Halifield stages concert to broaden children’s cultural knowledge

In a bid to positively influence theirpupils’ worldview and train them to be distinct and confident, Halifield Schools recently organised a two-in-one concert at the Terra Kulture, Lagos.

The first concert, tagged, One World, Diverse Culture, featured different performances by the pre-school and elementary arms of the school. It was a display of cultures of countries such as, Jamaica, Greece, New Zealand and Mexico.

New Zealand, as showcased by the pupils, is a small island nation that is home to around 4.5 million people. Located in the Pacific Ocean, the country is famous for its national rugby team, indigenous Maori culture and its picturesque landscape.

Mexico, on the other hand, has a large number of ‘Mestizos’, meaning people with indigenous and Spanish traditions.One of the pupils, Oreofe Oyemade, who represented Mexico, spoke on the country’s famous game, Charrería, which is a modern bullfight that typically includes traditional folk dancing and equestrian events. Charrería is the national sport of Mexico.

Jamaica is an ethnic diverse society, with Taino people as original inhabitants. It is the home of Bob Marley, the greatest exponent of reggae music. Marley was only one of the thousands of reggae artistes from Jamaica.

Greece is widely considered to be the cradle of Western culture and democracy.The ancient Greece pioneered many fields that rely on systematic thought, including, biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy and comedy.

Speaking at the event, Halifield Schools’ Director, Mrs. Halimat Oke, said the concert aimed to showcase different cultures, adding, “though the world is one, there are differences we must take cognisance of and respect. “But these differences should unite the whole world, because amidst the differences, we still see things that pertain to each and every culture. Cultural diversity is a valuable resource for attaining developmental goals,” she said.

Oke stated that one of the best ways the school was able to achieve its aim was through presentation. “It is the best way to teach children not to forget, it also affords learners opportunity to get a lot of knowledge. These children would never forget what they learnt during rehearsals,” she said.

“We are preparing our children for the world stage, it’s a global world and our children will have to be ready to occupy their space in it. The children no doubt had fun, they enjoyed what they did and it has been proven that you learn better when you do things, which makes you happy. Everybody has a talent, most of the time it’s in presentations like this that you discover talents and from there we encourage them in that area,” she said.

The second show on display by Halifield College was tagged Joseph and the amazing Technicolor dream coat. It talked about the story of Joseph and how he stood out in his family amidst jealous brothers and later sold into slavery. The show explored his sojourn in Egypt and eventual emergence as the second in command in Egypt.