Special Education Teacher Angeline Tarter leads the Stambaugh Steelers, a club of 13 students who gathered to learn the art of the steel drums (also referred to as steelpans). The instrument started in Trinidad near the turn of the 20th century and is featured in Caribbean music.
The group has performed at several school events ranging from concerts to graduation to school board meetings. Students began with little knowledge about what a steel drum was, let alone how to play one. Tarter said scholars leaned on a Moral Focus virtue to engage with the club.
“It was very courageous of them to come to that first rehearsal not knowing what to do,” Tarter said. “They just came from my invitation, but once they got started and had their first concert, they felt so good about themselves. They took complete ownership of it.”
Tarter has been teaching steel drums for over 30 years and uses the rote method to teach the Stambaugh Steelers.
The scholars learned music through a combination of traditional music lessons along with the rote method, a popular way to learn to play the instrument. The rote method is akin to call and response. Tarter would play sections of music and scholars needed to play it back. This allows scholars to learn the muscle memory of the instrument and elicits greater recall.
While Tarter just wrapped up her first year teaching at Stambaugh, the steel drums have been a part of her life for a while now; she has been a steel drum teacher for over 30 years. Her passion for the steelpan began when she studied abroad in Trinidad in college.
All of the drums used to perform and practice are Tarter’s own, and performing in the group is at no cost to families. These types of extracurriculars are a small part of why Stambaugh has outperformed the local district for the last 12 years.
Tarter finds many benefits in teaching the steel drums, most of them unrelated to music. She noted the instrument helps students who might struggle with focusing and that it helps the left and right sides of the brain work together.
The group has performed at concerts, graduation, and even school board meetings.“I think it’s a really great way to teach the students how to work together,” Tarter said. “It also teaches responsibility and discipline. I love how our students get positive attention from this, as well. They get compliments like ‘What a great job!’ and ‘Look at what you’re doing!’ It makes my heart sing to see that.”
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About Stambaugh Charter Academy
Stambaugh Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Youngstown, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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