How Can They Keep From Singing? What happens when a 4th grade teacher, an environmental educator, and Pete Seeger work together to teach children about the environment and social justice? The kids become so excited about changing the world that they can't keep from singing in the hallways between classes. What happens when the principal of the school, worried about parents objecting to social justice songs echoing through the corridors of the school, issues a proclamation that children MAY NOT sing in the hallways? The kids write a song called "We Sing Out" and keep on singing. Put it all together and you get a brand new album by Pete Seeger, at the age of 90! This Reach And Teach newsletter has just three parts: Pete Seeger with the Rivertown Kids and Friends
 Reach And Teach is thrilled to offer our partners in peacemaking this brand new album. We love it. The 19 newly recorded songs on Tomorrow’s Children testify to Seeger’s long-held credo, “Think globally, act locally.” Once considered a controversial outsider by some of the residents of his adopted hometown of Beacon, NY, the international icon of sociopolitical activism has since involved himself in local activities and issues and became accepted as a neighbor. His concern about the heavily polluted Hudson River that runs alongside Beacon inspired the construction of the 107- foot Sloop Clearwater, “America’s Environmental Flagship,” which sails the Hudson spreading environmental education and awareness. When Beacon fourth-grade teacher Tery Udell invited Clearwater educator and singer Dan Einbender to teach her students about the Hudson, class sessions became songfests, and where there are songs, there’s Pete. He became a regular visitor to the kids’ classroom in 2007. The classroom gatherings and performances inevitably led to a series of recordings by Pete, Dan, musician and CD co-producer (with Dan) David Bernz, the children (known as “The Rivertown Kids”), as well as adult musicians, high schoolers and even 14 grammar school percussion students. The result of such a disparate musical cast is a delight to the ears as presented on Tomorrow’s Children. Pete is on every track of the CD, singing, storytelling, playing banjo and 12-string guitar, but he shares the studio spotlight with all of his guests. Their voices, instruments and the songs they have adopted or adapted are woven into a colorful quilt depicting our nation’s history (“Take It from Dr. King,” the tribute to Pete’s fellow civil rights warrior performed on the “Late Night with David Letterman” show; “I See Freedom,” the true story of a runaway slave who settled in Beacon); the possibilities of an ecologically clean world (the newly co-written Seeger song “Solartopia” featuring guest vocalist Dar Williams), and the natural beauty worth preserving (“Down by the River,” “The River that Flows Both Ways,” and others). Perhaps most importantly, Tomorrow’s Children contains songs of empowerment and cooperation adapted or written by the kids themselves such as “We Sing Out” (“…so our voices can be heard,” with a melody borrowed from Tom Paxton), an updated version of the old gospel and union song, “We Shall Not Be Moved,” and a set of new verses to Seeger’s Biblically-inspired standard, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” added for the children by Pete’s wife of more than 60 years, Toshi. No matter who’s singing the songs, the spirit of Tomorrow’s Children is pure Pete. The reflective title track extols “the dream of changing the world into something new . . . Our greatest joy was opening the way for you.” And as Pete sings in “It’s a Long Haul,” “It’s a job for the many/Not just for the few . . .haulin’ together and makin’ up a rhyme.” That sounds like Paradise to Pete – a common goal approached with unity of purpose and effort, and sneaking in some fun, too. You needn’t be one of tomorrow’s children to take these reminders to heart.
Click here to order this album/CD now!
Announcing The Dove and Olive Works - Our First "Click and Mortar" Store! 178 South Blvd. San Mateo, CA
 Reach And Teach has joined together with the Rebuilding Alliance, an organization that rebuilds homes in war-torn communities and helps make those communities safe, to open a store in San Mateo California. We've named our shared building "The Dove and Olive Works." We know that a dove carrying an olive branch is a symbol of peace. We believe that we are working on projects and products that will help make the world a more peaceful place, but at this moment, there is a lot of violence and division in our world. That's why we look at our work, the work of peacemaking. as part of the process of bringing the dove and the olive together. And, the Rebuilding Alliance sells olive oil from Palestine as one of the ways it raises money for its work, so we thought the Dove and Olive Works would be a great name.
Our Grand Opening is Septemeber 25th from 11am to 5pm. If you're in the area, plan to come! We'll have live music, puppet shows, storytelling, great food, and a few surprises... all free! Click here for more information. Between now and the Grand Opening, the store will be open while we get it ready, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.
July/August Coupon Code
Save 10% on any purchase through our web site by using the coupon code [You need to sign up for the email version of this newletter to get the code]. You can also say that coupon code in our store and we'll give you 10% off all products, except olive oil (100% of the olive oil sales are needed to support the important work of the Rebuilding Alliance).
Thank you to all our partners in peacemaking for helping Reach And Teach arrive at this new place in the life of our organization. We need your help though to keep the momentum going. Please consider sharing this newsletter with your friends, family, co-workers, email lists, parents groups, school lists, etc..... Please consider forwarding this email to a friend to help spread the word about Reach And Teach. We Sing Out too, but our voices need your amplification. With your help, children across the world can be singing in the hallways, bringing the dove ever closer to that olive branch. Blessings of peace,
Craig Wiesner and Derrick Kikuchi |
