The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are concluded and there’s a gap before the start of the 2026 Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo Games.
If you’ve visited our K-12 Learning Resources, you may have “visited” the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, which offers a 360º virtual tour.
There are several other Olympic museums throughout the world. Not all have full-scale virtual tours, but most offer an inside look at the museum, videos or contain back stories about featured athletes, and events.
Some also focus on non-Olympic sports and experiences.
There are over thirty facilities counted as Olympic museums.
Let me guess. You don’t like classical music, and you definitely don’t like opera.
I get it.
Many people think of opera as an odd form of singing in a musical genre reserved for the staid and stuffy. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn just a little bit about it, while having a good chuckle or two.
Making Opera Fun
Jeff Spurgeon of WQXR has put together quick synopses of several well-known and regularly performed operas.
Mr. Spurgeon uses pop culture references and historical humor to give the listener a condensed version of each opera.
Expanding one’s horizons doesn’t mean embracing what you see or hear; it just gives you a broader perspective. It doesn’t hurt to know a little bit about a lot of things. It offers the opportunity to engage in conversations that you would otherwise feel excluded from.
I enjoy a good deal of classical music, but I’m not an opera buff. It is my least favorite segment of the genre.
You don’t have to sit through a three-hour performance to gain insights into the story or have fun with opera. With Mr. Spurgeon’s opera in 3-minutes, you get the gist.
Enhancing Education
Music programs have been cut from many schools, so today’s students aren’t exposed to a wide range of musical genres.
The 3-minute operas are a way for young (or not so young) people to sample and learn without being bored. It’s not about embracing – it’s about exposing.
Some parents may deem some of the subject matter unsuitable for young people, so I suggest you listen alone and make your determination.
I have two suggestions for you to sample.
The first is Puccini’s La Bohème. Not only should it give you a few good chuckles, but you might recognize the storyline that served as the basis for a popular Broadway musical and 2005 Hollywood film.
I am no opera buff, but I do enjoy Mr. Spurgeon’s skillfully crafted, easily digestible, and fresh take on the often centuries-old storylines – they’re almost irreverent in the most delightful way.
Looking for other education supplemental material? Try our K-12 Learning Resources page that’s filled with subject help and multiple museums and points-of-interest tours.
A not-surprising report was published earlier this month about parents’ thoughts on the importance of math education. There was no mention of math anxiety.
How many of these parents have expressed negative or confidence-lacking feelings about math to their children?
There’s no way to know for sure, but it’s probably more than a few.
A school is a place of formal, structured learning.
Learning doesn’t need to be formal or structured, and it doesn’t start when a child crosses the threshold of a building or online portal – it begins at home.
perspective. It doesn’t hurt to know a little bit about a lot of things. It offers the opportunity to engage in conversations that you would otherwise feel excluded from.