HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - May 6, 1987 (61)here is much to learn in the area of movement
BYTONI MERIANOS
Ne.
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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,"