Our Pulse Program guides fifth- and sixth-grade BMP musicians to become youth leaders and music mentors to younger musicians in our program. The opportunity for students to engage in leadership with their younger peers is a key facet of the El Sistema model.
This year, the Pulse leadership program is made up of 23 students. BMP Teacher Support Specialist Debbie Apple shares how the students have been exploring ideas of leadership:
"We started off the year exploring leadership and our own part of Boston Music Project. The students discussed questions like: 'What makes a good leader?'
'What are different leadership styles and which one do I relate to?'
'What are the different ensembles at Boston Music Project?' and
'What skills are each ensemble working on?'"
"From these questions the students created an activity to present to an orchestra that addressed the skills of that ensemble, showed the leadership styles of the Pulse students, and had a game element."
"This term students are identifying common problems students face in learning their instrument by reflecting on their own experience and observing the orchestras. As we continue through this unit, Pulse students have been developing strategies to help their orchestra with their common problems, testing out these strategies with the students, and reflecting and refining their approach each week."