Good Afternoon. This week has been a busy and exciting week for me. I got to do some traveling, saw some beautiful places, went to a spa treatment and went on a long and interesting drive. I also attended a very informative training. I also got to meet new people and learned a few things form the people I interacted with. With all this, I was forced to do some of my work and studies in between. Overall it has been a great week.

Looking at assessment in line with Performing Arts and Music in the Foundation Phase, I believe that it is sometimes neglected due to teachers not realizing the importance of it. Teachers may not realize that as much as it is important to assess learning in other Subjects, it is important to assess learning in music and performing arts. I believe that another reason could be that teachers may not have sufficient knowledge on how to go about assessing music and performing arts. They may not have the skills and strategies to do this and probably do not know what to even assess. Assessment in music and performing arts in the Foundation Phase may be shied away from because it is often considered intimidating and judgemental. It is not seen for the empowering instrument it can be.

I would advocate for the use of assessments to my HOD by indicating that if assessments are not conducted, there is no way to properly measure whether the learners are truly learning. Assessment helps the teacher to identify what the learners know and what they still struggle with. This in turn is beneficial because the teacher can recognize the areas of improvement and strategize on how to assist learners in this regard. Learners will also be able to reflect on their own learning through the use of assessments. They will also be able to realize where they need help with and what they have learned. The learner’s progress can be monitored through assessment.