Knowledge
Children learn new concepts with the help of music at Chennai schools
Chennai schools are beginning to use music as a teaching tool to introduce concepts to students. While it helps in effectively teaching new concepts, some educationists think that it may not be the right approach to teaching complex concepts as they need more focus.
"There's hydrogen and helium then lithium, beryllium," sing Niranj, Surya, Maya and Varun in unison as their music teacher Vivek Anand helps them pick up the tempo while learning the chemical elements in a periodic table. These students of a private school off OMR are among the few in Chennai who have been using music to make learning fun and take the routine out of rote learning.
Educational approaches based on music such as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, which combines action and movements, are growing more popular. "You can teach kids using a blackboard and a chalk or put a spin on it by aligning the same with musical notes," said Hari Bhaskar, a music teacher at a private school in the city.
"Music is part of the curriculum at our school and several departments work in tandem. The feedback I have got from students and teachers is that classes have never been more fun. It is a win-win particularly for students since they not only indulge in some music time as they call it, but also align it with their academics to improve their overall performance," said Sarija, head of administration, senior school, APL Global Public School, Thoraipakkam.
Pianist Anil Srinivasan's initiative, Rhapsody – Education Through Music, has tied up with 70 schools in the state, including 20 government schools. The pianist explains that Class II students are brought up to speed with the Doppler Effect, which is part of the Class XI physics syllabus. "We make a group of students take a toy train ride and the other group can feel what the Doppler Effect is about. You teach the basics and it sets the tone for poring over the theoretical reading," said Srinivasan.
However, some feel that this approach may not work for the entire syllabus. Educationist ES Ramamurthy of Sikshana Foundation says that while blending music is a welcome step, it is not fruitful to stretch the same for bigger concepts. "It is fine to experiment when it comes to tables or fractions, but you can't apply the same to theorems, chemical equations and such, which need single minded focus. And above all, if a child does not have the temperament for say maths or physics, no novelty would be of help." However, Ramamurthy adds that juxtaposition of music and learning, could give the much-needed fillip to arts education, which the system is guilty of overlooking.
This way or that, integrating music in the curriculum will benefit either the core subject or the art form itself. It seems Indian educationist are finally breaking the mould and integrating creativity in the way concepts are taught in school.