Good day!

Hope you are well and keeping up. I am currently feeling that we are overloaded with too many assignments and tests to keep up with. Its really a struggle to work from 07:00-15:00 and then coach sports till 17:00, tutor till 18:00 and then still go study in the evenings. Anyway, we will get there. 

Some of the reasons that comes to mind when thinking of the assessment in Performing Arts that are being neglected, can be that it is seen as a waste of time subject. I think that not everyone realizes the importance of the integration of Arts in their teaching and that it is actually something to help develop important skills and knowledge through active engagement which contributes to learning through experience. When the teachers/principal does not even see the importance of incorporating these as a subject or even in other subject areas then no assessment can possibly done, neither would they want to create a extra effort for something they do not believe is neccessary, 

I would explain to my HOD that performing arts and music education in the foundation phase is a very important part of the phase of schooling. There are lots of facts and studies that shows the benefits of having these as subject areas in the curriculum for foundation phase. If something is so important and vital for a child holistical developemt it is of extreme importance for this to be assessed. This also falls in the life skills CAPS and has to be assessed. This needs to be done in order to help learners that are behind to make up some grades or marks for them to do better. Its also important to use it as a tool to see how children are developing in different areas of schooling. 

Goodluck with your weeks and enjoy your day.

When I speak to the HOD, I would explain how important it is to integrate performing arts with our subjects. This is where the learners get the chance to express themselves and explain what they understand under certain concepts. This motivates them and is not only something fun to do, which is a waste of time. The integration promotes both teaching and learning. Active engagement helps learners to learn through experiences and gain knowledge by exploring by themselves. This is far better than just trying to cram a lot of theory and work into the learners' brains. The assessment of performing arts should also be seen as important, because the learners should be assessed on what they know, what they still need to learn and what skill they have mastered. The assessment helps you to keep track of the learner's development and learning. You can then also see where more attention is needed and what they still need to learn. The Performing Arts-subject should also be seen as an important subject, just like Mathematics or any other subject.