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Orff Schulwerk at the United Nations International School Hanoi
-26- During the week of September 8, the United Nations International School in Hanoi (UNIS) had the pleasure of hosting guest teacher and musician, Doug Goodkin. Doug is a world-renowned expert in the style of music pedagogy known as ‘Orff Schulwerk,’ which is also practiced by David Cameron, the MYP music specialist at the school. His time at the UNIS campus energized staff, students and parents alike.
Orff Schulwerk is a respected music teaching process that was developed by Carl Orff (of ‘Carmina Burana’ fame) and Gunild Keetman in Germany after World War II. Carl Orff believed that music was an elemental force inside of all of us and that the role of the music teacher was to draw forth students’ innate musical ity through games, movement, carefully chosen material, and light-hearted play. His ideas have been enthusiastically accepted by music teachers in Europe, America, Australia, and Japan, and ‘The Schulwerk’s’ emphasis on process rather than product is perfectly suited to modern teaching concepts such as Jay McTighe’s ‘Backward Design’ and the IB Middle Years Programme ‘Design Cycle.’
While Doug was on the UNIS campus, he worked with stu dents in all grade levels. He emphasized movement and direct music making and creation and thrilled our middle school students with his lessons on blues and improvisation. All faculty at the school were given the opportunity to take part in two afternoon workshops which drew links between language instruction, mathematics, and music education and which were, perhaps most importantly, fun! It was a real treat for teachers from all subject areas to get the opportunity to view their subject from a musical perspective.
Parents at the school came to a parent evening where they learned more about the Orff Schulwerk process and were able to do a bit of music making on their own. Music teachers at the school were able to observe and participate in classes conducted by Doug, which demonstrated the most important aspects of Orff Schulwerk.
Doug’s visit to the school gave a boost to the performing arts program and helped all the members of our school community bet ter understand the Orff Schulwerk approach to music. As UNIS begins its 20th year of service to our students in Hanoi, we hope that his trip to our school will continue to inspire students, staff, and parents and that music education continues to remain an integral part of the UNIS community.
More information on Doug Goodkin and Orff Schulwerk can be found at: www.douggoodkin.com
