When a Single Word Becomes a Song
/How many of us have been intimidated by creativity? When we look at a beautiful painting, read a masterful novel, or listen to a fantastic album, it can be hard to imagine ourselves ever accomplishing something that big. In this week’s blog post, we visit Riverside Central Elementary to learn how COMPAS Teaching Artist Bionik helped students turn their small choices into a huge success.
COMPAS Teaching Artist Stefon “Bionik” Taylor led a collaborative songwriting residency at Riverside Central Elementary.
At Riverside Central Elementary in Rochester, the arts are everywhere. Riverside is a Turnaround Arts school, meaning they integrate the arts into their curriculum to overcome the substantial challenges their students face. Fourth grade teacher Anna Schmidt explains, “As a community school working with a largely under-served population, we try to give our students as many enrichment opportunities as possible.”
Even though the arts are ubiquitous at Riverside, starting a new creative endeavor can still be scary. Schmidt remembers one of her previous students who was hesitant to learn breakdancing on the first day of a new arts residency: “I believe there were tears,” she recalls. “So, he and I went and learned to breakdance together. He was, not surprisingly, much better at it than me, and on the last day he got into the middle of the circle by himself to show off his moves to the entire group. That was… just the best moment.” Creativity is special like that – it can help our small choices snowball into larger successes.
In the past, Riverside has worked with COMPAS Teaching Artists to learn how taking small steps can add up to larger creative projects that may have seemed impossible at first. For example, in 2019, John Akre made this short video about how Riverside students pieced together one frame at a time to eventually tell a bigger story through stop-motion animation.
This year, the teachers at Riverside wanted to try something new: a collaborative community album produced by Stefon “Bionik” Taylor. First, Bionik visited classrooms and helped students brainstorm lists of topics they wanted to write about. Then, he delegated tasks – who would write lyrics, who would help compose the instrumental tracks, etc. “Over the next couple of days kids got the chance to use different instruments that he had for them, some of them sang the lyrics, and one girl brought in her own violin to play,” says Schmidt.
But what about the students who felt intimidated by such a large project? “Bionik and I worked for at least 5 minutes to get one of my girls to finally talk into the microphone,” remembers Schmidt. When the student finally plucked up the courage, she ended up recording the phrase “I don’t like music.” As strange as it seems, Bionik included the audio snippet in one of the songs – and made it sound great! “I think that speaks volumes about his message that everyone has a voice and their ideas matter,” says Schmidt.
Finally, Bionik helped piece together the hard work of Riverside students into a full 24-track album featuring hit songs like "Deadly Epidemic Dis Track," "Llama Drama," and "Potato Squad." Each song has input from multiple students and highlights a variety of talents, proving that every little contribution can add up to a larger piece of music. Creativity doesn’t have to be intimidating; it’s the culmination of small choices all adding up to something bigger.
Now, listen to the songs of Riverside Central Elementary and join the #otterfamily!
Want to bring a Teaching Artist like Bionik to your school or community? COMPAS Teaching Artists offer a variety of virtual and remote programs including video residencies, class drop-ins, and live workshops. Email Program Director Julie Strand for info, or book an artist now!
