Teach the Beat!

Bringing the distinctive D.C. sound of go-go into the classroom.

Teaching for Change is honored to work with D.C.  area schools and the authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. to develop lessons and share teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in middle and high school social studies, language arts, math, music, and/or D.C. history classes, and to bring renowned go-go performers into D.C. classrooms.

"Go-go has stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems. Simply put: Go-Go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music that gives voice to the communities where it was created." –Natalie Hopkinson

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May 17: Go-Go Mickey Visits Shepherd ES

On May 17, 2021, Milton “Go-Go Mickey” Freeman facilitated his first Teach the Beat classroom visit, engaging the first grade students of Zuri Saxon’s class at Shepherd ES (DCPS) in a lesson on the elements of percussion, and teaching them a short sequence of Chuck Brown’s Bustin Loose

To prepare for the visit, the students researched go-go during Black History Month and listened to go-go music as part of their learning. 

The students were in awe when Go-Go Mickey shared a little bit about his story and that he had been playing go-go for over 40 years. In unison the “wows” echoed through the classroom. 

After learning that the song they had been learning to play was by Chuck Brown, one student was excited to share that her brother had created a video on Chuck Brown.

Throughout the visit, students learned a percussion beat on Go-Go Mickey’s congos, played the tambourines, and learned to keep time. Each child participated as a part of the go-go band with Go-Go Mickey bringing it all together. 

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