Festive Work

Miss Abigail’s thought for the week: What constitutes work?

Today I asked a child if they had had a good week and he replied, ‘Yes, it’s been great! We have hardly done ANY WORK AT ALL!’  This made me smile: children have a funny understanding of what ‘work’ means.

This week has seen a number of rehearsals, performances, parties, cultural activities and all sorts of other ‘non-standard week’ kind of stuff, in between other lessons and project work.  And there has been terrific learning taking place – even if the kids didn’t notice!

This might include (in no particular order, and by no means exclusively):

  • Responding to an audience
  • Learning how to speak into a microphone correctly
  • Projecting one’s voice
  • Pride in a job well done
  • Waiting patiently for your turn
  • Encouraging your friends when they feel nervous / anxious
  • Sharing food, using good table manners
  • Finding out more about historical / cultural activities in Bahrain
  • Learning how to set up, pack away and operate the sound system
  • Holding a choir folder correctly
  • Following a conductor when singing
  • That embassies have special security rules and regulations and why
  • That face paints smudge when you rub them and that the designs are back to front in a mirror
  • That small pots can be thrown ‘off the hump’ on a wheel and what that looks like
  • How baskets are made
  • How cloth is woven
  • That if you get 3 sweets for 2 tokens, you get 6 sweets for 4 tokens
  • Listening skills
  • Craftsmanship in performance
  • Commitment to performance
  • Confidence
  • Public speaking / presenting skills
  • Overcoming stage-fright
  • Appreciating and respecting our peers for good performances – and being inspired by them
  • Giving constructive and respectful feedback to our peers
  • That adrenaline rush that follows performance
  • Learning how to manage one’s own behaviour in a less structured setting
  • That you have to work together to achieve great things

 

If work means learning – and I believe it does – then that isn’t bad, for 5 days.  Well done all!

 

Have a great winter break…and think of all the ‘work’ that will be happening!