THE MAXFIELD TIMES
Keeping the beat
A group of Maxfield students drum in front of a Culture Wellness Center sign in Brother Qadash’s culture drumming class. | Photo by Zach Walker
Brother Qadash uses his life
reciprocity, balance, justice
experiences and passions to
plays like “The Cripple Boy”
teach the culture drumming
on a dundun with sticks.
class at Maxfield Elementary.
with their hands on djembes.
and harmony. Students do
while Brother Qadash drums
In class, students also drum
Before teaching at Maxfield, he worked at a juvenile detention center that helped
By Farries
B
teenagers calm down. It turned around their behavior
rother Qadash likes
Maxfield Elementary School.
teaching drumming,
He teaches Monday through
driving his blue 2016
Thursday between 10 a.m.
Dodge Charger and helping
and 1:40 p.m.
his community.
10
Brother Qadash is a
He teaches his students the
basketball coach and
seven principles of Maat:
culture drumming teacher at
order, truth, propriety,
“WE ALL DRUM TOGETHER. IT SOUNDS BETTER WHEN WE DO IT TOGETHER.”
so they did not go to jail. He would share his own
“A lot of students come to the
experiences of childhood
class, you know, and if they
with the teenagers like he
are having a rough day, they
does every day with kids at
get some of that energy out,
Maxfield in order to connect
get some of that frustration
with them.
out,” Brother Qadash said.
“And then, at the same time, it makes them feel good.”
Every student who attends Maxfield will have the opportunity to take the drumming class. Each classroom, kindergarten through fifth grade, visits Brother Qadash on its assigned day of the week to learn drumming, dancing and singing.
“We all drum together,” fifth grader Kiara said. “It sounds better when we do it together.”
