Teaching and Contrasting Cultures using "Dust in the Wind", "Winds of Change" and "Blowin' in the Wind"--Part 3
By Kevin A. Stoda, international educator in Taiwan
This is the third of 3 "wind"-themed songs , I used last month to help my junior high students to connect to American music and Western culture through listening, reading, and discussing about symbolism.
Part 3 focuses on the older song of the three, "Blowin' in the Wind".
Bob Dylan came to sing in Taiwan this past April 3, 2011
A lot of adults were inspired to go see him play and sing, but I doubt whether most (or any) of the 7th and 8th grade students in my English Speaking-and-Listening class even knew who Dylan was or for what kind-of-music (genres) he was popular in during the 1960s, i.e. when the song "Blowin' in the Wind", was written. Bob Dylan's lyrics have now been used in music and literature classes in public schools in America for generations--not only to impart literature but to help one generation share with another its collection of memories. Moreover, all viewers of 1990s pop culture can recall, too, how the "Dylan" texts were used in the film DANGEROUS MINDS to motivate under-achieving students. [1]
It is believed that "Blowin' in the Wind" is Dylan's most covered song of all time.
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