The Straits Time, Friday, 27 August 2004: Forum (Pg 24)
"MUSIC OFF-KEY, ART DRAWS NO INTEREST IN SCHOOLS"
By SATISH K. KHATTAR
I applaud Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's insight into someo fhte education woes and certainly hope his speech at the National Day Rally will create a stir within education circles.
I was reminded of a well-known fact: our kids hate music lessons and even art - but only in school.
Can anyone really hate music or art? The person who has no music in him, Shakespeare once said, is dangerous.
My kids detest music lessons in school, cursing the recorder as an instrument of torture. Yet they gyrate to music at home, sing songs for family audiences and are even keen to learn to play the piano or tabla. Same kids.
I remember, during my school days, one of the students even feigned a stomach ache during music lesson and remained in the toilet throughout, terrified by both the music teacher and the recorder (yes, we too had the dreadful recorders then). Surely, this should not be the case?
My kids also go fro art lessons every week outside of school and come back with really inspiring drawings. In contrast, they turn in drab pieces of artwork in school. Same kids, different results.
Surely, music and art are worthy of better respect and appreciation in schools as they bring out a nobler humanity in us all. Music, after all, as Shakespeare so eloquently put I, "can tame the savage beast" in all of us.
I think part of the problem is that we do not have (or have not nurtured) enough quality music and art teachers who can inspire a love of the arts. This stems from an even-larger problem: we are giving the arts a low priority in schools.
Can we fault our "savage" kids then, who grow up without a passion for the arts?
Also, what does this say of us as a nation: that we are only superficially engaging in the arts, preferring instead of focus on the money-making aspects of life and business?
Perhaps PM Lee's speech is a good starting point to re-assess ourselves and the kind of education that we want for our kids.
Beyond the undeniably important academic thrust, let us give our kids a fair balance by inculcating an active joy in music and art.
"MUSIC OFF-KEY, ART DRAWS NO INTEREST IN SCHOOLS"
By SATISH K. KHATTAR
I applaud Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's insight into someo fhte education woes and certainly hope his speech at the National Day Rally will create a stir within education circles.
I was reminded of a well-known fact: our kids hate music lessons and even art - but only in school.
Can anyone really hate music or art? The person who has no music in him, Shakespeare once said, is dangerous.
My kids detest music lessons in school, cursing the recorder as an instrument of torture. Yet they gyrate to music at home, sing songs for family audiences and are even keen to learn to play the piano or tabla. Same kids.
I remember, during my school days, one of the students even feigned a stomach ache during music lesson and remained in the toilet throughout, terrified by both the music teacher and the recorder (yes, we too had the dreadful recorders then). Surely, this should not be the case?
My kids also go fro art lessons every week outside of school and come back with really inspiring drawings. In contrast, they turn in drab pieces of artwork in school. Same kids, different results.
Surely, music and art are worthy of better respect and appreciation in schools as they bring out a nobler humanity in us all. Music, after all, as Shakespeare so eloquently put I, "can tame the savage beast" in all of us.
I think part of the problem is that we do not have (or have not nurtured) enough quality music and art teachers who can inspire a love of the arts. This stems from an even-larger problem: we are giving the arts a low priority in schools.
Can we fault our "savage" kids then, who grow up without a passion for the arts?
Also, what does this say of us as a nation: that we are only superficially engaging in the arts, preferring instead of focus on the money-making aspects of life and business?
Perhaps PM Lee's speech is a good starting point to re-assess ourselves and the kind of education that we want for our kids.
Beyond the undeniably important academic thrust, let us give our kids a fair balance by inculcating an active joy in music and art.
posted by ah lum @ 3:55 AM
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