St. Patrick's Celebration

I am fortunate to have so many talented students, especially in music and dance. While this is most obvious in our math/science movements, we have many little moments that sparkle.

In celebration of Irish culture, I played a series of jigs for the 3/4 classroom. Several of my 7/8 students joined in the reverie and one of 8th graders brilliantly accompanied me on guitar. Dr. Robinson (her grandmother was a McCarthy) sang "An Irish Lullaby" and her husband, Gerry baked Irish Soda bread. We talked for a few minutes about the fact that it is difficult to make yeast bread in Ireland because it has relatively fewer yeast in the air when compared to France or even Vermont. We also talked about the fact that one of St. Patrick's miracles was to remove the snakes from Ireland. We also discussed the fact that Ireland never had any snakes.

As a team, we have been working on ways to help the students experience culture and to interact in complex ways. Last year, I was blown away by the power of of an impromptu string band of Michael, Irene and Jan and a few other local talents. I decided to start studying guitar at that time and I have been playing ever since.

Interestingly, I have been using a podcast to learn guitar. The podcast was produced in Australia and features both Irish and Australian musicians. Had I lived in Boston, I would have been able to study at Irish Sessions, which are held at many pubs throughout the city to share Irish culture and especially music.