Just over one month ago I got a call from Junior Jam asking if I would be interested in teaching music in primary schools around London, and now here I am, 1 month in having taught the first term of African drums. It has been most rewarding and challenging time. As a gigging musician, making the transition into primary school teaching music with Junior Jam is a big change, so having Junior Jam there to support with anything I may need has really helped a lot. It's really nice to know you can call up the lovely staff in the office if you’ve had an intense week and together they can help sort any problems you may have. In our last few weeks of drumming I saw such a big improvement in the students skills and they even managed to perform their own song in small groups. Jambo Bwana was a huge song hit and every group knows all of the words. So not only did they learn practical skills... they learned about history, culture and can all speak basic Swahili!
Being able to bring music into young people’s lives is such a purpose filled job and although challenging it is so rewarding to see young people really enjoying and embracing learning. As a Singer Songwriter it constantly reminds me how wonderful music is and how important it is to be sustaining music in education. Thanks Junior Jam!
Kelly
