Wednesday, May 1, 2002
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Wednesday, May 1, 2002 |
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Fayette teacher selected for Fulbright program Choral performances at Starr's Mill High School are going to be flanked with Asian influences next year. Dan Lane, the school's choral director and fine arts department chairman, has been selected to participate in the Fulbright Memorial Fund (FMF) program that will send a delegation of teachers from the United States to Japan to study Japanese culture and schools from June 16-July 5. The FMF program seeks primary and secondary educators with great potential for the 21st century. A minimum of two awards are given to each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. in order to reflect a broad cross-section of the American primary and secondary educational community. While in Japan, Lane will visit Tokyo where he will receive an orientation to Japan followed by visits to primary and secondary schools, teacher training colleges, cultural sites and industrial facilities as well as meetings with teachers and students. He will also have the opportunity to visit one of Japan's smaller cities during a home stay with Japanese hosts. As part of his application for participation in the FMF program, Lane had to describe how he would utilize his experience in the classroom after his return from Japan. He says his newly gained knowledge will be put to use immediately by devoting a section of the 2002 fall concert to Japanese music. He also has plans to extend what he learns to SPASM (Special Performances at Starr's Mill), a program the school's fine arts department sponsors in the spring which features different fine arts performances throughout the day and culminates in the evening with a concert that is generally attended by 1,200 members of the community. "Since there is such a rapidly growing population of Japanese people in our area, partially due to the increasing number of Japanese industries that are locating in Peachtree City, this concert could serve as a bridge between our school and area industries," said Lane. Lane says he wanted to participate in the program so that he could broaden the horizons of both his students and himself to help to further breakdown the wall of ignorance surrounding the Japanese culture. Lane suggests that by studying the music of a culture, students not only learn about the customs and history of a particular people but they also internalize what is important and valued in it. "For years I have used music to break down some of the walls that exist in society," explained Lane. "One such wall, held together with the mortar of prejudice, has at its core ignorance about the differences in people and cultures. Music is a magical art form that allows participants to actually step into the shoes of other cultures and understand their differences." In his 13 years of teaching, Lane admits that he has only chosen two Japanese pieces to use in his classes. His choices have not been based on musical likes or dislikes but rather the fact that he does not know enough about Japanese music to feel comfortable teaching it. He says training programs in choral music education are very western in nature and that he can recall very few places during both his undergraduate and graduate studies where he experienced eastern music. "I do know that the two Japanese pieces that I was brave enough to attempt came to be two of the favorite pieces of my students and that the Japanese music was full of wonderful, complex musical concepts," said Lane. "But I have to admit that I really did not know how to approach those pieces to insure that our offering was meaningful and authentic. My participation in this program will help me gain the knowledge I need to teach Japanese musical concepts to my students and expand their knowledge of the culture." The FMF teacher program is sponsored by the government of Japan. It was established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright Program - a U.S. government initiated project created in 1946 to foster mutual understanding through exchanges of university students, faculty and teachers. More than 6,800 Japanese have benefited from the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship program. This year marks the sixth anniversary of the FMF program.
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