Guests bring lessons on Arkansas to Bentonville school

Elm Tree Elementary students learn Monday about Arkansas and music from Eric Dysart (left) and Josh Bryant of the music group Backroad Anthem. Students also got a visit from professional fisherman Greg Bohannan of Bentonville.
Elm Tree Elementary students learn Monday about Arkansas and music from Eric Dysart (left) and Josh Bryant of the music group Backroad Anthem. Students also got a visit from professional fisherman Greg Bohannan of Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- Elm Tree Elementary School first-graders learned more about fish, fiddles and their home state Monday with the help of some well-known Northwest Arkansas residents.

photo

Elm Tree Elementary students learn about Arkansas’ lakes and streams Monday from professional fisherman Greg Bohannan of Bentonville.

Josh Bryant and Eric Dysart, two members of the Fayetteville country rock band Backroad Anthem, stopped by to play some tunes and answer some questions from the school's five first-grade classes. Professional angler Greg Bohannan followed the musicians. Their visits coincided with the students' unit of study on Arkansas.

FLW

Greg Bohannan ranks 21st in the 2016 Angler of the Year standings of Fishing League Worldwide with 623 points. He’s earned more than $600,000 in his career as a professional angler.

Source: Staff report

Bryant played the guitar while Dysart played the fiddle. The fiddle, which Dysart said he has played since he was 6 years old, is Arkansas' state instrument.

"This fiddle was made in 1826 in Germany," Dysart told students, as he prepared to play it for them. "I came into this probably 13 or 14 years ago from a famous fiddle player in Oklahoma named Byron Berline. So it's a great piece. I'm lucky to have it."

Dysart and Bryant played Blackberry Blossom and Ashokan Farewell, which Dysart explained was a waltz. Dysart then launched into a solo piece on the fiddle, which he described as "classical, gypsy jazz."

Dysart earned loud applause for the performance, though not everyone was impressed.

"Is it supposed to squeak like that? It hurts my ears," one student asked.

The musicians finished their appearance playing The Arkansas Traveler, the state's historic song.

It was the second year Bryant and Dysart played at the school. The connection was made because first-grade teacher Laura Williams is a good friend of Bryant's sister.

Backroad Anthem made the news in December when lead vocalist Craig Strickland and a friend died during a hunting trip in Oklahoma.

The topic didn't come up during Monday's performance, but Bryant and Dysart said later it's still difficult dealing with Strickland's death.

"We're just taking it one day at a time," Dysart said. "It is what it is and all we can do is pick up the pieces and move forward along with our faith and everything else, knowing who (Strickland) was and how great a guy he was."

They said their schedule doesn't allow them to do many school presentations such as they did at Elm Tree, but they enjoy doing them when they can.

"It's really cool because you never know who's going to pick up an instrument and play later, so things like this are always worth it," Dysart said. "You can never tell what future you're opening up to someone else, so we absolutely love doing stuff like this."

Elm Tree first-graders then moved outside for Bohannan's presentation.

The professional angler lives in Bentonville. His son, Brock, is a first-grader at Elm Tree in Danielle Balentine's class.

Bohannan brought his boat, a Ranger Z520C, and told students he makes a living out of the boat. He explained some of the boat's features. Ranger Boats, one of his sponsors, is based in Flippin.

He asked for a show of hands to see how many of the students have gone fishing. More than half the students raised a hand.

"To me, catching a fish is a lot more fun than playing Minecraft on an iPad," he said.

Arkansas has 2,340 lakes and more than 200 species of fish, Bohannan said.

Bohannan's talk also touched on natural resources and water safety. He stressed the importance of wearing a life jacket while on a boat.

"We've had 120 deaths on Beaver Lake," he told students. "You know how many of those people had life jackets on? Zero."

He also urged students when they go somewhere to fish or camp, they ought to leave the area cleaner than the way they found it.

Williams, the teacher, said Elm Tree is big on community interaction. Having guests come to talk to students isn't unusual, she said.

Many students who come through the School District aren't Arkansas natives, said Williams, who was born in Boone County. She hopes the unit of study on Arkansas will stick with them, even if they move out of state.

"There are a lot of kids who will be in Bentonville who may not be here very long and I want them to have something to take with them," she said.

NW News on 05/24/2016

Upcoming Events