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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - May 6, 1987 (61)here is much to learn in the area of movement BYTONI MERIANOS Ne. w+-rratinrl StafE»riter lenry "Buzz" Glass was born a id of the Great Depression and h a desparate need to belong. .iving in intercity ghettos in San ancisco, Glass described his life -ing the very lean times as • I •.wanted to belong, to be part of ags," he said Wedresday during visit to Parklane Elementary howl in North Stockton. lie found his niche in folk danc- g. having hooked up with a group artists in North Beach. • • t went ever': week (for the folk :L iagr,'• he said. "We had a lot r het and admiration for each '.er. There was a mutual -We would go around San Fran- co and dance in very colorful stumes." he said. -We lived a !ry bohemian existence." He likened folk dance to a ligious experience, people com- g together to share a love uncon- tionaily. `.lore than 50 years ter, he's sharing his love for ,usic and dance with children troughout California, stopping at arklane School for a morning of tythm, dance anr' - .mg. Glass, now on the verge of his fnd birthday. decided long ago to at his love for folk dance to good se. He begrn his teaching career tore than five decades ago In Lodi ,hen the number of schools could e counted on one hand and the opulation was only 13,000. By promoting folk dance, "I ranted to advance a belief in unity nd the brotherhood of man," he 3 But getting a job in 1939 when the depression was just beginning to Kind down wasn't easy, he said. Luckily he caught the fancy of a young woman named Frances, .then -Superintendent Leroy ;Nichols' secretary. She put in a ;good word for him and Glass' `dance experience caught the eye of at least one school official. fie was 'hired and began teaching fifth - grade at Needham School. to what transpires on the front lire UOP: Floyd Bonet, a physical of education and children's lives. education mentor at Lincoin "Children learn by experi- Unified School District and Steve ences," he said. "We still have a Falco, a Stockton Unified School job to teach that movement eduea- District physical education coor- tion is part of the total curriculum. dinator. You cannot eliminate the body Much of what Glass teaches and from education." promotes as part of his movement Glass has helped produce more education is used by the LUSD than 20 educational records, has physical education specialists, authored several books and maga- Mende said. zine articles and served as the edi- Lawrence School kindergartners for for Let's Dance _llagazfne. through third -graders got to learn His visit to the Lodi ['-'fled from the master as Glass led them School District was coordinated by through various songs and move - Dave Nlende. an LUSD curriculum meats. Imagine you're going down coordinator: Doris 'lever He lived with the ether single ahe Lessor of physical educat. ;nate (r•;ichers in a house near Lodi S. Hi¢h Schooi. "It was 10ke irater- � oily." ne remen;b.�rc�1. 11';nie in Lodi, }:e organized ioik festivals for the children at Micke Grove Park and founded the Folk Dance `•ederahon of California. Inc. For SUr. he hired a sound truck and put on a folk dance festi- val at Lodi Lake. "We put on this magic festival," he said. "It was a good beginning to something that still exists to- day." In 1942, he married Frances, and they left Lodi a year later to settle in Oakland. He was given an "op- portunity class" when he began at Bret Harte Junior High School in Oakland. "They were 22 problem children. These kids were street wise and con wise," he said. "Fortunately I had street knowledge" after hav- ing grown up in the ghettos of San Francisco. He taught mentally retarded children for 15 vears even though he was chastised by his peers for trying to reach students they felt were unreachable, Glass said. Later he became the consultant for special education for the Oakland Unified School District. Glass never stopped dancing. He worked for nine years as 4he supervisor for elementary physical education in OUSD and taught at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Ile passed along his trade for 20 years at the Unveristy of the Pacific Folk Dance Camp which he described as "the best in the world. No one can touch the teach- ers there." lie is a volunteer teacher with n:. nv.,,'.) wen Tuesday and tie o lu•t;>. irrn �t:ry informed as Paddle t, your left and paddle to your right, he said, as the students made imaginary strokes of the oar. They simulated the rapids and rocks by frantically waving their hands over their heads- Successful- ly through the rapids, they leaned' forward to thea- toes, gliding. through the calm waters. The students at Parklane School, one of the most racially diverse, schools in the Lodi district, were: just up (,lass' alley. -It's `trting to be a sm,iker world," he said. "There's a real; need to understand all cultures and. appreciate them and to work: coward a movement of peace,"