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Offline zuluwarrior

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Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« on: May 23, 2012, 04:35:20 PM »
Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
By Peter Balroop - May 18th 2012 12:05 PM
 
Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, Minister of Education

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PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Education Minister Dr. Tim Gopeesingh are “taking basket” from advisers who seem intent on crippling the Pan in Schools programme. Members of the Pan in Schools Unit (PISU) who fall within Gopeesingh’s portfolio are expressing horror at the Cabinet decision two weeks ago to broaden  read more…
PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Education Minister Dr. Tim Gopeesingh are “taking basket” from advisers who seem intent on crippling the Pan in Schools programme.

Members of the Pan in Schools Unit (PISU) who fall within Gopeesingh’s portfolio are expressing horror at the Cabinet decision two weeks ago to broaden the scope of the programme, which started in full in 2003, to include instruments like the sitar, dholak, dhantal, tabla and tassa drums.

These are all instruments integral to the playing of East Indian music, but the programme will also include the addition of other instruments like the cuatro, guitar, zylophone and African drums.

But influential members of the PISU, who fall within the Curriculum Department of the Education Ministry, are aghast at the idea of cluttering up a pan programme that has been accepted by international musicians as the easiest way to teach a child music.

“In ten minutes you will be playing a song on the pan if you have a good instructor,” stressed a PISU source who demanded anonymity because he said being identified could lead to him losing his job.

In July, he said, the one-year contracts of the 35 instructors, one project coordinator and seven regional coordinators come up for renewal, and they are fearful that the People’s Partnership Government’s announced aim of making the PISU a multiculturalism unit is a dagger aimed at the unit’s heart.

In any event, he said, the aim seemed to be to disband the unit, despite the evidence being there that learning to play the pan had taken students in 97 primary and 85 secondary schools across the country by storm.

The Prime Minister announced last week that the Pan in Schools programme will continue and that the instructors need not fear for their jobs. Members of the PISU, however, do not have confidence in these assurances and believe the multi-cultural initiative is doomed to failure.

PISU sources say they know the topic is controversial but they have to talk out to save a project that pannists from several countries have been contacting them for information on how it could be implemented in their territories.

“It is accepted in countries like the USA, United Kingdom and Japan that the pan is the best music-teaching tool.

“All the instruments that Kamla (Persad-Bissessar) and Tim (Gopeesingh) now want to include in the Pan in Schools programme are non-melodic instruments. Pan is a melodic, percussive instrument.
“As a teaching tool, they are all big steps backward.
“We don’t mind the other instruments being introduced to the schoolchildren, but not in the space occupied by the pan today.
“Let them start a pilot programme for the other instruments,” said one source.

TnT Mirror was told that there seemed to be a deliberate attempt to squeeze the PISU from the funding standpoint.

From having an independent budget of $8 million annually, the PISU now has to rely on funding from the Ministry’s Curriculum Department.

The result, Mirror learnt, is since the PP Government came into power in May 2010 the PISU has not been able to purchase any more pans.

Further, debts to suppliers have now mounted to some $4 million, Mirror learnt, and creditors were pressing for their pound of flesh.

“The whole world is saying that the pan is the best instrument for teaching music, but we want to keep it down, crush it.
“We have something here we don’t understand,” one source bitterly observed.

The PISU has been promoting the biennial Junior Music Festival as well as the annual Schools Panorama, using standardised pans that have effectively dealt with the need for each school to pay for transport for pans to the competition venue, it was learnt.

Since the programme started nine years ago, the most famous graduate has been Liam Teague, who is now an Assistant Professor of Music at Northern Illinois University.

From the same NIU, Mia Gormandy, a former St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain student, and Sophie Subero, a former St Augustine Secondary student, graduated with master’s degrees in music, a source related.

With the PISU in place, exposing pupils from the primary school level to music, by the time they were in university they would be writing music, the source added.

The irony, he said, was the Pan in Schools programme was first launched in the late 1990s, when Persad-Bissessar served her short stint as Education Minister.

“It is not too late for the Prime Minister and Dr. Gopeesingh to realise they are taking basket from their advisers and reconsider their options.
“To add on all those instruments to the pan programme would be like imposing an overweight jockey on a top class racehorse, anchoring our young nationals at the back of the musical field,” declared another witty source.

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good things happening to good people: a good thing
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bad things happening to good people: a bad thing
bad things happening to bad people: a good thing

Offline zuluwarrior

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2012, 04:40:33 PM »
I thought these people was the best thing since slice bread , i reliaze now how wrong i was and to add racist down to they Hindu bone and the lick bottom Africans just standing there and saying nutten.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2012, 09:22:34 PM by zuluwarrior »
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good things happening to good people: a good thing
good things happening to bad people: a bad thing
bad things happening to good people: a bad thing
bad things happening to bad people: a good thing

Offline Socapro

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2012, 06:03:11 PM »
The pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and belongs to all of us regardless of creed or race once you are a Trinbagonian so why is this foolish PP government trying to starve it of funds in our PISU programme to make more room for inferior instruments for teaching our school children about music?

If these idiots squeeze pan into the background in the guise of multiculturalism then I think they deserve to be squeezed out of power come next elections as they are not looking after the future of the national instrument in T&T!
The first world countries are eventually going to take our pan from us and make it theirs because we don't fully appreciate it.

When are we going to wake up as a country and start to fully appreciate the most amazing acoustic instrument to be created in the 20th century?
« Last Edit: May 23, 2012, 06:26:06 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Deeks

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2012, 04:09:33 PM »
Why do we have to have the gov't do it. We have the pan yard to do that. Is like in the US , oh they don't teach Black history in schools. Look, Black people have to do that themselves.

Offline zuluwarrior

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2012, 08:38:36 AM »
Maha Sabha: No pan
'One school approved for national instrument...'
By Julien Neaves

Story Created: May 26, 2012 at 10:55 PM ECT

(Story Updated: May 26, 2012 at 10:55 PM ECT )

OPPOSITION MP Donna Cox has said only one school was approved to receive a set of steelpans since the new Government took office and the instruments were refused by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS).

"There was no other procurement and the expansion of the programme was effectively halted," she said.

She said the pans were refused at the Penal/Rock Road Hindu School as instructions were given by the SDMS not to accept pan in schools unless all Hindu schools get Indian musical instruments. She noted that the Education Ministry reported that pan in schools will be expanded to include other instruments such as the sitar and the tabla and the cuatro.

Cox said she had no problem with the addition of other musical instruments but pointed out that the school administration always had that choice. She noted that many schools, however, chose the pan because it was an "excellent" tool for teaching music as it was both melodic and percussive. She pointed out most Indian instruments are percussive and therefore cannot be used to teach music in schools.

"And contrary to what some misguided persons believe or want us to believe (the pan) is an instrument for every creed and race," she added.

She noted the programme created opportunities for many new and current pan makers.

"The local steelband manufacturing industry was dealt a severe blow as a result of the prolonged stoppage of the programme," she added. 

She was speaking on a private motion during the sitting of the Lower House on Friday at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain.

She said since May 2010 the pan in schools programme has been in "jeopardy". She criticised the Government on a number of issues regarding the programme: the contracts of many pan tutors had not been renewed and the National Junior Panorama competition had been faced with possible cancellation for the past two years; from April to May 2011 pan tutors were told to reapply for their jobs and there were no long term contracts; and the programme, which previously had an independent budget, now had to rely on the curriculum department for funding.

 She said she was concerned about the "deafening silence" on the issue by Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz, former president and current National Carnival Commission chairman Patrick Arnold.

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good things happening to good people: a good thing
good things happening to bad people: a bad thing
bad things happening to good people: a bad thing
bad things happening to bad people: a good thing

Offline AB.Trini

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2012, 10:37:12 AM »
In an era where our nation is  going through such rapid transformation it is with great pride that last night an opportunity was afforded to us to experience our culture though the  medium of the internet. Anyone who saw the Panorama show last night would have been extremely proud of the coverage ( first rate), from the  hosts, to the profiles to the product itself. There must be more to who we are as a nation that revel in partying and jump and wave. Could there be a vital role that our talented musicians play in reshaping the ills of our society?

I was struck by the comments of several comments from those who were interviewed and by  observing a phenomena  that may have merits as we move in our social reconstruction.

Comments from those interviewed commented on the participation of the youths and the care that is needed to ensure their safety and participation with adults; the cross over in gender of having not only female participants but also female band leaders;  the influence of our culture on  foreign intellects ( degrees in pan  now more widely attainable abroad) Cordettes from Grande with a Danish arranger!!!.  heard  one female participant  talked about motivational speaker  presenting to them before their performance another mentioned the fact that their players made a choice to practice as oppose to going partying!!!

One may argue that the stakes were high and hence the motivation and drive to succeed  is inherent but the mere fact that the pan yards are attracting and youths are committing to something so positive has  led me to look more deeply into what possible ways could our government put $$$ into a social program to reach out to disenfranchised youths?

Studies have shown the immense benefits of students studying music and the impact it has on them in other areas of their academic life. venezuela has an initiative going on now on a national scale in terms of using music for social change:

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/diana.hollinger/research.html

Click on:  "The Venezuelan Music Education Model: an Instrument for Social Change in California?" California Music Educator's Association State Magazine, Fall, 2007.


I would like to pay a special tribute to the organization that provided us with  the opportunity for the world to see  and share with our culture. This was one very well produced show and in HD. Why can't  these shows be  made available  like this one was tonight?

Instead of all this ppv  COME ON  let our culture be free and open for all to see. Kudos to this organization for a first class act. I trust that this was not a marketing ploy to attract  viewers and turn around and  profit  by charging next year.

I would think that this type of a medium could continue to be not only a show case of our culture but how we are using  our musical talents to  change our society.
IMHO

Offline Socapro

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2012, 06:47:01 AM »
The national instrument of Trinidad & Tobago and greatest acoustic instrument invented in the 20st century is under attack simply because it was mostly the achievement of Afro-Trinis and folks wonder why T&T is viewed by many as a weak divided country that does not fully appreciate its own rich culture.

The steelpan belongs to all Trinis regardless of creed and race and it is the only instrument that we have that we claim to be 100% a Trini invention.

Messing around with funding for the PISU programme is the most backward and damaging thing that any government can do as vanguards of our culture.

Very soon the best pan players in the world will all be from outside of Trinidad & Tobago if we continue on this backward racially divisive path in promotion and appreciation of our unique national instrument.

Other instruments such as the sitar, the tabla and the cuatro are not instruments invented in Trinidad and Tobago nor are they as good a tool as the pan (which is both melodic and percussive) for teaching music.
If this fact is true then you cannot put the other instruments on the same level as a tool for teaching youngsters music as you would the steelpan.

These backward racist fools must stop trying to make everything an issue about race and learn to fully embrace and appreciate our national instrument.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2012, 07:16:07 AM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline weary1969

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Re: Shake-up at Pan in Schools Unit
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2012, 11:47:30 AM »
Eh Eh I need to go look 4 meh former colleagues 2 get d S.
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

 

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