Anurag Bagchhi of Class IV wishes he could listen to some music while solving a tricky maths problem.
Ivaan Dubey of Class V is used to doing his homework with music on and wishes he could listen to some soft strains to relax, especially after the school’s third period.
Both the students of Abhinav Bharati High School may get their wishes answered as the school plans to introduce music therapy and intervention, especially for the junior classes, shortly.
As a preliminary step, the children were exposed to an hour-long therapy session on April 25, where they were made to listen to different tunes and their changing moods recorded. They were also taught how to play the recorder, that is a kind of flute.
“It was a very different experience for us. We were taken to Gyan Manch and made to listen to different tunes. I recognised some but was happy to listen to all. I was clapping and relaxing...,” said a chirpy Aditri Chatterjee of Class III, not feeling as drained during recess.
This was the school’s first step towards introducing children to music intervention or breaks during regular school hours.
“There were more than 150 students, clapping to happy tunes at one instance and closing their eyes to a soothing strain at another. A melancholy tune instantly changed the mood and the energy shift was palpable,” said Illanjana Bhadra, an assistant English teacher, who was part of the session.
The teachers also had to undergo training under educator Hilda Peacock and Mexican flautist Nathalie Ramirez Tovar, a professional Mexican flautist in March.
Both of them showed the teachers how music could be introduced as part of the regular curriculum to help children overcome stress and improve their productivity.
“We were told how music intervention makes a child more confident. Teachers were told to introduce rhythm while teaching poetry and literature. Some music after a heavy lesson can lighten things up for kids. We were told to encourage children to hum a tune to relax,” said Bhadra.
Primary section students of Abhinav Bharati High School at the Gyan Manch, where they were made to listen to various tunes
Peacock told teachers how music and rhythm can be effective teaching tools, especially after the pandemic. “How to get our children back to the place where they were before the pandemic? Music can help greatly. To a child, music is entertainment. It involves some movement. Music teaches them imagination. It has been medically proven that music is a healing, powerful, therapeutic tool. It teaches phonetics and pronunciation, too,” she said.
On March 24 and 25, Yamaha Music India and Nathalie Ramirez Tovar taught the teachers how to use a recorder and play various songs on it — which will help the students with their learning. It was meant to develop critical thinking in students and boost their creativity.
“We plan to use music as a full-fledged teaching tool in future. Every school has singing and dance classes but now there is need to introduce music in between lessons too, especially for the junior section. We found the kids suffering from lack of attention post covid and all the extra screen time. They were not excited to learn new things like before. Many needed counselling. We realised that only music was still perking them up. We hope to introduce music and rhymes to spice up most lessons,” said headmistress Moumita Rakshit.