E Street band's 'Little Steven' develops rock curriculum for schools

E Street Band member ‘Little’ Steven Van Zandt has unveiled a curriculum for US schools which allows students to officially learn the history of rock as part of their school curriculum.

Entitled ‘Little Steven’s Rock and Roll High School’, the course will provide free materials, including teacher guidelines, lesson plans, DVDs and CDs, to help teachers to bring rock and roll history to life in their classrooms in middle schools and high schools.

The aim of the project is to have rock and roll recognised as a legitimate and crucial subject to study, and aims to prove that the music is among America’s most significant and lasting contributions to world culture.

Van Zandt and the non-profit Rock and Roll Forever Foundation have got together with partners Scholastic and MENC (The National Association for Music Education) and will be making the first curriculum available to schools in 2008.

Van Zandt was a key campaigner in the bid to save from closing late last year. He hosts a well-known radio show entitled ‘Underground Garage’ and was a regular character on The Sopranos.

--By our New York staff.
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