Why Did We Learn How To Play The Recorder In School?
M. Zulkifli Abd Jalil
Founder, YouGo Training & Media Consultancy, Founder of mymuslimin.com | Award-winning content creator, Author, Ex magistrate, Former General Manager, Media Prima, Editor FHM, The Malay Mail, getaran.my
It's a really interesting and valid question. Some rather serious answers given were how it taught us breathing techniques, and that it provided us with a nice break from all the studying.
Have to say I don't know what was the thinking behind it, nor can I give you the pedagogical reasons. But probably it was simply to introduce a form of arts appreciation in school.
Of course, this is one area we've never been good at. In fact, the ARTS has always been seen as the "less intelligent" stream, and that it could never be as important as the other subjects in school.
As such, the thinking has been cultivated from young; that arts and culture have no value to real life, and could never be a real career alternative.
I believe this has led to disastrous consequences to society in more ways than one. Without the appreciation of the arts, there's no appreciation of the artistes. That's why for so long, we've grappled with widespread piracy (cetak rompak). Because people simply do not appreciate the creative proses.
Even today in the digital world, there is little respect for intellectual property. People think arts and culture are merely hobbies that have no value. They don't think this as "work" for those who depend on it for their livelihoods.
It doesn't help too that there is no balance in the media when it comes to entertainment, arts and culture. Sure, we all enjoy gossip now and then, but the fascination has always been with the "artis", rather than what's "artistic". Hence, it's all lumped together as just entertainment, and nothing more.
Even deeper than that, the lack of appreciation for the arts, literature and culture has created a society of binary thinkers. A piece of art can mean different things to different people (there is no right or wrong), but generally our people can't, and won't, agree to disagree, cos the answer to everything is either this or that.
Everything must be on the nose, subtexts are often ignored, and it leaves us with a society that only judges others by what they see on the surface, and material gains.
Oh how I wish we had learned more than just the recorder...
Maltimur Resources Sdn Bhd
7 年An interesting one!
Senior Planning Engineer | Master Planning | Inventory Management | SAP | Production Scheduling | Process Optimization
7 年Good article!!
Sr. Rotating Equipment Engineer @ ???? Aramco YNGL. Specialising in Oil/Gas rotating equipment Compressor, Gas Turbine(GE LM,Solar,GE Fr6B), Steam Turbine, Pump, Engine, Former RE Engineer @ Shell GTL, GLNG, APLNG.
7 年Supaya kita berfikir dan bersyukur kepada Allah, kecil2 lagi lahir dalam kesempurnaan, ada 10 jari, ada otak, ada mulut, ada hidung, ada paru2, ada mata, ada tulang belakang, ada telinga...simple lah...pandai main atau tidak recorder tu...tak penting...kalau pandai, pandailah, kalau tak, cari benda lain yang boleh mengembirakan kita...it is not the end of the world ?? positivity can kills misery...
HR Professional (SHRM-SCP) | Exploring Industrial Capability | EV enthusiast | Active lifestyle
7 年The recorder .. an introduction arts and developing the right side of the brain. Finger coordinations on the notes, learning musical notes, controlling the breathing to blow. Those good at playing the recorder eventually grow to play the clarinet or the saxaphone, or even picked up other musical instruments. The one thing we lacked in our school system then (not too sure about now) was the creative freedom. We are taught to follow the system, not to deviate, hence suppressing creativity and potentials. I do hope it has changed.
Boarding House Assistant @Epsom International School & Homemaker at Gerobok Dara. Alhamdulillah.
7 年Lol