With honor, celebration and a new understanding, elementary students walked in the life stories of three community elders.

Twenty-five years ago, Larry Long began "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song," an intergenerational and interdisciplinary approach to building community through the arts.

"The music I've written my whole life has been rooted in the stories of the people," said Long, a recording artist who helps build bridges between communities of difference. "I've taken this folk process of listening and honoring people in song into school curriculum."

Long has been working with the West Metro Education Program, a group of 11 urban and suburban school districts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area that was formed in 1989 to address integration issues in the west metro area.

Valley View Elementary fifth-graders honored Columbia Heights community members Gil Mros, Gyatsho Tshering and Luis Campoverde during a performance on Feb. 12.

Valley View Principal Mary Bussman explained the school's connection with the elders, which led to selecting them for the event. Tshering's daughter, now a sixth-grader, was a fifth-grader at Valley View last year, and Campoverde's daughter is now in fifth grade at Valley View.

A retired Valley View teacher who is part of the Columbia Heights Sister Cities committee had suggested Mros, also involved with the Sister Cities committee, as an honored elder for the event.

Long said that schools select elders who represent old and new immigrants of the community and honor them together.

Each elder spoke to a fifth-grade class, sharing with the students their life story. The students' teachers are Tara Thukral, Dan Barrett and Jack Schwint.

"It was fun hearing what my dad said," Victoria, Campoverde's daughter, told Sun Focus. "I had never heard the story before."

After hearing the elders' life stories, each student asked a question of the elder. From a transcript a narrative was developed, which became the lyrics of a song.

On Feb. 12, Valley View Elementary fifth-graders, with Long, performed their songs with the elders sitting beside them on stage. Dance moves and gestures were incorporated into the songs.

Fifth-grader Terry Griep said he liked the truth of the songs and how the dancing fit with the rhythms, and fifth-graders Shavonne Jennings and Jesus Ocampo said they enjoyed when the teachers in the audience learned the dance moves.

Gil Mros

Gil Mros was born in 1938 in Michigan and studied electrical engineering before serving in the Army from 1961 to 1963.

After his military service, Mros worked for Honeywell, a manufacturer of civil and military avionics and other aerospace products.

"As a kid I liked to read non-fiction science books at the library," Mros told Sun Focus. His dream was to work on a spaceship or go into space.

During his time at Honeywell, Mros worked for the Apollo Space Program and designed part of the circuitry that runs the reaction jets on the command module.

"It was very exciting," said Mros. "My lifetime dream was accomplished before I was 30 years old."

His advice to the Valley View Elementary students was to "make sure you aim high and follow your heart."

Fifth-graders Delena Tadesse and Erick Rosendo both affirmed Mros' advice.

"He said if you're going to aim high, aim real high," said Erick.

Delena also felt a connection to Mros' interest in science.

"He enjoyed science, and I'm good at science."

"They were such nice kids and they asked some interesting questions," said Mros.

"I was proud of them," he said of their performance. "They put a lot of hard work into it."

Gyatsho Tshering

Gyatsho Tshering, 72, was born in Tibet. In 1959, the People's Republic of China invaded his country, resulting in 2 million people dying and 100,000 people escaping Tibet to a border country.

The Dalai Lama established the government for Tibet and India, and he taught the importance of caring for Tibet's orphaned children.

Tshering was asked by the Dalai Lama to help him, and was a colleague of the Dalai Lama for 35 years. Tshering helped to found schools, museums and clinics, translate books and preserve Tibetan paintings and woodworks.

"My life is dedicated to helping people because you find so much happiness and joy in working for others," Tshering said.

A Tibetan refugee, Tshering came to the United States in 2000.

"It was interesting to learn about the Dalai Lama," said fifth-grader Yutpa Vang.

Fifth-grader Isaias Roberson said he liked hearing about Tshering's life, which was devoted to helping people.

Tshering's message of compassion resonated with fifth-grader Tenzin Dhakong, who mentioned Tshering didn't get mad, but forgave those who destroyed his country.

"It has nothing to do with religion," Tshering told Sun Focus. "Love and compassion is a human quality. With a moral education, children will live a very good quality life later on.

"It was very delightful," Tshering said of the "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" event. "The children involved themselves so much in this program."

Luis Campoverde

Luis Campoverde was born in 1968 in Peru. After high school, he worked at a machine shop for one year but wasn't making much money.

"Someone told me about coming to the United States, and it would be an opportunity to travel and make a better living."

In December 1989, Campoverde left Peru by bus to Ecuador, Colombia and then to Panama.

When he was in Panama, Marines were landing to overthrow Manuel Noriega, a Panamanian general and military dictator.

Campoverde had to return to Colombia, and made it to Costa Rica where he got a job selling coat hangers door to door. But after one week, he became discouraged because he'd made very little money.

After meeting a man from Peru who got him a construction job, Campoverde had made enough money to go to Nicaragua and then crossed the border to Honduras. He later traveled across Mexico on a train and got to the United States border, ending up in San Antonio, Texas.

"I went to find a place to stay and people told me about a car wash," Campoverde told the students. "I knocked on the door and the lady said I could stay in her garage for free."

A man at the car wash, who was from Peru, said he had work in Minnesota for Campoverde. The first time he went back to Peru he went to see a former girlfriend.

"She didn't forget about me," Campoverde said. They married in 1996, and in 1997 Victoria was born. Campoverde and his wife also have a son.

Of his travels, Campoverde said he learned people are good no matter where you go.

His advice to the students was to be ambitious and fulfill your dreams because life is short.

He also said, "There's a lot of propaganda for girls to be like Barbie dolls. Don't be like that, be yourself."

Valuable for students

"Larry Long was an inspiration," said Thukral. "Students took away more lessons than I thought they would." Those lessons included the elders' messages and valuable information about history and culture.

Long said "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" goes really deep and fits into curriculum in different ways, including history, reading and geography.

He also said that hearing the hardships of previous generations can help students deal with the struggles in their own lives.

"Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" can help with conflict resolution in classrooms because students of different cultures will ask one another about their life stories, said Long.

"The face of Columbia Heights has changed over the last ten years," Bussman said, adding that "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" enables students to learn about the new community coming in and to learn about the people who have lived in Columbia Heights for 50 to 80 years.

"Bringing the community together is very important."

District 13 leaders attended a conference in California about educational leadership reform, said Bussman, which focused on the need to build relationships with students, to make curriculum relevant and to establish academic rigor. With these components in place, educators have the ability to then challenge students more.

The conference emphasized that the way educators can really grab kids is through the arts.

And "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" models that approach. "The fifth-graders cared about honoring the elders and cared about what they were singing," Bussman said.

"We would like to do this as an annual tradition."

For more information about Larry Long, visit www.larrylong.org. For more information about Community Celebration of Place, the nonprofit organization created for "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song," please visit www.communitycelebration.org

Fifth-grader Terry Griep said he liked the truth of the songs and how the dancing fit with the rhythms, and fifth-graders Shavonne Jennings and Jesus Ocampo said they enjoyed when the teachers in the audience learned the dance moves.

Gil Mros

Gil Mros was born in 1938 in Michigan and studied electrical engineering before serving in the Army from 1961 to 1963.

After his military service, Mros worked for Honeywell, a manufacturer of civil and military avionics and other aerospace products.

"As a kid I liked to read non-fiction science books at the library," Mros told Sun Focus. His dream was to work on a spaceship or go into space.

During his time at Honeywell, Mros worked for the Apollo Space Program and designed part of the circuitry that runs the reaction jets on the command module.

"It was very exciting," said Mros. "My lifetime dream was accomplished before I was 30 years old."

His advice to the Valley View Elementary students was to "make sure you aim high and follow your heart."

Fifth-graders Delena Tadesse and Erick Rosendo both affirmed Mros' advice.

"He said if you're going to aim high, aim real high," said Erick.

Delena also felt a connection to Mros' interest in science.

"He enjoyed science, and I'm good at science."

"They were such nice kids and they asked some interesting questions," said Mros.

"I was proud of them," he said of their performance. "They put a lot of hard work into it."

Gyatsho Tshering

Gyatsho Tshering, 72, was born in Tibet. In 1959, the People's Republic of China invaded his country, resulting in 2 million people dying and 100,000 people escaping Tibet to a border country.

The Dalai Lama established the government for Tibet and India, and he taught the importance of caring for Tibet's orphaned children.

Tshering was asked by the Dalai Lama to help him, and was a colleague of the Dalai Lama for 35 years. Tshering helped to found schools, museums and clinics, translate books and preserve Tibetan paintings and woodworks.

"My life is dedicated to helping people because you find so much happiness and joy in working for others," Tshering said.

A Tibetan refugee, Tshering came to the United States in 2000.

"It was interesting to learn about the Dalai Lama," said fifth-grader Yutpa Vang.

Fifth-grader Isaias Roberson said he liked hearing about Tshering's life, which was devoted to helping people.

Tshering's message of compassion resonated with fifth-grader Tenzin Dhakong, who mentioned Tshering didn't get mad, but forgave those who destroyed his country.

"It has nothing to do with religion," Tshering told Sun Focus. "Love and compassion is a human quality. With a moral education, children will live a very good quality life later on.

"It was very delightful," Tshering said of the "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" event. "The children involved themselves so much in this program."

Luis Campoverde

Luis Campoverde was born in 1968 in Peru. After high school, he worked at a machine shop for one year but wasn't making much money.

"Someone told me about coming to the United States, and it would be an opportunity to travel and make a better living."

In December 1989, Campoverde left Peru by bus to Ecuador, Colombia and then to Panama.

When he was in Panama, Marines were landing to overthrow Manuel Noriega, a Panamanian general and military dictator.

Campoverde had to return to Colombia, and made it to Costa Rica where he got a job selling coat hangers door to door. But after one week, he became discouraged because he'd made very little money.

After meeting a man from Peru who got him a construction job, Campoverde had made enough money to go to Nicaragua and then crossed the border to Honduras. He later traveled across Mexico on a train and got to the United States border, ending up in San Antonio, Texas.

"I went to find a place to stay and people told me about a car wash," Campoverde told the students. "I knocked on the door and the lady said I could stay in her garage for free."

A man at the car wash, who was from Peru, said he had work in Minnesota for Campoverde. The first time he went back to Peru he went to see a former girlfriend.

"She didn't forget about me," Campoverde said. They married in 1996, and in 1997 Victoria was born. Campoverde and his wife also have a son.

Of his travels, Campoverde said he learned people are good no matter where you go.

His advice to the students was to be ambitious and fulfill your dreams because life is short.

He also said, "There's a lot of propaganda for girls to be like Barbie dolls. Don't be like that, be yourself."

Valuable for students

"Larry Long was an inspiration," said Thukral. "Students took away more lessons than I thought they would." Those lessons included the elders' messages and valuable information about history and culture.

Long said "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" goes really deep and fits into curriculum in different ways, including history, reading and geography.

He also said that hearing the hardships of previous generations can help students deal with the struggles in their own lives.

"Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" can help with conflict resolution in classrooms because students of different cultures will ask one another about their life stories, said Long.

"The face of Columbia Heights has changed over the last ten years," Bussman said, adding that "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" enables students to learn about the new community coming in and to learn about the people who have lived in Columbia Heights for 50 to 80 years.

"Bringing the community together is very important."

District 13 leaders attended a conference in California about educational leadership reform, said Bussman, which focused on the need to build relationships with students, to make curriculum relevant and to establish academic rigor. With these components in place, educators have the ability to then challenge students more.

The conference emphasized that the way educators can really grab kids is through the arts.

And "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song" models that approach. "The fifth-graders cared about honoring the elders and cared about what they were singing," Bussman said.

"We would like to do this as an annual tradition."

For more information about Larry Long, visit www.larrylong.org. For more information about Community Celebration of Place, the nonprofit organization created for "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song," please visit www.communitycelebration.org