An innovative group that I’ve seen implemented through the CIS Model is the Guitar Club, run by Joaquin Urby, Site Coordinator at Chisholm Trail Middle School in Northwest ISD.
The goal of Guitar Club was to build self-esteem and confidence for a group of five kids by learning to play the guitar. Urby purchased five child sized acoustic guitars, and brought his own guitar to spend their lunch period on Thursdays to learn how notes are set on the fret board and learn simple songs and chords before moving to more complex songs.
In the first few meetings, Urby noticed that many students got frustrated with learning guitar, but he reassured them that with patience and determination, they would get it down. Within a few meetings, students learned how to play “Happy Birthday,” and then moved on to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” which was a little more difficult. Urby hopes that learning the guitar becomes a metaphor for his students to illustrate that determination and hard work can bring results. Eventually, the goal will be for each student to bring in a song for the group to learn together.
The group became so popular that Urby ended up enrolling 20 students in the group, with each grade meeting in three separate groups. Several students even performed Happy Birthday on the guitar for a teacher.
The biggest change that Urby has noticed in his students is that they smile more. Seeing their eyes light up when they realize they have the ability to master what seems like a daunting and intimidating instrument is the ultimate reward of running Guitar Club.
