Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

note, die telling en die klap, en die ritmes 36 ...”. Another respondent added: “We would be given
(lecture) notes and you come with packs of things and that ... and you don’t even know where to
start implementing that. We put those right there (she shows with her hand the top shelf of a
nearby cupboard)”. A concerned teacher would prefer that workshop presenters go along in a
systematic way: “And each and every step of Arts and Culture must be fabricated (sic) so that
we can understand what they say”.
Sub‐theme 5.4: Lack of proper communication
From the responses it was evident that the teachers felt deserted and isolated from their
employer, namely the Department of Education. Decisions are made without consultation with
the teachers, who at grassroots level, are required to implement the curriculum. Very often,
they receive news about fundamental announcements that affect them, only via the national
media. One teacher referred to such an incident: “He (a departmental official interviewed on
television) talked about the new syllabus coming out and he said everything’s fixed and
everything’s organised and everything’s settled, but the teachers didn’t hear a word at school.
We just hear via the grapevine that Arts and Culture is falling away. They said on TV, on the
news, now the public out there, hear. You understand ... but they don’t tell us. And that is how
the Department treats teachers. What they don’t realise, is that you are the most important
person”. It was clear that the teachers felt abandoned and demoralised. They were not
regarded as valuable and their importance disregarded, despite their crucial role with regard to
the holistic education of South Africa’s youth.
36 Practical workshops where you can come back and present the same lesson. We definitely need
workshops, especially in music, because those notes, and counts, and clapping and rhythms...
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