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Tom
Hunter...
| Tom Hunter was a modern-day
minstrel with a busy national schedule of conferences, workshops, school
visits, and family concerts. For well over 40 years, he sung and wrote songs, and explored what songs do to help us learn, teach,
celebrate, grieve, believe, play, and tell the stories of our lives.
He was a seminar presenter for the Bureau of Education and Research (15
years), Co-Founder and Co-Director of the
Northwest Teachers Conference (13
years), and was a popular presenter at countless statewide
and national events for the National Association for the Education
of Young Children. He produced recordings of his music
through the Song Growing Co. (11 to
date) and many of those recordings have quietly become "standards" in homes
and classrooms across the country. His essay articles have been
published in Young Children, HarperCollins made one of his songs into
a picture book, and many other artists (including Willie Nelson) have
recorded his songs. With his formal education at Amherst College and
Union Seminary, he was most interested in how songs and learning affect each
other, and liked nothing better than to listen for how children and
teachers make sense of their worlds. He spent his last days at his
home on 11 acres near
Bellingham, WA with his wife Gwen, son Aeden, and daughter Irene. "Simply put," he said, "we need to sing
more. The benefits are huge." |
"I want my music to be grounded in the realities of what
kids and teachers know. I want it to 'ring true; as it helps
people laugh, cry, remember, celebrate, and
learn."
— Tom Hunter |
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In many places these days the arts, including music, are
an easy budget cut. Education is squeezed and learning is defined so narrowly (by
test scores and measurable outcomes) that increasing numbers of students
— and teachers
—
are crowded out. The arts:
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—
make more room,
—
make learning more effective,
—
make schools more fun.
We need to sing more!
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Pictures...
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Tom at The Play House
in Long Beach, CA...
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Tom & Anthony
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It looks like Tom got stumped
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Tom showing off his building block skills
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Tom in Rochester, NY
for the ECE Quality Council...
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Tom doing his thing for kids
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Tom at the YMCA
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More to come...
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