Innovation comes through trial and error and that taking risks and trying something different can lead to astounding outcomes. Such is the case with Jon Schwartz. An elementary teacher, Schwartz is by nature curious and multi-talented. He is a blogger, a fisherman, a professional outdoors photographer and is one of the top underwater photographers of large pelagic fish. Before becoming a teacher, Schwartz was an extreme kayak angler (he was once featured on National Geographic television when he would catch and release marlins from kayaks).

His diverse interests and innate need to explore has made a world of difference in the lives of his students – many of whom come from low-income families and do not speak English. How could Schwartz help these kids to not only learn, but to excel? He turned to music.  Schwartz created The Kids Like Blues Band Program, which according to Schwartz, “is about using blues music in a thematic teaching method. We use the lyrics and music as
a springboard for teaching academic content standards in reading, writing, listening, speech, social studies, and the visual and performing arts.” His students then take their completed work, perform it onstage together and record it with digital multi-track audio and video editing programs, like iMovie, Photoshop, and Garage Band.

Full article at Daily Edventures.