IB teacher combines creativity with connection
Students from River Oaks ES chat with Bayou Manor resident Joyce Hardy
Dottie Price is creating memorable lessons for both her third-grade students and residents of a local retirement community through a combination of music, writing, and listening exercises.
Price challenged her students, who attend River Oaks Elementary School, to interview residents of Bayou Manor to learn more about their lives and the challenges and triumphs they faced, then write lyrics about their experiences and set those stories to music.
The children returned to the facility on Nov. 26 to serenade their elders with the “songs of their lives.”
“Where else would you find such a multi-disciplinary approach to interviewing, writing and community connectedness?” asks parent Linda Brawley Wittig. “The International Baccalaureate program attempts to aid students’ understanding of their role in the world and encourage them to contribute their gifts and talents in meaningful ways in their own communities. The two-fold lessons learned by personally interviewing elders and creating musical works that reflect values and stories from their lives integrate the IB goals into an emotional event that lifts the spirits and honors the lives of people in our community who might not otherwise be recognized.”
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Congratulations Ms. Price! You do so much for our children and our community. We are fortunate to have you teach our children.