Good evening, everyone 

What a day this has been. Two zoom meetings in one day and my mind is about to explode with all the information and possibilities that have now been awakened in me.  What I thought I knew; I didn’t know well enough.  I am now very much aware of the importance of instruction and using the correct terminologies in class.  Tonight, I asked our lecturer the difference between the meter and beat and while listening to her explain, I came to realize that I know what meter is.  I have used it in my classroom, more than once.  In a song, as an attention grabber, as a game.  I am embarrassed to say that I never took the time to research and find out what it was called.

As the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new!

Embrace our newfound knowledge, my friends.  This road to discovery is going to be a fun and challenging one as we all venture out of our comfort zones and learn something new.

Individual reflection

1.  As a Foundation Phase teacher, you have to choose between utilizing indigenous African music, Western Art music, or contemporary commercial music (including popular music and film music) in your classes. Which would you choose? Please motivate your answer.

We have been learning a lot about diversity this year, and as a result, I am having trouble choosing between Indigenous African music and Contemporary Commercial music. 

With indigenous African music, I have the opportunity to include learners in the lesson by having them teach me and their peers a song from their culture, as I obviously would not know the words or the correct way to pronounce the words.  This will make them feel proud to share their culture and it would be an exciting experience for their peers.

On the other hand, I feel that commercial music is familiar and recognizable to the learners and everyone would be on equal standing and feel included.

In conclusion, I have opted to choose both because I feel that both will benefit my classroom.  It all comes down to the type of song or activity that I choose and the way in which I present my lesson and what I want to achieve.  There is no limit to being creative and with so many resources out there, I feel I would make use of and introduce as much of it in my classroom as I can.

 

2.  Do you think that the examples and content offered in SU 2 are inclusive? Please motivate your answer.

Definitely!  The content provided for all areas of learning and understanding the different types of music, especially what would be suitable to use for specific grades. There are videos and PowerPoints, a lot of different examples of music activities, music elements, body percussion, loco, and non-locomotor movements.  There is information about the different theories and approaches to the learning of music, how to teach music and integrate it into your classroom, not only for Life skills but in other subjects too.  How and why to teach body percussion to my students.  Strategies for teaching songs and singing in the classroom. Most importantly I learned about Holistic Development. Children learn motor, social, cognitive, and conceptually and learn through play and discovery.  Children that have Down Syndrome are calmed by the use of music.

 

3.  What suggestions do you have for making the content more inclusive? Please provide examples of how the content and activities presented in SU 2 could be changed or adapted to be more inclusive.

Wow, I already feel it is as inclusive as it could be, but if I could think of one thing for me personally, it would be more zoom meetings.  I noticed tonight, as I mentioned in my introduction, that I read something on paper and sometimes don’t make the connection like I would if someone actually explained it to me. I personally find studying off a piece of paper challenging and I learn quicker when I can physically discuss and share views with someone and experience the material from their perspective as well as my own.  (videos help a ton, but aren't interactive per se).

I bid you good night and leave you with the following quote:

“Music is not hard. Climbing Mount Everest is hard. Music merely makes you think.” –Patti Coxwell