June 10, 2020
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
Ukulele.
The word itself makes people smile and even laugh, while the sound of a ukulele brings joy to those within earshot.
This was especially true for fifth graders at LaVergne Lake Elementary, where music teacher Michelle White introduced her students to the instrument prior to students being sent home in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was a new thing we were all learning together,” White said, “and they seemed to really enjoy it.”
As quickly as students were sent home, returning to classrooms was in jeopardy and educators throughout the district quickly adapted to virtual ways of engaging students. White tried to create an opportunity that would “drum up a bit more excitement.”
Her idea combined art and music.
Using household items, she asked students to imagine their own ukulele. The goal was less about playing it and more about practicing finger patterns on the fret.
White’s only requirements was their homemade instrument needed to have the proper number of strings — four — and at least four frets.
“I didn’t want to get too complicated for them,” said White, who made it into a contest in an effort to generate more participation among students, “but then I asked, if they could remember the fingerings that we’d learned in class.”
White added, “They were ecstatic, and it was a lot of fun.”
The art project was not meant to be a functioning ukulele, but White was surprised how serious some of her students were, particularly when it came to the functionality of their creation.
While most students used yarn to represent strings, one particularly creative student used macaroni noodles. One even went so far as to pull twine tight enough that a faint sound could be heard when she strummed the instrument.
This was the first year White introduced students to the ukulele.
Prior to the 2019–2020 school year, White received the funds to purchase one classroom set of ukuleles.
White has been at LaVergne Lake for 13 years and taught fifth grade for the past six. She teaches a total of about 1,000 students, whom she sees every eight days or about 120 to 140 students each day.
White delivered ukuleles to students who participated in the exercise, so they could practice playing this summer.
“Fifth grade is one of my favorite because they actually get a lot of freedom and autonomy in my classroom,” said White, who prior to the ukulele had a unit on stomp “where they actually create their own rhythms and perform on trash cans and buckets and everything else. It’s loud.
“They actually get to improvise … and perform for the school. It’s something they look forward to in the fifth grade — they get to play trash cans.”
Perhaps, the biggest surprise for White, was seeing how much the boys loved both stomp and the ukulele, if not more so than the girls.
Not to mention, fifth grade is a nice change from the repetitiveness of hearing “Hot Cross Buns” on the recorder — a musical rite of passage going back generations.
“One thing I love about my job is that I get to see my kids grow up,” White said. “Having been in the same community for 13 years, I’ve taught their siblings and I’m to the point where I’m probably going to have my children’s children, but it’s really neat to be a part of this community.”
Although the school year came to an unceremonious end in the middle of the ukulele unit, White was pleased with the response and looks forward to this year’s group of fifth graders.
She might even look to collaborate with Kristin Jobe, who was in her first year as an art teacher in 2019–2020.
“It was definitely a new adventure for me,” White concluded, “so I’m looking forward to getting to do a full lesson next year.”
PHOTOS PROVIDED