Sistema NB Teaching Artists

Young people participating in Sistema NB programs across the province will one day look back on their experience as extremely important in shaping who they become. This was the message to Sistema NB teaching artists from Judith Bose, Director of Teacher Education and Educational Initiatives at Bard College in New York.

Bose addressed Teaching Artists at the annual meeting of Sistema NB Staff. She was highly impressed by energy, creativity and commitment of the New Brunswick teaching artists to the more than one thousand students they work with. During her morning session, she introduced teachers to several new training techniques for their classrooms. She also spoke about the socio-emotional impact Sistema NB is having on its young students.

Bose has studied music programming and education for many years, and she says the research coming from looking at el Sistema, has been particularly interesting.

“The hot research is on the brain and music and how there is no other activity quite like being involved in music for various types of brain formation,” says Bose. “But purely from playing an instrument, it links up so many areas of your brain, and that help with other kinds of learning and that is the heartbeat of what we hope to achieve for kids.”