Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

to teach the arts without proper material, media and equipment: “We don’t have a piano ‐ we
don’t have everything, that’s instruments for the music in our school”. Where schools do indeed
have some equipment, these are not in a good condition: “They don’t tune our pianos anymore.
They used to do it regularly. Daar is ‘n tekort aan meublement en die Departement verskaf dit
nie 34 ”. There was an overall consensus amongst the teachers that the Department detaches
itself from schools and does not provide financial support or much needed resources. A teacher
remarked: “Dis nou net ’n jammerte, ons het nie die regte resources nie. Baie van hulle ken nie
die verskillende tipe instrumente nie 35 ”. Another appealed: “If the Department of Education can
supply us with enough resources it will be better”. Some teachers mentioned that: “There must
be recommended books. There must be, at least a resource centre for Arts and Culture at
school”. Textbooks were provided only as from the beginning of 2010 and only to certain
primary schools. Two participants however indicated that the school received paint and
brushes from the Department. However, the brushes were useless and the paint was of such
poor quality that it peeled off the paper.
Sub‐theme 5.3: Irrelevant workshops
Although the Department of Education presented workshops to the teachers, it appeared that
these workshops had little value. The teachers experienced the workshops as too theoretical
and as such, incomprehensible. One teacher expressed her need as follows: “ ... praktiese
workshops wat jy self ... nie met teorie nie, maar prakties wat die onderwyser kan terugkom en
daai selfde les gee, aanbied. Ons het definitief workshops nodig, veral in musiek, want om daai
34 There is a shortage of furniture and the department does not provide it.
35 It is a pity. We don’t have the right resources. They don’t know the different instruments.
73