Collaborative Learning Community : Case Study

Darcy Attaman is the founder of Make Music Matter, an organization that gives mostly women in the developing world an opportunity to discuss some of the hardships they have gone through through music. Before Attaman created Make Music Matter he was a producer working out of Winnipeg. One day Attaman learned about the Aids epidemic and wondered why it was not being talked about. He took it upon himself to inform others. Ataman produced a song that discussed the problem in 2006 for the International Aids Conference. Soon after he went to Africa to see the problem for the first time. He first visited Kenya where he visited the largest slum in the world. Only one Non-Government Organization (NGO) was working there at the time providing

HIV/AIDS has been responsible for one of the worst epidemics in history. In her book “The Invisible Cure” Helen Epstein details why Africa in particular was so devastated by the disease, which countries failed and which succeeded in the struggle to contain the virus, and why this happened. Epstein highlights a particular phenomenon, that first took place in Uganda, but which can be translated to many countries and situations, and which she calls “the invisible cure.”

All over the world, there are huge battles, wars, and genocide. Many people lose their families and everything they have. They are forced to be a slave, and to do things they do not want to do. It is possible that people who have been exposed to all this circumstances tell the world their experience, and how to heal their wounds. According to the articles, “Killing Fields Survivor Documents Cambodian Genocide” by Jennifer Hyde and “Why the Arts Are as Important as Hospitals in Cambodia” by Emely Wight, they both talk about a person who has been through a huge trauma such a genocide. Individuals and societies who suffered a trauma such a genocide can heal by looking for justice and music.

In The Invisible Cure, Helen Epstein talks about why HIV/AIDS rate is so high in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Through the book, she gives us an account of the disease and the struggles that many health experts and ordinary Africans went through to understand this disease, and how different African countries approached the same problem differently. Through this paper, I will first address the different ways Uganda and Southern African countries, South Africa and Botswana in particular, dealt with this epidemic, and then explain how we can use what we have learned from these African countries to control outbreaks of communicable disease elsewhere around the world.

The film, Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, showed how during the Apartheid, music in South Africa was a form of expression of the country’s general emotion that portrayed the oppression and struggle the black natives had to endure. Songs amongst the black South African community had different tones; for example, some songs depicted the injustices of the Apartheid amongst the black natives and others would be sung to uplift the people. Even though songs were sung as either beautiful melodies of hope and prayer or peaceful protests, they would still continue to upset the white community, specifically the government, which ordinarily resulted in violence. Music was applied throughout many aspects of black South African traditions and customs that it also played an important role of being a form of communication to alleviate the injustices brought upon them. In the beginning of the film, activist Sifiso Ntuli stated, “Song is something that we communicated with people who otherwise would not have understood where we were coming from. You could give them a long political speech and they would still not understand, but I tell you, when you finish that song people be like I know where you guys are coming from. Death unto Apartheid.” (Hirsch 2002). This statement emphasizes how powerful and pivotal music was to the salvation of the black South African community and how it enlightened those who were

In cultures all over the world, music can be seen encompassing many aspects of life for many individuals. It is a form of mass communication that"speaks directly to society as a cultural form", and often reflects a collection and pattern of personal experiences (King 19). Music is so influential because it communicates on three different levels: the physical, emotional, and cognitive. Not only does it operate in a nondiscursive way, by affecting the physiological mode of the body, causing one to move and dance, but it also encourages one to think. This paper will explore music as a form of protest; showing how a political message, in general form, is presented through music.

In Finnie Tyler High School, there is no mission, vision, or goals driving learning. Each teacher does what they want, when they want. This is an ineffective approach to instruction because students have a difficult time making connections between various subject matters and learning does not necessarily build from one concept to the next or even from one class to the next. Another issues is that teachers are professionally isolated, meaning they do not collaborate with one another. Collaboration is extremely important in improving instructional practices.

Before taking this course, I had very limited knowledge of the struggles of the apartheid in Southern Africa. The Amandla! Film documents the harrowing experience, but demonstrates the positivity that arose from the music scene. Freedom and protest songs helped unite the struggling people and facilitated their ability to overcome this overwhelming oppression. Music plays an important role in the daily lives of South Africans and this documentary provides insight into that aspect of their lives.

The world as a whole should be mortified by what is happening in Sub-Saharan Africa. In places like Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho poverty, crime and systematic corruption are the tinder for the fire that is the HIV epidemic in Africa.

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New

Music is a creative art form that allows the artist to construct something that expresses a purpose. It evolves over time and changes as the world changes, taking on many different motivations behind the melody and lyrics. In today’s society, anger, oppression, racism, and negative opinions rule the media and popular culture. I believe that African Americans need to show their self worth and not let white people hold them back. With the music in white culture often mocking African American culture and portraying negative stereotypes, African Americans have to find ways to gain respect. In acknowledgement of the negative portrayal of their culture, African Americans respond by creating songs and videos that express their pride in their culture and heritage, react to white oppression, and communicate their independence.

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

Uganda’s significant sculptor, Dr. Lilian Nabulime, once said “Art is a very powerful tool that can change people’s attitudes regarding issues that affect them, thus empowering them, leading to change among themselves, socially or politically.” The eruption of HIV/AIDS changed the art industry remarkably. The outbreak of HIV/AIDS was, and still is today, one of the largest plagues in the history. The disease has brought attention to people and changed society as a whole. HIV/AIDS also caused many kinds of problems, for example, issues with racism and social affairs. Throughout the 1980s, the eruption of HIV/AIDS had such a significant impact on American artists that the disease transformed much of their artwork. This crisis has affected many artists in such personal ways, that they began to draw attention to the crisis by dedicating their creations to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Two of the many artworks in this world regarding HIV/AIDS that caught many individuals’ attention significantly are The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and AIDS: 1 in 61. These two pieces of artwork may be different regarding their appearance, but the creators of both works had the same goal of spreading awareness of the disease through their art to the world.

Somehow I persuade myself each day that there is. Probably just curiosity about the future more than believing there is actually anything

Carriers of the viruses of HIV and AIDS have been silenced for far too long. It is time to speak out. In Mary Fisher’s speech “A Whisper of AIDS” she helps her audience to understand that the topic of HIV and AIDS should no longer be silenced. Fisher stood before an audience of her peers and used many forms of persuasion available to her in order to evoke a positive significant response from her audience.