TaKeTiNa with Teens
Through rhythm, teens experience who they are.
There is magic in flowing back and forth between order and chaos. An hour a day for two weeks of TaKeTiNa rhythm sessions, high school students transformed their self-concept, attitudes towards living and learning, and went home with a new enthusiasm and curiosity for life. The process of falling into and out of rhythm, of flowing between order and chaos while focusing on a life question, taught these students skills for accepting who they are, for better understanding things about themselves they might want to change and that mistakes are an important part of the learning process. Groups of high school students joined Mary daily in a University of New Hampshire classroom for an elective class called TaKeTiNa at SYMS (Summer Youth Music School) . TaKeTiNa begins with the voice speaking rhythmic syllables and the drum is added to establish the beat. We then add steps to those syllables. Soon everyone is moving and stepping, some to the beat, some not. Tensions ease and the atmosphere lightens as we explore how our bodies move in and out of rhythm. High School students are willing to talk and move at the same time. So we often share our thoughts as we solidify our steps. As the drum continues, we add a more complicated polyrhythmic clap and I can feel the tension rising. Because of our educational system, students often feel they need to get it right and do it fast. Or, they quit because it is too difficult. I tell them it is not about getting it right but about their process. I encourage them to honor their own learning process, to move at their own pace and to trust their bodies to be their teacher. As the one-hour class progresses and the students, at first reluctantly, join in the call and response, the atmosphere shifts from self-consciousness to inward learning, from seriousness to joy, from the attitude “I’ve got to get this right” to self-acceptance. TaKeTiNa addresses head on a common concern expressed by music teachers: ”My students don’t feel the rhythm.” The TaKeTiNa process recognizes that rhythm is rooted deep within us and offers a place for students to reconnect with that rhythm. The goal during these two weeks of daily rhythmic experiences, is to guide these students to a place of self-acceptance, to a place of (accepting) being either in rhythm or out of rhythm, to a place where it is no longer about “making mistakes” but about being present. The benefit comes as they develop their ability to swing back and forth between order and chaos in a way that works for them. They internalize lessons about life. “What do you do when something is hard?” I ask them one day. During that day’s rhythm journey, the students explore who and how they are when something is hard. They discover their capacity to silence their internal critic and accept their own pace of learning. They learn the joy of relaxing into the group experience with rhythm. They communicate with one another through their movement, humor and creative interaction. At times students themselves add another layer of chaos. Their creativity is awakened and their adventurous spirits begin to play. |
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TaKeTiNa facilitates the learning process
Western cultures have students learn primarily while sitting.
Many students must learn in an environment that is based on fear, frustration and stress.
Research shows that the best learning cannot occur this way.
As a matter of survival, the learner shuts down.
Students need to learn in an environment that is motivated by curiosity and interest.
TaKeTiNa fosters this environment.
Through a step-by step participatory experience,
learners can slow down and begin to observe their own way of learning.
They begin to make choices about what is effective for them and what is not.
They begin to study themselves and their behaviors.
Their rhythmic body becomes their teacher.
Many students must learn in an environment that is based on fear, frustration and stress.
Research shows that the best learning cannot occur this way.
As a matter of survival, the learner shuts down.
Students need to learn in an environment that is motivated by curiosity and interest.
TaKeTiNa fosters this environment.
Through a step-by step participatory experience,
learners can slow down and begin to observe their own way of learning.
They begin to make choices about what is effective for them and what is not.
They begin to study themselves and their behaviors.
Their rhythmic body becomes their teacher.
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