Harpist tries to calm kids' minds at middle school

Kimberly Opfer is trying to find out whether music can soothe the savage middle-schooler.

So far so good.

For the past month, Opfer, who teaches eighth-grade technology classes at Carmel Middle School has been strumming away on her harp every morning for the 300 students who eat breakfast at the school. She’s going to play this week, too, before CSAP assessment tests to see if the calming music makes any difference in test scores.

Although some schools began the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests last week, most students will take them this week.

Opfer, who is working on a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, will use her findings in a paper.

On a recent day, she started out with “Danny Boy,” as the students thundered into the gym, chattering and laughing.

Her repertoire isn’t exactly the Rolling Stones, which one student requested by bringing in a song book. But that is the point. It’s not the songs, it’s the sound. The more soothing the music, hopefully, the quieter the kids.

And while many of the 300 students wolfing down biscuits and sausage weren’t exactly rapt or quiet, they are decidedly calmer than they used to be, said assistant principal Derien Latimer.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it has helped with the atmosphere,” he said. “The noise level has gone down. I think it is subconscious. The kids don’t realize the effect it is having on them.”

Angel Rivas, 14, does. “It’s good. It keeps me down to earth,” he said.

Others aren’t so sure.

“I think I like no music so I can hear to talk,” said Kris Robinson, 14. “It makes me sleepy.”

Elijah Olivas, 13, chimed in, “It’s kinda like, it can be boring. Like I want to fall asleep, too.” But he added, “I’ve been getting some bad grades in math, but since she’s been playing I got two A’s.”

Scientists might call that anecdotal evidence. Opfer plans to make her experiment more scientific.

For CSAPS, she is creating a control group — dividing English language learners at the school into two groups. One will hear the harp music before the tests. The others won’t.

She chose that group because the students are particularly vulnerable to stress of learning a new language and getting along in school.

Music therapy has been shown to alleviate pain and memory loss, and stimulate the immune system, according to the American Music Therapy Association. It has been coupled with traditional medicine as a psychological tool.

The lunch room attendants told Opfer they have noticed a big difference in the students’ behavior since she started to play.

She uses her own harp, which weighs 100 pounds, and which she rolls down the hallway and up flights of stairs. There is never any shortage of kids helping her carry her speaker and opening doors. “They are really respectful and they never touch it unless they have permission,” she noted.

She got the idea because some of the kids here have a lot of drama and stress in their lives. Most of the 430 kids at Carmel receive freeor reduced-price lunches — an indicator of poverty.

It’s also giving them a new cultural experience. Most of the kids hadn’t seen or heard a harp up close.

Suyelmi Loria, 12, is enraptured. “I’d never seen one before. I like it. It’s so soft and pretty,” she said. “I like the songs and think about them.”

Opfer, 33, has played the harp since she was 11. She’s been a teacher six years, four of them at Carmel. Before that she traveled with her missionary parents around the world, helping them set up schools. Most recently, she helped an organization transport impoverished children from abroad for heart surgery in the States.

“I’ve always been interesting in music therapy, but haven’t had a lot of chance to use it in education,” Opfer said. She hopes to obtain a grant so she can dig deeper into the subject.

Cheyenna Thill, for one, hopes she will keep on playing. “It’s peaceful. I think it makes me calmer when I go to class. I think she doesn’t have time, but she does it for us anyway.”