire.
Celtic Destiny. Bruce Mitchell. Dynamic instrumental Celtic music. Stimulating with a variety of paces.
Sun Spirit. Deuter. Delightful flute music that energizes melodiously.
The Four Seasons. Vivaldi Beautiful melodies to set a warm mood no matter what the season.
Boundaries. Scott Wilkie. Relaxed jazz to set a an easy-going learning pace.
Echoes of Incas. Ventana al Sol. Joyful South American melodies and rhythms open the door to learning.
Active Learning Music
Use for a sound break or movement activities to:
· increase productivity
· energize students during daily energy lulls
· provide a stimulating sound break to increase attention
· make exercise more fun
· encourage movement activities
Tunes for Trainers. An all-in-one CD with categories of Fun Stuff, Energy Break, Brainstorm, Quiet moods and more.
Jazzy Tunes for Trainers. A versatile compilation with lively background music for a wide variety of teaching and training activities.
Earth Tribe Rhythms.
Brent Lewis. This wonderful rhythmic music is played on 20 tuned drums
for both rhythm and melody. Great for any movement activities.
Best of Ray Lynch. Ray Lynch A classic electronic and acoustic recording that adds fun and interest. Useful for topic associations.
Funny 50's and Silly 60's. Old songs that are just plain fun like Purple People Eater, Wooly Bully and more.
Hooked on Classics. The beat that doesn't quit! Great for body and brain wakeups.
Earth, Sea, and Sky. Nature recordings. Provides a variety of sounds.
Best of World Dance Music. Hopping happy music from everywhere. Some vocal and some instrumental. Music selected by Chris Brewer, LifeSounds. To order call 561-575-0929 or email music@us-it.net CDS $16 Cassettes $11
SOUND DIRECTIONS
for using music to enhance learning!
"Take a music bath once or twice a week for music is to the soul
what water is to the body."
-- Oliver Wendall Holmes
Here are sound directions on how using Relax with the Classics in the classroom for focus, concentration and memory. Relax with the Classics from the LIND Institute
These
slow, Baroque selections are between 55 and 80 beats per minute.
Research has shown that this music will help you maintain focus and
concentration. It assists you in reaching the alpha brain wave state, a
state which enhances learning and memorization.
Use this music
· during writing or reading activities
·
with Passive Concerts in Accelerated Learning teaching and training
(for more information, see Music for Learning, by Chris Brewer)
·
Pachelbel's Canon in D is especially useful for synthesizing and
summarizing activities (such as the Overhead/Power Point Review form of
Passive Concerts)
· during tests, goal-setting
· for mind-calming exercises
· to relax Tips for Memorizing Words, Terms Facts (Passive Concert):
·
Select text important to the content such as explanatory information
(text from a book or reading), words and their definitions, or a
metaphorical story.
· Ask your participants to sit comfortably and
give them time to settle in, close their eyes, sit back, etc. Let them
know they will be hearing music for a minute or two and then you will
begin your reading.
· Begin the music and let it play for a minute or
two. Then begin to read your content information slowly and in a calm
voice that is loud enough to be heard above the music. The music and
your voice should be about equal or your voice should be slightly
louder. If reading words and definitions, pause for a mental count of 4
between sets of words. Keep your reading to 30 words/definitions or 3-5
minutes or text-less for young students.
· When you have completed
your reading, allow the music to play for a minute or two after you have
finished speaking, then slowly turn the volume down on the CD player. Tips for the Overhead/Power Point Review:
·
Place the overheads or Power used in your unit lesson in the order in
which they were first presented or go back to your PowerPoint
presentation visuals to where you want to begin. Colors and images on
the visuals also help memory.
· Explain to students that they will be
reviewing the information learned in your unit by reviewing the
presentation visuals. Let them know that there will be no talking during
this review, only music.
· Ask students to sit comfortably and give them time to settle in and relax.
·
Begin the music and display each visual for approximately 7 seconds,
slightly longer if the visual is complex (visuals should not include
large amounts of text!). Continue to display visuals until all have been
seen. Let the last one remain on the screen for slightly longer, turn
off the projector and let the music play for another 30 seconds. Slowly
turn the music down to signal the end of the review. Music Bibliography and Suggested Reading
Abramson, Robert M. Rhythm Games Book I. New York: Music and Movement Press, 1973.
Andersen, Ole, Marcy Marsh and Dr. Arthur Harvey. Learn with the Classics: Using Music to Study Smart at Any Age. LIND Institute, San Francisco, California: 1999.
Bamberger, Jeanne. The Mind Behind the Musical Ear: How Children Develop Musical Intelligence. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1991.
Berard, Guy, M.D. Hearing Equals Behavior. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing, 1993.
Bjorkvold, Jon-Roar. The Muse Within: Creativity and Communication, Song and Play from Childhood through Maturity. New York: HarperCollins, 1989.
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About the author
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Watch
the full David Bowie tribute from The BRITs 2016. Annie Lennox and Gary
Oldman pay moving tribute to the late, great David Bowie as he is
honoured with a BRITs Icon award. Bowie's band are joined by Lorde for a
performance of 'Life on Mars'.
PeaceJourney.com Salutes These Women for Speaking Out in Support of Solidarity and Justice!
Mar 07, 2016 12:30 pm
Dr Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of suffragette Emmeline, Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger led a mass walk through London on Sunday 6 March, ahead of International Women’s Day.
Annie and Sister Sledge on the Care International Walk In Her Shoes March
They
were joined by crowds of supporters as they walked in solidarity with
women and girls worldwide who endure inequality and injustice. The
annual event launched CARE International's nationwide campaign, Walk In Her Shoes.
Supporters
spent an unforgettable Mother’s Day walking alongside a star line-up of
outspoken feminists, including celebrities such as ‘Suffragette’
actress Romola Garai, director Sarah Gavron, comedian Bridget Christie
and activists from around the world. They were joined by London’s very
own 21st century ‘Olympic Suffragettes’, who walked in traditional
Edwardian costume to highlight the fact that the Suffragettes’ goal of
equal rights remains unrealized.
“In
2016 there are 757 million adults who cannot read or write a sentence –
2 out of 3 of these are women,” said Annie Lennox. "Globally the
leading cause of death of women of reproductive age is HIV/AIDS.
Women around the world aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and
domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.
“Whether
the issues are education, health care or security – dis-empowered women
and girls around the world face unimaginable challenges. There is still
so much more to be done in terms of creating transformative change
towards a fairer and more equitable world. That is why I’m joining the
Walk In Her shoes, in solidarity with women and girls worldwide who bear
the brunt of the burden of poverty.”
The
Mother’s Day walk in London is the start of a nationwide Walk In Her
Shoes campaign, which encourages people in the UK to raise money for CARE
by walking 10,000 steps a day for one week in March. The charity’s work
includes providing clean water sources in poor communities, allowing
girls and women more time to go to school or work instead of walking
miles each day to collect water.
Playing acoustic is hardly alien to Peter Frampton -- "Baby, I Love Your Way" from Frampton Comes Alive, anybody? But it did take him awhile to wrap his head around the idea of doing a whole album that way.
"People have been trying to get me to do it for years, and I just didn't want to try it," Frampton -- who releases the 11-track Acoustic Classics, premiered
exclusively below, on Feb. 26 -- tells Billboard. "I now think it was
just stubbornness and fear -- or fear and then stubbornness because I
was scared."
Frampton put those fears aside to record Acoustic Classics in
his Nashville studio, playing acoustic guitar and bass and a bit of
piano on "I'm In You." Regular collaborator Gordon Kennedy joins on the
lone new song, "All Down To me," but the album is mostly populated by a
combination of favorites --- yes, even "Do You Feel Like I Do" and "Show
Me The Way," the latter complete with Talk Box -- and lesser-known gems
such as "Fig Tree Bay," the first track from his 1972 solo debut Wind of Change, "Sail Away" and "Penny For Your Thoughts."
"When
I started the CD I thought, 'Ha ha, it's gonna take me a couple of
days,' and yes, was I wrong," Frampton says with a laugh. "I have such a
high standard of my own output that when I did two or three tracks, I
came into the control room and listened to them and I was just, 'It's
OK. It's good. It's fine,' but I wanted more. So I spent a few months
going in every day doing different performances of different songs until
I found the ones that worked for me and I thought people would like. I
wanted it to be like, 'Hey, sit down, I've just written a song' and I
sit down and play you 'Lines on My Face' or whatever and you were likely
drawn in 'cause you're the only person in the room besides me, and
that's how I look at it, like a one-on-one experience."
Frampton
acknowledges that given the iconic epic it is as a live piece, he
initially did not consider including "Do You Feel Like I Do" on Acoustic Classics."
But towards the end of the recording process changed his mind. "I
thought, 'Look, I've done all the others. Let's give it a go,'" Frampton
recalls. "I think the most important thing for me was that the
instrumental portion of the beginning came off well. It's just a
different take on it, y'know? It's an acoustic 'Do You Feel.' I can
understand if some people just won't listen to it because they only want
to hear the other one, but for me, going from 'I can't do that' to
'Yeah, it's not so bad,' it works for me."
Frampton, Kennedy and
Frampton's son Julian toured acoustically last fall and are headed out
for another 13-show run of the west coast on March 9. In addition to the
Acoustic Classics, Frampton also performs Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue," the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," material from his Humingbird in a Box EP and a couple of Humble Pie
tracks -- and, he notes,"We talk a lot between songs." One of the show
will be filmed for broadcast on AXS later this year, and a live release
and perhaps a second acoustic album are under consideration. But
Frampton, who plans to be on the road with his full band this summer
doing dates withLynyrd Skynyrdand Gregg Allman, is also looking forward to plugging back in for his next album.
"I
need to move forward as well; I don't want to get stuck right there
(acoustically) too long," he explains. "I want to move on to something
different and then maybe the album after that might be a live acoustic
show. Some people in this industry have said that the more senior
artists like myself, no one wants to hear new music from them, so don't
worry about it. I get it. But that's what I do, you know? You can't just
stop. So even though new music from me isn't going to leap to the Top
40 stations or streams or whatever, it doesn't matter because it's what I
do every day. I'm always creating. Whether people want to hear it or
not, I'm gonna do it."
Frampton's mind these days is also on the passing of good friend David Bowie, who Frampton has known since school days in England and played with both then and as part of Bowie's 1987 Glass Spider Tour Band.
"It's hard to talk about for me, still," Frampton says. "He was a
great, dear friend, and as an artist he was totally unique. We grew up
together. We went to the same school, so obviously it's hit me very
hard. That was a tough day -- for everybody. I"m not saying I'm special,
but it just so happened that I knew him all my life so it was hard. It
still is hard. I miss him greatly."
The curtain will go down on the Bowen Park Theatre Company after its spring performances, but many in the Waukegan
arts community are already mourning the loss of a professional
production company that has staged comedies and dramas for nearly three
decades.
Smaller audiences and reduced state funding are among the
issues that led to the decision, according to artistic director Jason
Clark and Claudia Freeman, superintendent of cultural arts at the
Waukegan Park District.
"I feel like Clockwise (Theatre) is losing a big brother," said Gurnee
resident Madelyn Sergel, playwright and past artistic director of
Clockwise Theatre, which opened about six years ago in Waukegan.
The
Bowen Park Theatre Company "has fought the constant battle for
audiences, actors, media and dollars to bring vibrant art to our neck of
the woods," Sergel said.
Bowen Park Theatre Company's last performance will be the final showing of "On The Verge," according to Clark.
The
park district oversees the theatre and other activities at the Jack
Benny Center for the Arts including the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and
Waukegan Concert Chorus, which perform at various venues in the region,
plus arts and music classes and other cultural activities. All of those
activities will continue, Freeman said.
Freeman said both she and Clark are "heartbroken" about closing the theatre's doors, but that it's time to move on.
"This
is a choice Claudia and I made to step back, to re-evaluate the future
of Bowen Park Theatre," said Clark, adding that local theatre supporters
have expressed disappointment about the decision.
"Claudia and I
had talked about this for a while," he said. "We've been having fewer
and fewer people audition and there's been a slow decline of the
audience over time."
Clark said he wants supporters to know "it
was our decision, not the park district's decision to close." He added
it hasn't helped that funding for the theatre from the Illinois Arts
Council has declined to about one-tenth of what it once was.
Clark,
a Waukegan resident, actor and set designer for various local theater
companies, will be acting as Long John Silver in the Devonshire
Playhouse production of "Treasure Island," beginning Feb. 13 in Skokie.
The role, he said, will help "lighten the sting a little" from closing
Bowen Park Theatre.
It's also still possible the theatre may return to produce one production a year or in some other capacity, Clark said.
"We
may do one show next year. We still hope to produce a show in the
future," he said. "We are hoping this is not our swan song."But there is no plan to create another season of performances, he said.
As little as a decade ago, Clark said, "We'd add seats for our productions. We needed to because we sold out."
The
theatre seats up to about 100 people, Freeman said. For a recent
production of "A Few Good Men," the theatre averaged about 54 tickets
sold for each showing. At another production before that, the theatre
sold an average of 12 seats, she said.
Freeman said closing the theatre is a sign of the times.
"Things
have changed. The numbers have gone down for performance arts (venues)
in the metropolitan areas as well," she said, pointing out the December
closing of Redmoon Theater of Chicago after about 25 years. Apple Tree
Theatre of Highland Park closed in 2009 after 26 years of productions.
Freeman
said the lighting and sound system will be maintained in the Bowen Park
Theatre's space, and that it likely will continue to be rented out to
other theater companies or for meetings.
"It's good space," she said.
The
roughly $20,000 annual budget used for the theatre can be put to good
use, she said, adding that cultural arts is alive and well at the park
district.
Lynn Schornick and Ken Smouse founded Bowen Park Theatre Company and the Bowen Park Opera Company in 1987.
In
2003, the Waukegan Park District and the Jack Benny Center for the Arts
renamed the Goodfellow Hall Theatre, the Dr. Lynn Schornick Theatre,
where Bowen Park Theatre holds its productions.
The Jack Benny Center, located in Bowen Park, is the cultural arts division of the Waukegan Park District.
The opera company closed in 2010, said Freeman, "because we were not filling seats."
Sergel said she has seen Bowen Park Theatre's recent play, "Agnes of God," which continues through this weekend.
"It's a superb production, beautifully directed, with all three actors doing wonderful work," Sergel said.
She
added that Bowen Park Theatre has been a "kind and generous friend to
Clockwise, always there with a loaned prop, coming to shows, and
cheering Waukegan on.
"Jason Clark could have gone other places,
set up his professional tent in Chicago or L.A., but he chose to stay in
Waukegan, offering up his numerous talents as director, actor and
designer to his hometown," she said. "He also quietly provided
opportunity to dozens of young people and was a constant advocate for
designers, actors and playwrights. His work and the work of Bowen Park
Theatre Company will be sorely missed." Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
I had the honor of meeting music-mogul, #LAReid in Chicago Wednesday night at Morningstar- during Chicago Ideas Week.
"Sing To Me"
There are Beautiful Miracles of Connection in This Story.
Wednesday's February 17, 2016 Chicago Ideas event was sold out, but I went anyway. A few friends tried to get tickets for me, but no luck. I heard he was in Chicago from friends Wednesday morning and on WGN TV. All I knew is I had to get there.
I did not know of LA. (My bad!). I caught him on the @KathieLGifford Today Showwith Kathie Lee & Hoda 2-weeks ago. During the TV interview, I felt a deep connection. I stopped and acted, ordering his 390 page book from Amazon titled "Sing To Me". It came the next day.
Reading the book, I had learned he and I lived on the same street in Mount Auburn, Cincinnati when we were kids, a few years apart. He got his nickname "LA" when he wore a Los Angeles t-shirt at a music production meeting during the Reds vs LA World Series games in '75. Such an amazing time in Cincinnati. I lived there back then.
I read his book in one day. I did not have that planned. I kept personal Cliff Notes during the 15+ hour read--amazed to find he was from my home town, lived on the same block as young kids; and that during my adult life, I had met so many of the artists/managers he represents today, as one of the top music producers/record Executives in the world
(I have met Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Russell Simons, Snoop Dog, Justin Timberland & Lionel Richie's managers, Avril Lavigne, Michael Jackson, some members of the Wu Tang Clan).
LA also had attended Hughes High School where my Portuguese mom studied to become an American Citizen way back then. I bet they were crossing paths in those halls.
He worked on Johnson's Party Boat on the Ohio River as a kid. He wanted to be a drummer so he started by buying drum sticks because that's all he could afford. Years later he was given drums. He was a member of the band The Deele (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deele), performed at my fav venue, Bogarts in Clifton, and started the LaFace Record Label. He recorded at CGA Studios' old location where I produced a short video for my son's wedding with music, and he opened for Luther Vandros on tour (a friend of mine, Ava Cherry, was Luther's amazing back up singer and lived with and toured with David Bowie).
@LA_Reid has an amazing story about working with Michael Jackson & Jermaine and letting Lady Gaga go from Epic Records. He was a judge on the X-Factor too. I heard randomly last weekend at a dance event our granddaughter attended through a friend of my daughter's, that LA just received keys to the City in Cincy a week ago and that her hubby, a Cincy radio Exec, was at the event. More & more miracle info threading this story through so many people and over so many years.
@LA Reid writes, "Passion is my superpower. I wanted my work to be cultural." I got to tell him that "Passion, peace and culture are my superpowers". We laughed. I gave him my book to read "Peace Journey, Seven Paths To A Charmed Life". He said he would read it.
Last Sunday while watching the Grammys, Meghan Trainor @Meghan_Trainor won artist of the year. She thanked LA Reid: she cried, and so did I. To know he brings so much joy to artists & musicians got to me.
Wednesday night, in an audience of hundreds I felt his true spirit. I told him I lived in Mount Auburn till I was 6. I broke my arm in that yard! He looked at me and reached out to hold my hand--knowing what I knew too, that I am white and lived there when it was pristine, he lived there when it was nice and turned ghetto. This is where race riots destroyed part of our innocence in Cincy in '69. Yet we were right here, right now, and it felt as if time stood still.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion. When all was said and done, it was the memories we shared as little kids, when life was innocent, full of music and light, and now as adults, for a heartbeat or two, strangers; a brother I never knew, shared a precious moment from another time. They say everything you are is formed by age 5. Today, I believe that more than ever.
I have loved this series of small and important acts of connection, to remind me that God is here, in the room and it pays to trust that, no matter what.
Now, I hope to connect on the business of PeaceJourney and bringing the world to peace through youth and music!
Courtesy of Dogwoof
Reading the book, I had learned he and I lived on the same street in Mount Auburn, Cincinnati when we were kids, a few years apart. He got his nickname "LA" when he wore a Los Angeles t-shirt at a music production meeting during the Reds vs LA World Series games in '75. Such an amazing time in Cincinnati. I lived there back then. 