Educationist cautions against inhibiting talents in children

After the music concert, principal of the elementary school, Mrs. Adebimpe Ajibola, was quick to caution parents and guardians against throwing spanners in the works of their children and wards, who are more inclined to taking up careers in the creative industry.

Within the two-hour, 15 minutes that the performance, which had as its theme “Melodies of Celebration” lasted, the pupils either individually or in groups wowed the audience members in diverse ways.

However, the dexterity and ease with which they manipulated exotic music equipment including the piano, saxophone and violin as if they were full-blown music stars routinely elicited thunderous claps from the very excited audience.

At a point, the audience members including parents and teachers could not contain their excitement anymore, and after swaying steadily on their seats, broke loose into a dance session when the sax-playing trio of Michael, Ayooluwa and Mayomide rendered the legendary Zamina mina Zangaléwa, a 1986 hit song, originally sung by a makossa group from Cameroon originally named Golden Sounds.

The trio’s smooth manipulation of their glittering gold-coloured saxophones spoke volumes of the degree of expertise they may attain, if more time was devoted for the endeavour in the days ahead.

Music teacher and conductor Mr. Kehinde Oretimehin, unwilling to be undone by his pupils, almost took the shine off them anytime he led them in a rendition requiring some dance steps or sundry body movements. Oretimehin was equally a delight even when it came to spurring up his performers on stage, from the stage wings.

Mrs. Ajibola, who established a nexus between music and education stressed that, ”Music itself is part of education. And just as students derive benefits from studying mathematics, English language and other subjects, they also benefit a lot from learning music because there are also concepts to learn in music just like any other subject.

Noting that events like the music concert unlock the creative endowments in children, she warned against forcing children to abandon their passion for creativity.

“As a school, we have a choir as well as an orchestra. When those that are not in these groups see their peers perform, it serves as a kind of motivation to them. Most of them conclude by saying, ‘oh, if my friend can do it, then I can do it as well. I know a lot of them that were not playing any musical instrument until they saw their friends play and were motivated to begin to play complex music instruments themselves.

She added, “As a teacher, I would tell any one around me, or who cares to listen that if their children decide to make a career out of music, football, swimming or whatever, they should give them their blessing because I would tick a big yes for that. It is important for students to study and make good grades in the respective subjects including mathematics, English Language and the rest. But in doing this, their passion for creativity should not be made to lie waste because at the end of the day, when they get to the real world, these talents can come in handy and help them to get by.

“So, I would tell parents that if their children have passion for music making or playing instruments, they should be encouraged to go ahead with their passion. Our children’s passion for creativity should not be allowed to blight away.