As the fall semester speeds into winter break, Amanda Hinrichs’ fifth graders at Hebron Avenue School in Glastonbury, CT, are pretty worked up. They’re stamping their feet and making bold hand gestures with eyes bulging and tongues out. And Amanda is loving every second. Her music students are writing and performing their own “haka,” a Maori tradition that Amanda observed all across New Zealand on her Fund for Teachers grant this summer.

Amanda is a 25-year veteran teacher of music but recently faced an instrumental issue. The state of Connecticut started mandating play at the kindergarten level and permitting teachers to utilize play-based learning in grades 1-5. This change coincided with a personal shift – the decision to intentionally interject more world cultures into her curriculum. After reprising her initial Fund for Teachers proposal that was not awarded, this past summer she used a $5,000 grant to research New Zealand's Maori culture through museums, cultural performances, and living villages, while also consulting experts in play-based learning.

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Music on podcast: Scott Harris: Clear Progress