Bruce Springsteen performed on the “Stand With Teachers” fundraiser.
Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne are both on the Founder’s Board of Steven Van Zandt’s educational TeachRock program, and both performed on “Stand With Teachers,” the virtual fundraiser that Van Zandt hosted (but did not perform on) on Dec. 31. You can watch some highlights, below.
Tickets, priced at $25, are still available via teachrock.org. The event can be purchased and streamed until Dec. 24.
Springsteen and Browne performed solo, as did all the participants in the socially distanced special, in which everyone was in a different location. Springsteen offered a slow, pensive take on “Letter to You,” the title track of his October album, while Browne performed his Christmas-themed “The Rebel Jesus.”
“This is Bruce Springsteen, and I stand with teachers,” said The Boss, after he performed, echoing the statement that most of the night’s other participants made as well.
Other performers included Eddie Vedder, who provided the event’s most dynamic musical moment with an energetic version of Springsteen’s “Growin’ Up,” and Margo Price, who performed her own “The King Is Dead.”
Steven Van Zandt on “Stand With Teachers.”
Melle Mel added an a cappella rap about a favorite teacher, “Ms. Rose.” And a group reading of Mad magazine’s 1960 beatnik-style parody of the classic poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” featured Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Buscemi, Sammy Hagar, Edward Norton, Bobby Cannavale, Maureen Van Zandt (Steven’s wife) and others.
Tom Morello talked about his mother, who was a teacher, and the importance of education in general, and various educators talked about working with the TeachRock curriculum.
TeachRock provides tools that can be used in online education, and reports that use of its open-source, online curriculum increased by nearly 400 percent during COVID-caused school shutdowns.
According to the press release, “TeachRock currently reaches 23,000 schools in nearly 7,000 districts representing all 50 states. TeachRock has users in 121 countries. All of the K-12 resources at TeachRock.org are available to teachers, students, and families at no cost.”
Stand With Teachers - Steven Van Zandt, TeachRock and Stars Unite for Education. Full show streams thru 12/31 from TeachRock on Vimeo.
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
