With your gifts, Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom will provide special educators, paraprofessionals, and specialists, and their students with adaptive musical instruments, musical materials, supplies, & free training so students who've been excluded from music classes can experience the joy of singing, drumming, and strumming. We'll give free virtual classes each week, plus in-person workshops throughout 2023!
According to the CDC, 17% of American students, over 7 million, have cognitive, neurological, emotional, psychological, or physical disabilities. The majority in moderate to severe special ed classrooms have been left out of music. They need and deserve inclusion in this powerful medium for self expression, healing, sensory stimulation, calming, creativity, and belonging. But teacher training in leading adaptive music, and access to adaptive musical instruments and supplies barely exists.
This powerful project will provide free teacher training for special educators in California, and Arizona to learn adaptive music leadership with accommodated strategies and techniques using instruments with specialized grips, and supports. Music will become part of learning in mod/severe classrooms everyday so students can sing and play music with paddle drums, adapted hand percussion, ukuleles, guitars, keyboards, slide whistles, kazoos, special picks, and easyhold grips!
As educators join GITC's effort to make inclusive music possible, word will begin to travel in education communities and networks about the possibility of receiving training and support for adaptive music. Teachers who long to throw open the doors to music for students in special education will learn that free training and support is available, and in time, they will be able to learn with us, and bring it to their school districts, creating wider acceptance of musical inclusion for all learners.
