Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

19
don’t think there is any teachers who are equipped, really equipped to do those. And in my a, a, my point of
view Arts and Culture is become the dumping ground of all schools. They dump it. If you got a free period a, oh
let’s fit you in there. And that is where we are going wrong. It’s become the dumping ground and the children
are left idle. But to come back to the positive, I am a Visual Artist. I focus mainly on Visual Art. Don’t ask me
about the do or me or a re, I don’t know anything about it. So I am going to cause havoc. The drama ... I had a
few workshops with a, a, doing drama when I was at ... I don’t know if you know of the Abbazoby Project that
were running and with ATI. ATI, Michael Barry and them, they were running the workshops. I attended those
workshops and then we had this lady Pam Austin. She taught us, she was doing the dance bit. There we picked
up some things, over there. But as I said Music is a field, specialized field of its own. I don’t even venture there
because I can’t teach somebody something I don’t know. So I feel that em, if they can try and get the disciplines
back. The main disciplines at least and may be combine drama and dance and have Music on its own or Visual
Arts on its own and then you can work. I know some schools they, they split their Arts and Culture. They will
have certain people doing this section, you do that and you do that.
Elaine: So, are you doing the music too?
N: Music is part of Arts and Culture, but we don’t have someone who specializes in music that we can say, you
do that part.
O: We focus on music appreciation then and, and, and teaching them the different instruments and things that
you get, but I don’t dare singing a song.
Everybody laughs.
M: We also tried splitting it up like Mr X was strong with music and Mr Y with Visual Art. Mrs Z would take the
drama and I would do the dance. But when we put it on the timetable, it doesn’t work out. You know. It doesn’t
work out and it ends up you do all four disciplines and you neglect the ones that you are scared of, especially
the music. The one last, last year a girl, Tiny Watkins, she’s from a music family. So I might jolly well put up all
the crotchets and the quavers. Toe sê sy die een dag vir my: “Juffrou daai goete is onderstebo”.
Everybody laughs.
M: So I said, thank you Tiny. So she used to help me with the music things but I don’t mention it because it is
something you must know. Kom aan jy, jy moet ook iets sê. (To person “P”)
Everybody laughs.
P: This is my second year teaching Arts and Culture and yes it was actually dumped on me. Um, if you look at
the three of us, we are the English and Life Orientation ... teachers and Arts and Culture fall into that category.
N: Ja, ja it, it goes together ... like you know ...
P: You know, I don’t, I don’t enjoy the subject. I know it is supposed to like, to be the most likeable and the
easiest thing to do but at all of them one needs to be specialized. But, dance I can do, drama I can do that.