On Tuesday, April 26, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. will join jazz legend Herbie Hancock and professors from some of the nation’s top universities for a discussion on Math, Science & Music, a new initiative that uses music to teach math and science to students. This special event will take place at the Department’s National Library of Education in Washington, D.C., as part of the educational programs surrounding International Jazz Day 2016, which is celebrated on April 30.
Hancock, chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, is a musician whose career spans more than five decades. He has won 14 GRAMMY Awards and an Academy Award, along with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. Hancock serves as Goodwill Ambassador of Intercultural Dialogue for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and he was the 2014 Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University. He is leading the Math, Science & Music initiative to engage students and help educators incorporate music into the teaching of math and science in kindergarten through college.
The panel discussion is part of a series of school visits and events by King focused on the importance of a well-rounded education. With the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law by President Obama in December 2015, the country has the opportunity to ensure that all students not only can master math and English, but also have exposure to sciences, social studies, the arts, physical education and health, and the opportunity to learn a second language. The Department is taking action across a range of areas to support states and districts in ensuring that schools provide a rich selection of subject-matter offerings.
Joining Hancock for the panel will be Harvard University’s Vijay Iyer and Rajna Swaminathan; New York University’s Alex Ruthmann; Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Eric Rosenbaum; University of California Berkeley and MIT Emeritus Professor Jeanne Bamberger; University of Massachusetts’ Gena Greher; Johns Hopkins University’s Dan Naiman; and San Francisco State University’s Susan Courey and Endre Balogh.
The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Art Exhibit Program, now in its 13th year, which features visual, literary and performing art created by students in U.S. and international schools, from pre-K through professional art school. It is part of a series of events by the Department focused on providing a well-rounded education for all students. ESSA creates the opportunity to ensure an education that not only includes strong numeracy and literacy, but also provides all students with access to science, social studies, the arts, physical education and health, and the opportunity to learn a second language. The Department is taking action across a range of areas to support states and districts in ensuring schools provide a rich range of offerings. The Secretary recently visited Las Vegas, Nevada; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Springdale, Arkansas, to learn about efforts in those districts to provide students with a well-rounded education.
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