The students' words tumble all over themselves in their enthusiasm to describe their health projects - challenging assignments that required them to research, analyze, write and present to their peers:

"I did my project on the song 'Jumper' by Third Eye Blind," said Beckie Benjamin, a junior at Edmeston Central School. "It meant I had to do a lot of research on suicide. Every minute, a suicide attempt is made. Just from one song, kids can learn a lot of facts."

"Our bus driver listens to country music," said junior Leigh Cole, "and I heard this song on the bus." She based her project on Kenny Chesney's "That's Why I'm Here," about the destructive effects of alcoholism.

Meanwhile, junior Sara Ackerman said her health project was inspired by her mom's suggestion of "White Rabbit," a 1960s-era hit by Jefferson Airplane about the use of drugs.

Clearly, this is not a by-the-book health class. "Learning from Lyrics," a teaching strategy developed by health teacher Brian Burgess and social studies teacher John Chase, uses music and the Internet in innovative ways to help kids learn.

Chase, who teaches in the middle school, is described as "great with ideas" by colleague Jim Smith, president of the Edmeston Central Faculty Association. In fact, Chase is the connecting thread in two Edmeston initiatives that combine high standards with cutting-edge technology. The "Learning with Lyrics" project and an innovative distance learning class in American film help break the boundaries of this rural Otsego County district, which enrolls 600 students K-12 and has 45 faculty members.

The dual initiatives, strongly supported by principal Casey Barduhn and other Edmeston administrators, suggest the pursuit of higher academic standards need not be stodgy.

It's only rock 'n roll, but I like it

"Learning with Lyrics," the brainchild of Chase and Burgess, has earned them stints as educator-lecturers at the New York State United Teachers/State Education Department in-service conference, teacher centers, BOCES and even the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The two teachers agree that "challenging" and "cool" are words that can coexist in their description of health class.

Chase, a 10-year teaching veteran, said teachers "can help students develop higher order thinking skills through the use of contemporary music. The assignments are right on target with the new Regents standards. Our students have to do research, analysis and synthesize data-based information."

Burgess, who has taught for 10 years, noted that lyrics are "just one teaching method I use," but the approach works well because it is "very student-centered."

The health projects are hard work. After students choose a social issue (drugs, eating disorders, exercise) highlighted in a song, they're required to research the topic (rubrics specify number of sources, style for note cards, and a written analysis) and prepare an oral presentation, with visual aids, to their classmates.

There are some necessary caveats: The song has to be approved by the teacher and the factual presentation must focus "on the health issues in a positive way," said Burgess.

Chase noted that it's "very powerful when a student challenges a popular song because the research doesn't back up the message in the music."

To encourage the use of lyrics as a learning tool, Chase founded Musicians United for Songs in the Classroom, a non-profit organization that publishes a source book, Learning from Lyrics, and maintains a Web site of more than 700 titles with research topics and links to related sites.

Going the distance

Meanwhile, in another initiative that "breaks the boundaries," Chase team-teaches with Maureen Christensen, a veteran high school English teacher. Assisted by teaching assistant Pat Cimorelli, they teach a daily 12th-grade English class, "American Film Experience," which is hooked up via distance learning technology to students in the district of Milford, 25 miles away. Smith noted that the union "has done our homework" in addressing distance learning issues in its contract, and said the administration has been "very supportive" of efforts to pioneer technology.

The class, composed of 10 students from Edmeston and eight from Milford, is required to do extensive writing. "There is a strong connection to the higher standards," said Christensen. One recent assignment required students to select a quote on "greatness" and relate it to a movie they had seen in the American Film Class and to a literature selection they had read. On the new English Regents Exam, students are required to take information from a variety of sources and connect it.

Christensen said this analytical approach teaches students to question what they see. "We need to prepare them to deal with the bombardment of media - the world is soaked in media," she said.

The MUSIC Web site is at http://www.wpe.com/~musici. For more information on Edmeston's initiatives, write Chase, Christensen or Burgess at Edmeston Central School, 11 North St., Edmeston, N.Y. 13335; contact Chase at jchase@mail.oncboces.org and Burgess at brianburgess1@yahoo.com.

- Ward