Medical emergency

[spacealien_vamp]

Apparently, a student at the school was confirmed to have measles. Due to this, all students who were in contact with the afflicted student (essentially, all high school students) are banned from attending school for several days in an attempt to prevent further contagion. There will be no classes starting Friday, continuing until next week Tuesday if necessary.

Too bad they don't generally vaccinate for measles here.

I had my second music history lesson today, in which I covered the Gold Rush and the construction of the railroad. I used songs such as "Oh, Susanna," "I'll Be Working on the Railroad," and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" and showed pictures of a banjo and a covered wagon, both of which really caught their interest. I finished by introducing Ragtime music with "The Entertainer."

I won't have another class for three weeks, due to the school festival. My plan is to do examples of jazz, country, and western styles of music in the next class.

Comments

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

They don't vaccinate for the measles? That's odd.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

They don't vaccinate for the measles?

Nope. Nor for mumps, as I seem to recall a student coming down with that a couple years ago.

[megory.livejournal.com]

I hope their plan to keep people home has the desired effect. It seems like a short period of time, but it could do the trick.

Your music/culture class sounds interesting. I can see the appeal in the pictures, too. The covered wagon was such a romantic idea.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

It seems like a short period of time, but it could do the trick.

From what I understand, the doctors calculated when the student was contagious. They then calculated, if any students caught it during that period, when *they* would be contagious, and those are the days we're cancelling classes.

Your music/culture class sounds interesting.

I hope so. The students are participating well (at least, three out of the four are, but the fourth is quiet in all her classes anyway). I think they're getting a big kick out of watching me sing along to things, too.

[megory.livejournal.com]

That's so cool that you sing along for them.

I always enjoy watching you sing the Japanese songs in a karaoke room. So, it doesn't matter if I don't understand the lyrics.

[devimustang0929.livejournal.com]

If you're introducing the kids to American culture through music, from the point of view of someone who's studied music I would suggest maybe a little bit of Aaron Copland. It's a fair assessment in my opinion that he is the first American composer to develop a uniquely "American" sound. A lot of his music tends to have a flair that we typically associate with the Old West. Two pieces that I would recommend would be Rodeo ("Beef: It's what's for dinner") and Billy the Kid.

Even if it doesn't have words, it's great and exciting stuff that showcases the American spirit. Although, if I recall correctly, he has a lot of good folksy singing tunes to his credit as a composer too. Like "I Bought me a Cat"...man, I love that one...

Just some suggestions from a music geek...

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely look into that.