Hi bloggers, we are back once again  

How has everybody been?

I must say, from our last blog on study unit 2 to our recent blog of study unit 3, I had gone through the most in my personal life. I had contracted COVID-19 last week. What a terrible experience to say the least being in isolation for 10 days and not being able to interact with my loved ones, oh and not forgetting experiencing all those terrible symptoms, but I am extremely grateful to have recovered from the virus in this week. WHAT AN ORDEAL! The after effects are affecting me quite a bit this week which is why I am not having a good week, I’ve been stressed with catching up with work and completing assessments with my little grade 2s as well as marking their assessments, it has been a lot but I’m grateful that I get the opportunity to be in a classroom whilst still studying through NWU as I notice a lot of what we learn as students at NWU in my everyday teaching life. 

To brighten up my spirits, as I had mentioned in my previous blogs, music gives me life and makes me who I am. Another study unit has been uploaded of LSKM and I get to engage in learning more and more about my love for music and how it can positively impact the little minds that I teach every day in my classroom which also brings them joy which in turn makes my grade 2 classroom a joy and pleasure to teach!

I thoroughly enjoyed learning how play can impact music in the classroom as well as the different types of play and how it could be implemented in the classroom. I had also learnt how play with music can develop many skills within a learner which is of vital importance for musicianship. I loved exploring the different elements of play and how each element has a different benefit for learners when engaging in music and play.

I had also learnt (my favourite part) the different kinds of play and how to implement it with music in the classroom, such as dancing, clapping hands, singing, drama play as well as stone passing.

As I read through the prescribed passage for study unit 3, it was such an eye opener for me for some reason but I could also relate as I had attended a primary school whereby Zulu was an additional language and I would often feel out of place as I did not 100% understand the language but never the less I enjoyed interacting in the language as one of my subjects with the help of my friends getting me through, I was proud of myself as I could fluently read the language but often has no clue what the passage was saying but never the less I was proud as I learnt to fluently READ the language. I had also learnt to sing different songs in Zulu off by heart which was a proud and outstanding moment for me in my primary school experience; I had even performed a solo Zulu song in front of the whole school for cultural day, what an experience that was! One for the books, hey? 

I believe that incorporating music with different cultures and traditions is of vital importance as it helps give learners a sense of belonging in the classroom and allows for learners to express themselves in the most positive way possible when their culture or religion is being exposed to or incorporated in the classroom through music. Whilst reading through the scenario, I stepped into the 2 little kiddies shoes for a second and understood their concerns and disappointments and realized that it is important to make each and every learners cultures, beliefs, values and morals KNOWN IN THE CLASSROOM AND INCLUDED.

To answer the following questions:

What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?

In my personal opinion, I feel what had made the learners feel uncomfortable is that they are not aware of the language and felt uncomfortable knowing that they did not know the words of the song. From a personal experience when in primary school as I had mentioned earlier on, not knowing what a person is saying or when they were singing the song can make a person feel extremely uncomfortable as they do not understand what is going on whereas when they are aware of a language and someone says “hi how are you?” they understand because that’s the language that they are aware of. If someone had to ask these learners “Sawubona, unjani?” they would not know how to respond as they cannot comprehend what had just being said. Which is why I feel that the learners felt uncomfortable as they were not aware of the song or what the song had meant as well as they felt left out which made them feel uncomfortable as they could see others singing the song confidently and they weren’t comfortable as they did not know the words to the song, how to sing it and what the whole song and game was about including the passing of stone whilst singing. Learners mostly girls felt uncomfortable dancing to songs around boys as this is not practiced in their religions and homes with their families.

Why were some learners uncomfortable?

Learners were uncomfortable as they do not speak the language and could not comprehend the song or the value of the game which included the stone. The learners were uncomfortable for religious reasons as females may not dance around boys for various reasons this could be for modesty and protection of females in their culture. Learners were also uncomfortable as they could probably not 100% participate in the game as they did not understand the language in which the song was sung .

Can you think of ways to address these issues in future? What will you change?

• In future, I would address the issue by firstly asking those that are not comfortable dancing in front of the class with others to kindly let me know as it will definitely be taken into consideration.
• I will also incorporate songs with various languages and discuss beforehand the translation meanings of these songs in a language that is understood by all learners for a better understanding and for learners to feel completely comfortable in engaging in the activity or game without feeling left out.

How can we accommodate diverse learner profiles in our classrooms? What must we beware of?

As a foundation phase teacher, we should always be aware of the different cultures and religions of learners in our classroom as well as do research to learn about the differences as well as how to accommodate these differences in the classroom especially with activities such as music, dance, singing, etc. We can accommodate these learners by creating activities that will suit all learners comfort needs as well as their religious practices. We can incorporate all the cultures in the classroom to create a safe and comfortable environment for learners to express themselves and have a sense of belonging knowing that their culture or belief is of vital importance and is noticed and appreciated by the teachers as well as others in the classroom .

Wow, I can type, type, type away, but that’s all from me for this week, I look forward to reading and interacting with your blogs as well as hearing back from you with regards to my blog today .

          Have a blissful week bloggers and stay safe.