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UC Berkeley thanks The Guitar Center Music Foundation
for supporting Guitars in the Classroom
| Dear Mr. Thomas, |
December 19, 2007 |
Thank you so much for supporting Guitars in the Classroom - University Program (GITC-UP) for student teachers. The Developmental Teacher Education Program at Berkeley has been transformed thanks to your generosity. We have rapidly ramped up from having no music in the program in 2005 to requiring that all students play guitar with their students and that they learn to write "piggyback" songs to support their curricular and management objectives in the classroom This is an essential part of our multi-campus Arts Education Initiative, funded primarily by the Ford and Heller Foundations�
As you know, transforming teacher education programs has tremendous potential to reach large numbers. Each student teacher, over a career of 20 years will teach approximately 500 children and will influence many teachers, administrators, and parents as they continue to play guitar in their classrooms and in school assemblies. In our program, we currently have 43 students - so potentially 21,500 children stand to benefit from the GITC-UP program on the Berkeley campus alone - just from the students we have here this year. Other campuses are following our lead and there are GITC-UP programs at California State University East Bay, Antioch University West in Santa Barbara, and Mills College in Oakland. More campuses are interested in following suit.
If you are ever in Berkeley, please stop by and see our guitar class in action. It will make your heart sing to know that you are a part of making it possible.
Sincerely,
Della Peretti, Ph.D., Coordinator, and
Paul Ammon, Ph.D., Director
Developmental Teacher Education Program
University of California at Berkeley
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