FINAL BLOG ENTRY

I cannot believe that this will be my last blog entry! I have learned so much about music education and I look forward to dwelling on this subject outside of the blog room. At the start of the semester, I had little interest and knowledge, skills, and experience about music and what it entails. Even though I still cannot play any instrument or sing, I have learned a lot about music throughout the semester and have developed a sense of appreciation for music. After learning about music, the integration thereof, and realizing that it is fun and beneficial, I look forward to making use of music in my own classroom one day.

When I first read the announcement explaining what is required of me for a blog post I thought to myself “how will I pass this subject”. My first experience with the individual reflection was stressful and challenging and I was unsure if I was doing the right thing. After reading blog post after blog post, I felt inspired to write in a similar way, but I soon realised that the whole point of the blog post was to incorporate my own zest, take on the topic and personality! That is when I started to enjoy the individual reflections. I found the individual reflections very meaningful as it gave me the opportunity to research and learn new things, gain confidence in expressing myself and how to utilize music along with its benefits in the classroom. I liked the fact that some blog posts were more challenging than others, some required in depth research and others only required your opinion. For this reason, I would not change a thing, I feel every blog post required me to experience something different.

For me, honestly I would not change a thing when considering the LSKM 221 module. The content, lecturer, communication, assignments, and study units were exactly the right combination of fun, knowledgably, challenging, and interesting. I will most certainly integrate music in my future classroom and make use of the knowledge I gained throughout this module to do so.

ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMING IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

Assessment is required to determine the development and progress of a learner. Arts might seem as an “effortless” subject but not everyone can create magic with a pencil, paint brush, or instruments nor can anyone teach arts. For this reason, I believe assessment of performing in the Foundation Phase is key as arts is a skill one acquires and should be rewarded for effort. The following can be considered reasons as to why assessment is neglected in Performing Arts and Music in the Foundation Phase:

• Absence of recourses such as space, supplies and instruments.
• Teachers lack training, skill, and knowledge on the subject.
• Arts is regarded as a distraction to academics.
• The curriculum does not offer clear guidelines as to what the arts teacher needs to assess.
• There is no formal arts assessment tool put in place.

If I had to advocate the awareness about the importance of assessment of the Performing Arts and Music in the Foundation Phase, I would say this. Assessment is rewarding. It allows the teacher to determine the development of the learner and for the learner to acknowledge their newfound skills and abilities. It is rewarding to see how hard works pays off and where the learner can improve. Assessment also allows for a fun activity especially in the arts. Learners may have to draw or paint a picture about their favorite animal, dance to their favorite song, start a band or even make their own instrument from recycled material!

For me, arts are not an easy subject to teach and requires a lot of skill, creativity and out of the box thinking. Arts deserve to be assessed because both the teacher and learners work hard to create magic.

ARTS INTEGRATION IN THE FOUNDATION PHASE

Is it a waste of time to integrate the arts? I respectfully disagree. Every subject included in the curriculum plays a vital role in the learner’s development whether mathematics or arts. Every subject is distinct in its own way and offers something that another subject does not. I believe that the integration of arts in the Foundation Phase is not a waste of time and here is why:

• Arts integration is a teaching approach in which students construct and demonstrate their understanding through the use of an art form.
• Arts integration encourages active participation in teaching and learning activities, experiential learning, authentic learning activities, collaborative learning, problem-solving skills, and reflection.
• Learners are able to express themselves in a practical way through arts for example drawing a picture about how they feel.
• Arts supports higher academic achievement, socialization, motivation, problem solving and thinking skills of learners.
• Arts integration allows the teacher to create an environment where individual learner needs are identified and met.
• It also allows teachers to draw a link across the curriculum by applying arts in different subjects.

It is evident that the list can go on and on about why the integrating of arts in the Foundation Phase is not a waste of time.

What I found interesting about this study unit:

I've always thought that arts should be a natural part of the Foundation Phase curriculum because the learners are visually and actively stimulated. I never stopped to consider how the Foundation Phase would be without arts. As stated above, the list can go on about the benefits arts integration in the curriculum has and therefore the more I read through study unit 4, the more benefits I identified. I found it interesting that arts can be unutilized in so many ways and that it could be integrated with almost every subject. It was interesting as to how much a learner can learn from arts and that it adds a fun factor to every subject!

What I found challenging about this study unit:

For me, study unit 4 was not challenging at all. I enjoyed the topic very much and I eased through the content. If I really have to choose something that can become challenging, I will say it would be to describe, evaluate and apply an integrative approach since there is not a lot of content that specifies about this topic.

INCLUSIVITY IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM

After considering the scenario, I am torn between whether the uneasiness of the learners is understandable. On the one hand I imagine it to be understandable that the one learner felt uncomfortable singing a song in a language which he did not understand and for the girl to dance in front of boys to house music which is against her religious belief. On the other hand, I believe sharing important cultural knowledge through music-making is a wonderful way for learners to appreciate diversity and bridge cultural gaps.

Diversity entails not only race, cultural background, or ethnicity but religious backgrounds as well. While learners are encouraged to appreciate cultural diversity learners should be aware of religious differences as well. A learner who feels uncomfortable in a classroom situation due to religious reasons should have the option to participate or not. The teacher should ensure a safe-, inclusive- and respectful environment where all differences are acknowledged.

Being unable to understand another language can act as a barrier and leads to misinterpretations and insecurity within the classroom. Music is an expensive language and serves as a means of communication. It is therefore acceptable for the learner to be discontented with the song choice since he cannot interpret the meaning of the song. In this case, the teacher should provide the learners with the song's lyrics in both the native language and a language that everyone can understand. This allows learners to learn about another culture and language while remaining comfortable.

To create an inclusive environment in music class the teacher can do the following: get to know the learners (cultural background, music taste), practice cultural sensitivity, incorporate diversity in the lesson plan, maintain communication, give students the opportunity to express themselves and encourage acceptance of cultural differences. The benefits of an inclusive environment: learners become more empathetic, gain a better understanding of lessons and people, become more open-minded, feel more confident and safer and are better prepared for a diverse workplace.