March 21: Sweet Cherie and Juju House at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science
The auditorium of Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science was electric with the go-go musical stylings of Sweet Cherie and Juju House. This was the school’s first Teach the Beat visit. DCAESJ secondary working group member Destini Collins is a middle school music teacher at the school, and upon learning about Teach the Beat, she fervently pursued bringing the program to the school. This much anticipated assembly style visit surpassed her and the middle school students’ expectations!
Cherie and House introduced the fundamentals of go-go history and composition, made clear the elements of a go-go, and shared about their experiences in founding and carrying go-go generations forward. They shared about the origins of the pocket beat and, much to HU Middle’s elation, they learned about the go-go symphony from JuJu.
Ms. Collins raved:
This visit truly challenged me to make teaching and learning joyful and artful... I cannot begin to express the ways in which I am inspired. There were students who are typically shy or withdrawn who were laughing, smiling, playing, singing, and dancing. There were students playing the instruments who would not typically volunteer themselves to participate in such a high-stakes event, but you made it feel so welcoming and low-stakes for them because it was like a PARTY. I cannot begin to express how incredible this experience was for the students. It was an incredibly rare, sacred, and artful opportunity for them to make connections beyond our classroom, into the community, into the world. Thank you for how incredibly interactive, engaging, fun, joyful, and intentional this experience was for the students AND everyone in attendance. Thank you so much for sharing your legacy and art with us at HU Middle. I cannot wait to collaborate with Teach the Beat in the future.
Check out all of the photos from the visit.