Music Teacher in Boston Offers Life Lessons to Young People
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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Twenty-five-year-old Rick Aggeler says he [A]discovered[/A] early in life that music is magic.
RICK AGGELER: "Music made me feel like anything was [A]possible[/A]."
At the age of seven, a medical condition required him to have a brain [A]operation[/A]. It also prevented him from playing sports. So his mother suggested that he learn to play drums [A]instead[/A].
RICK AGGELER: "I started playing [A]drums[/A] with Ronit Glick. She was my [A]elementary[/A] teacher. I remember just the joy it brought to me. It was my favorite thing. Sixth grade was a new school to me and I had a hard time kind of getting along with all the kids. And Ms. Glick just took me in and I had so much fun at the [A]program[/A]. It just felt great all the time."
Rick Aggeler [A]graduated[/A] from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in two thousand seven. While there, he volunteered as a music teacher at a youth center in the Dorchester [A]neighborhood[/A] of Boston.
He helped create a small music club within the [A]center[/A]. The Music Clubhouse at the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club quickly grew.
Young people come to the Music Clubhouse after school and during [A]summer[/A] break. The club provides a safe [A]environment[/A] to learn to play instruments and to perform together in bands. The club even has its own recording studio.
(MUSIC-"Super Hero")
The club has [A]released[/A] two albums. "Super Hero" is one of the songs from the second album, "Because of You."
Fourteen-year-old Javon Martin [A]performs[/A] under the name Yung Fresh. He joined the Music Clubhouse three years ago.
YUNG FRESH: "It has [A]impacted[/A] my life in a big way because I never thought I would be doing this. We now give shows. I'm on the radio. People are actually starting to see me as like an artist."
(MUSIC: "Blue Hill Shuffle")
Ten-year-old Akheylah Hunter joined the club last year but did not play an [A]instrument[/A]. Now, she plays piano and sings in a band. What she likes best, she says, is [A]performing[/A].
AKHEYLAH HUNTER: "We performed in [A]different[/A] places like at Berklee College of Music. We go on trips, like we went to the House of Blues and we went on stage and we [A]performed[/A], and it was very fun."
The Music Clubhouse opened three years ago and has served almost five hundred young people. Rick Aggeler says preparing and [A]performing[/A] is good for them.
RICK AGGELER: "I can see what it does for them, and it just develops confidence. It's also an escape. A big problem we have in the neighborhood is obviously gangs, and family dynamics. And we have a lot of [A]challenges[/A]. We can have those [A]conversations[/A] and then they can write, too. They can rap about it and kind of let it out a little bit."
(MUSIC-"Wake Up")
Rick Aggeler says he is happy but not [A]surprised[/A] by the results of the Music Clubhouse at the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club.
RICK AGGELER: "As much fun as I do have drumming and performing live, it's definitely more [A]rewarding[/A] and more fun, watching these kids grow up and develop."
