Beyoncé to Billy Joel: TeachRock training sessions set for September on using popular music in classes
Tom Needham, vice chairman of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Credit: Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame has scheduled its first training sessions for teachers for the free TeachRock curriculum that uses popular music in classroom instruction covering topics from math to history.
Educators in the next few weeks will be able to sign up for the sessions that start in September at the Hall of Fame's newly opened facility in Stony Brook.
Two sessions have been set so far. The first, on Sept. 17 includes an introduction to the resources offered by TeachRock that teachers can use in the classroom. The free curriculum offers online instruction plans, study units and materials for educators.
"There is something for everyone no matter what the subject is," said Tom Needham, vice chairman of the Hall of Fame.
The second — scheduled for Oct. 15 — will be "Hip-Hops 50th Anniversary" and is expected to include lessons on local artists such as LL Cool J. Another is still in the planning stages to be offered next year.
TeachRock offers more than 200 instructional plans online for grades K-12, covering subjects from algebra to world history. Launched by rocker Steven Van Zandt, the standards-aligned, open educational resource uses popular music from artists such as Beyoncé and Billy Joel to help teachers engage students.
Earlier this year, TeachRock and the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) announced a partnership with the goal of bringing the curriculum into more local classrooms. Needham said the new Stony Brook facility is a perfect fit for the training sessions which likely couldn't have been done before the Hall of Fame had its own home. The new facility opened in November.
There's no cost for teachers to attend and they can earn credits for professional development, he said.
"We're very hopeful … that some of the teachers that come will use the lessons in their classrooms and also be inspired to come back for field trips with their students," said Needham who is also the chairman of the Hall of Fame's education committee and a teacher in the Sewanhaka school district.
Sign-ups will be available on the LIMEHOF website, TeachRock website and on social media, Needham said. Trainings will be led by Stephanie Arnell, a music teacher in Freeport — one of the only local districts currently using the curriculum.
Freeport Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said the TeachRock lessons offer valuable instruction that really engage students in learning.
"I do believe that it is a wonderful program and wonderful resource — not only in the music department but also in all the other disciplines — to teach through the lens of rock music," he said Wednesday. "We are always looking for innovative ways to expand and enhance the curriculum to reach all type of learners."
Thousands of educators nationwide have registered with the online TeachRock site, and other states are using it, too. In 2021, Connecticut officials announced they were integrating the curriculum into public schools statewide.
TeachRock functions as part of the nonprofit Rock and Soul Forever Foundation. Van Zandt, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and longtime guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, established the foundation in 2007, and the first 60 lesson plans of the TeachRock curriculum were published in 2013.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
