#metrofocus

Still can’t get a ticket to Hamilton? 20,000 students from New York City public schools serving low-income populations are getting the opportunity to see the sold out show, all for the cost of a Hamilton– $10. How? The show’s producers and the Rockefeller Foundation are picking up the rest of the tab. But the students don’t get to just walk into the Richard Rodgers Theatre and see Broadway’s biggest show. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has created an interactive study curriculum for them to study before seeing the hip-hop musical. This is all part of a successful education program and its history-making tools that are helping New York City students view their classrooms in a progressive light. James Basker, President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute , and Dr. Barbara McKeon, the Head of School at the Broome Street Academy, join us to discuss this transformative educational tool and look at how Broadway is helping kids become more engaged in U.S. history.

For more information on this ground-breaking teaching tool, visit the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s website.

“One of my students said, ‘Wow, there were a lot of people of color in this show!’ And I said, ‘Well, sure, we told you there would be.’ And she said, ‘Well, I know, but I thought there would only be one or two.’ And then there was a pregnant pause and she said, ‘This means I can really do this.’”