The Rebirth of J&D

Wesley J. Watkins, IV, Ph.D. spearheaded the organization and delivery of the first jazz and democracy collaboration at Thornhill Elementary in Oakland, California, during the 2007-2008 school year. “Dr. Wes,” as his students call him, presented weekly lessons to both 5th Grade classrooms from October through May of that year, acting as an arts specialist or teaching artist working in collaboration with the classroom teachers and music teacher. Go here to see a digital portfolio of the first collaboration.

As much as Dr. Wes wanted to continue his arts integration work at Thornhill and elsewhere, he needed to pursue other opportunities during the 2008-2009 school year. However, he never lost his passion for this particular integration project. By the Fall of 2009, Dr. Wes had developed a streamlined 12-lesson curriculum that included a goal different from the original Thornhill collaboration: inspiring youth to become active, positive contributors to their community.

Dr. Wes felt that the initial jazz and democracy incarnation had done well to help students understand that listening, choice, cooperation, and participation were essential to creating both jazz and democracy, but he also wanted students to know that American democracy—like Jazz—is alive and in process around them. Dr. Wes wanted students to walk away from J&D knowing concrete ways that they could make a positive impact on their communities in the short term, and what preparation was needed in order to exact long term impact. Hence, The Jazz & Democracy Project® has explicit outcomes that students will understand and take an interest in the democratic process, and the course curriculum highlights the importance of preparation, e.g., jazz musicians learning to play their instruments, and K-12 students earning college and graduate degrees.

In order to promote civic engagement and community service, The Jazz & Democracy Project® includes the Democracy Jam™. On the first day of class students complete a worksheet entitled, “What is important to me in my community?” Dr. Wes takes this information and locates professionals, local government officials, and other community leaders who work in the students’ areas of interest. Like the conversational nature of jazz jam sessions, in lesson 10 of the syllabus small groups of J&D students Democracy Jam™ or dialogue with invited guests and learn how they make an impact, and what schooling and/or career path prepared them to do so. Further, just like the jazz musician who must prepare before stepping onto the bandstand to engage in an improvised musical conversation, lesson 9 of the syllabus includes prep time for students to construct questions that will foster a meaningful conversation.

In sum, The Jazz & Democracy Project® brings American democracy to life. It uses our nation’s classical music—itself an engaging, living, breathing example of democracy in sonic motion—to help students gain a profound understanding of the ideals that undergird our nation’s Constitution and system of government. Leading directly from this new understanding, J&D provides a structured activity—Democracy Jam™—for students to learn how they can take part in shaping a more perfect union, both today and in the future.

*Click here if you are interested in volunteering for a Democracy Jam™!