Tweet
Observer EDITORIAL:
Take it from Ms Charmaine Bowman.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
We are truly proud of five year-old Liu Ayton, the youngest Jamaican to record and release a musical album.
For his accomplishment, the exclusive introduction of which can be read in last Friday's edition of this newspaper's entertainment pullout, Splash, is yet another reason for us to be proud of the rich cultural heritage that has distinguished our country on the international scene.
According to the story, young Ayton's album, five@five, consists of five nursery rhymes put to our irresistible ska, rocksteady, dancehall roots reggae and Nyahbinghi rhythms.
How apt!
Just imagine what a boost our children, especially those who are growing up overseas, could get from parading these nursery rhymes in the music of their own culture.
And consider how this album could enhance their learning experience.
The Ministry of Education would be well advised to establish a link with his mother, Ms Charmaine Bowman.
For it is obvious that Ms Bowman, through hard work and resilience, has been steering, with superior skill and alacrity, the fortunes of master Ayton, the son of late drummer Carl Ayton, who passed, sadly, three months after his birth.
A youngster herself at 34, Ms Bowman, who produced her son's album, must be commended for making the sacrifice that many single mothers fail to, in laying a sound educational foundation for her son.
Our story quotes her rationale for using music as the catalyst for his learning processes. And it's a rationale that every mother needs to understand, namely the paramount importance of clueing into their children's inclinations and making sure that they are properly nourished with encouragement and practical application to their educational experience.
Ms Bowman, a music teacher, noticed the effect that music had on her son and made good use of it.
Of course, everyone won't have the same resources or experience to produce a musical prodigy.
However, all of us will find, if we look hard enough, something that our children have a knack for.
Whether it's art, or numbers, or science, or linguistics, or any of the many fields of endeavour that are critical to the development of a balanced nation, we have a duty as parents to make use of the resources that are available to us and to use them to affirm and push our children in the right direction towards excellence.
This, of course, will require us to rearrange our busy schedules to observe and understand our children. It will require us to develop a tight relationship with those who teach our children at school so that their school activities can be appropriately supported at home.
Ms Bowman did, and the results of her effort have emerged in young master Ayton with scintillating precision.
Let's follow her lead.
Take it from Ms Charmaine Bowman.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
We are truly proud of five year-old Liu Ayton, the youngest Jamaican to record and release a musical album.
For his accomplishment, the exclusive introduction of which can be read in last Friday's edition of this newspaper's entertainment pullout, Splash, is yet another reason for us to be proud of the rich cultural heritage that has distinguished our country on the international scene.
According to the story, young Ayton's album, five@five, consists of five nursery rhymes put to our irresistible ska, rocksteady, dancehall roots reggae and Nyahbinghi rhythms.
How apt!
Just imagine what a boost our children, especially those who are growing up overseas, could get from parading these nursery rhymes in the music of their own culture.
And consider how this album could enhance their learning experience.
The Ministry of Education would be well advised to establish a link with his mother, Ms Charmaine Bowman.
For it is obvious that Ms Bowman, through hard work and resilience, has been steering, with superior skill and alacrity, the fortunes of master Ayton, the son of late drummer Carl Ayton, who passed, sadly, three months after his birth.
A youngster herself at 34, Ms Bowman, who produced her son's album, must be commended for making the sacrifice that many single mothers fail to, in laying a sound educational foundation for her son.
Our story quotes her rationale for using music as the catalyst for his learning processes. And it's a rationale that every mother needs to understand, namely the paramount importance of clueing into their children's inclinations and making sure that they are properly nourished with encouragement and practical application to their educational experience.
Ms Bowman, a music teacher, noticed the effect that music had on her son and made good use of it.
Of course, everyone won't have the same resources or experience to produce a musical prodigy.
However, all of us will find, if we look hard enough, something that our children have a knack for.
Whether it's art, or numbers, or science, or linguistics, or any of the many fields of endeavour that are critical to the development of a balanced nation, we have a duty as parents to make use of the resources that are available to us and to use them to affirm and push our children in the right direction towards excellence.
This, of course, will require us to rearrange our busy schedules to observe and understand our children. It will require us to develop a tight relationship with those who teach our children at school so that their school activities can be appropriately supported at home.
Ms Bowman did, and the results of her effort have emerged in young master Ayton with scintillating precision.
Let's follow her lead.
Comment