Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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we’regoing to see a big change in our children, because it is a stress reliever. If they can just sit and really do it,
they will find that they get relief out of it. But I love it.
Elaine: Anybody else wants to say something? (Silence)
INTERVIEW AT PRIMARY SCHOOL WITH FOUR ARTS AND CULTURE TEACHERS
I: OK, I think I’ll start. I did fine art at College. Specialized, I did a third year. At that time, we were the first umm
... students from Port Elizabeth to qualify in fine arts. And we had a Mr X who was very a ... supportful. He was
also the the the the super... subject adviser at that time. And ah he was instrumental in getting for instance for
us ordering things that tha ... tha ... We had a classroom that was big enough and he was instrumental in getting
the desks for the tables, the art tables. And crayon bins and so forth. And he went on and things started fading
away. We couldn’t get to order all those things anymore. We had to have somebody in the Department who
would insist you in getting the necessary equipment. Um ... as a result we have many, things have.. are still
here but we don’t have things like an oven you could bake and do pottery and so on. Um.. but we have glazing
stuff that are still lying around here. There was talk that time of that it would centralize that people could take
to St Thomas any of their pottery work. But ten primary schools and one high school and that so and it was
impossible for all people to take their things. Um... as the years progress when it changed to Arts and Culture,
talking about fine art at that time. In Arts and Culture ... the syllabus changed. They brought in a whole lot of
new things and also the provision of equipment, equip or ... , arts materials sort of faded away. Out of the blue
we would, the school would receive brushes and things that we haven’t ordered but before we could order we
would get less than what we actually needed. And then, many of the teachers would not even know, I don’t
think they would know what the brushes are supposed to be used for. A certain brush are used for that kind of
usage on a certain material and then you get the thinner brush for something else and it is lying in the class and
nobody is using it.
Elaine: Are you doing only the art, visual art?
I: No, no, no I am talking about, ah, ah, it changed I mean, previously it used to be art, visual art, right and now
it’s Art and Culture, its drama, dance, music and all that. Dealing with all kinds of a mop and the music
experiences we had...
J: Ja, thank you Mr. Y you actually laid the foundation for what I want to say. I must add on to what he has said.
We finish together at 1980, ... 1979 we, I was at UHT in Cape Town and he was at Dower in the arts then. Dower
did not offer music as a third year, cause then and umm we were, had a wonderful time, learning the third year
at UHT. Everything was structured, you know the old syllabi, the guided we were not frustrated, we knew
exactly which rhythm to introduce for example for tafa‐tefe, in standard 3 and ta‐fe. O, Dear What Can the
Matter Be in Standard 4 and we linked the things that children learned by rote in sub B in those years. And now
I have everything in the office, I did not throw it away. I am just sad that the structure we had, changed too
quickly and I am not happy with that, because now I have never been taught how to dance or to do art but now