Non-profit Support For Arts Education
THE PROGRAM:
Music and Poetry Synchronized (MAPS) teaches middle and high school students of differing races, classes, cultures and genders to write poetry and music in preparation for a public concert at the end of the program term. Each MAPS class takes place through a partnership with two different schools in two different states and runs throughout a full year. In the fall semester, English students from one school create poetry from their life stories. In the spring, those poems are then sent to the partner school, where music students spend the semester turning them into heartfelt original pieces of music. Both schools participate in creating visual art inspired by the poetry and music.
THE FACTS:
Educational experiences infused with the arts help students:
Develop critical and creative skills necessary for today’s workforce
Improve school attendance score higher on achievement tests
Lessen dropout rates
Convey complex feelings and intent where speaking the words alone would have little effect
THE CONTEXT:
Go to mapsmusic.org for more information and to donate!
THE ACTION:
Music is a universal language that unites disparate peoples through shared cultural norms, rituals and expression. Through music, people tap into their ancestral roots to celebrate life’s cycles, express emotion, create culture and communicate with spirit. Concurrently, combining poetry, music and visual arts serves as a language that bridges between people who otherwise would have a hard time communicating. People from diverse backgrounds can unite by sharing a common experience even though their realities might be dramatically different from one another.