Unity in Diversity

Unity in Diversity

Nigeria is a miniature Africa in the sense of its diversity. There are about 521 languages and about 1200 dialects and ethnic groups. The amalgamation of different native kingdoms, ethnic and cultural groups into one geographical location birthed this heterogeneous country.

Over the years, concerted effort has been made to unite these multicultural people but to no avail. It is a no brainer that the country has been divided and disunited by the political class.

During our recently held Music and Arts Festival, the Nigerian Contingents lend their voices to the call for peace and unity through a play entitled UNITY IN DIVERSITY. The call for unity was portrayed by the brooms being broken easily when they were single out but very difficult to break when in a bunch.

After thrilling the crowd with beautiful displays of dance, songs, food presentations, runway parades, etc They gave a clarion call for persons of 18 years and above to go and get their PVC.

 

Team Naija won third position for their beautiful display of the beauty of Africa. Kudos to you all.

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IF YOU TELL HIM THAT, YOU WILL RUIN HIM

 

Children are a gift from God. They come with different abilities and potentials. Some are very precocious while others are a bit laid back. Whatever attributes they possess, they are very special.

Growing up, I was told that I am gifted. I could solve mathematics problems without drawing the strokes or circles like my classmates would do. This earned me the nickname “calculator” from my class teacher who was fond of me. I was praised for knowing how to read earlier than others and saddled with the responsibility of monitoring the class and writing the names of noisemakers.

I was measurably at the top of the class. This bolstered my confidence in and outside the classroom. However, this self-awareness didn’t translate into unwavering confidence in the face of challenging schoolwork. How I gradually began to lose interest in mathematics, I couldn’t tell. I bought into the lie held by most of my classmates that mathematics was hard; but this was the same mathematics I was eating for breakfast, a piece of cake.

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“What could have happened to this genius?” My teacher thought. I was reported to my dad for losing focus and associating with bad friends. However good intention this conclusion was, it was not the reality. It only scratched the surface as the problem was deep-seated. No one could have ever thought that I was drowning in excessive praise.

Recently, I stumbled on research about the inverse power of praise. I was stupefied by the conclusions. I thought I have some knowledge of motivation because I studied Psychology of education back then in school and have done some courses on behaviour management which always broach the subject matter, but these findings have explained an age-old mystery that eluded my teachers and parents. These findings have illuminated my hitherto wrong views about motivation and explained why my grades plummeted, especially in mathematics.

I was told I was a genius by my teachers and parents and it got into my head. I believe I could do everything effortlessly that whenever I faced a challenging task, instead of racking my brains to solve it, I would shove it aside because I thought geniuses shouldn’t sweat at anything. So I selected what comes easy to me as “my thing”, anything that eludes me is not ” my thing”. That was the beginning of my academic turmoil.

Kids seating together

According to Dr Carol Dweck, cited by Po Bronson 2009, “when we praise children for their intelligence, we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don’t risk making mistakes.”

These were the lines that connected the nexus of my failure in mathematics. I remember vividly the day I was flogged at the back of my hands for not getting the correct answers to a fraction. Wrong as the punishment was but that was not the remote demotivating factor.

Dweck discovered that those who think that innate intelligence is the key to success begin to discount the importance of effort. I AM SMART, the kids reasoning goes; I don’t need to put out the effort. (Po Bronson 2009)

Could this be the reason why I gave up on so many things prematurely? I remember I had tried playing basketball as a sport but the day I flunked in a tournament and I was laughed at, I didn’t return to the court again.

Only if I was taught that intelligence is not innate and the brain is a muscle, giving it a harder workout makes you smarter, who knows if I would have been a basketball star by now. Dr Lisa Blackwell research shows that when children are taught about how the brain grows new neurones when challenged, they tend to improve their study habits and grades.

However, this is not to say children should not be praised at all, a large literature on praise shows that it can be effective—a positive, motivating force. But for praise to be effective researchers have agreed that it needs to be specific.

The sincerity of praise is very crucial. Children are sophisticated enough to see and feel our true intentions. This fact replicates many research findings.

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THE POWER OF MUSIC

Music is defined as an arrangement of sounds having melody, rhythm, and usually harmony. This is a Merriam Webster Dictionary definition.

Etymologically, the word music comes from the Greek word (mousike), which means “(art) of the Muses”.  It’s not just an ordinary art as it is mostly inspired and involves a lot of skills and great acumen.

The origin of music dates back to prehistoric times. Many scholars claim it rose simultaneously with language as there is no clear evidence of its invention throughout history. Music is referred to as cultural universal because every culture partakes in it. Hence, there is a range of mythical origins about the invention of music but none is widely approved.

Over two millenniums of its existence, this magical art continues to sweep the world off its feet. Its importance cannot be overemphasized. According to Wikipedia,

“a society’s music is influenced by all other aspects of its culture, including social and economic organization and experience, climate and access to technology.”

This explains the different genres of music we have in Nigeria which are fashioned according to the various folk music.

“The styles of folk music are related to the multitudes of ethnic groups in the country, each with their techniques, instruments, and songs.”

The most popular among the genres are Fuji, juju, Apala, Igbo rap, Afrobeat, and high life. Nigeria being a former British colony has some elements of classical music still subsisting alongside popular music.

Unlike popular music,  classical music as the name implies requires formal training without which understanding of the musical notations, use of the instruments, will be difficult. What distinguished classical music from other forms of music is its use of stave notations:

“These are a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch or in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. ”
In learning music in school, children are trained on the stave notations and other formal musical instruments.

The power of music, in this case, classical music has been associated with increased intelligence.
For instance, in Europe, the Mozart effect refers to the theory that listening to classical music may temporarily boost scores on one portion of an IQ test.

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Though many argue about the authenticity of this theory it’s a fact that classical music has a calming effect on one during a task which aids focus and performance. Therefore, we could say good music can be a catalyst for job performance and increased creativity.

According to a new study, listening to classical music enhanced the activity of genes involved in dopamine secretion and transport. These are ” happy juices” released when there is a positive energy flow in the body.

In general, it has been said that music has the power to culturally, morally, and emotionally influence our society. We have seen the display of such powers by great musicians across history.

It’s a no brainer that music exerts a powerful influence on human beings. Apart from the aforesaid importance of music, here are other reasons why we take music seriously at Wellspring.

Music is a memory booster; it lightens your mood and reduces anxiety and depression; It staves off fatigue, improves your response to pain, and help you work out more effectively. If we can achieve these only, we will be very pleased with the outcome of our music programme. Not to talk about the other impacts of music on society.

Music is also used as an instrument of worship in most religions. It is used in both religious and social gatherings to galvanise,  entertains and spur people into action.

Music is a weapon used by freedom fighters to expose and satirize the ill of society and fight for social justice. Musicians like Fela,  Bob Marley,  Morzart, Lucky Dube etc belong to this ilk.

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According to research, music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common because involvement with music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behaviour.

It is with these reasons in mind that we have put together a school orchestral band and procured all the necessary percussion instruments to be utilized during musical training and rehearsals. Our music department is well equipped with state of the art equipment and great instructors. We are poised to train and create the best instrumentalists and musicians in Nigeria.

World Book Day 2022

“READING ONE BOOK A DAY IS LIKE EATING ONE POTATOE A DAY”

People read for different purposes and to satisfy different needs. Some people love to read historical books of influential people. Some connect more to horror books, crime novels, children literature and other fictions. Regardless of our book preference and reasons, it is important that we read and enjoy reading.

world book day

 

The world book day which began on the 23rd of April 1995, by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to celebrate books and authors and encourage the act of reading. The world book day exist to encourage spirited individuals to donate books to schools and children. It is also to encourage everyone irrespective of age and status on the importance of reading.

The international world book day is celebrated every first Thursday in the month of March. This year, the world book day was celebrated on the 3rd of March 2022, with the theme, ‘You Are a Reader’. This event is centered on encouraging children to read and create awareness on books. It is also a means of raising funds for children in the 3rd world countries.

The children of wellspring preparatory school Umuahia, were not left out of the celebration. The children from each class came up with beautiful ideas to celebrate the day. Dressed in an array of resplendent costumes, the children presented quotes on reading, some spoke on the importance of reading, some on the history and relevance of the international world book day and others dressed up as book characters.

Characters represented were; Cinderella from the book Cinderella, Sleeping beauty from the book Sleeping beauty, Olanna from the book Half of a yellow sun, Okonkwo from the book Things fall apart, Mr. Brown from the book Things fall apart and Little red riding hood from the book Little red riding hood.

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wellspring preparatory world book day 2022

Truly, the importance of books and reading cannot be overemphasized. Books bring to life thoughts, ideas and images. Reading takes you on a fun trip without moving your feet. You are a reader and we dare to say you are a leader. You are what you read.

Keep reading!!!

“A READER LIVES A THOUSAND LIVES BEFORE HE DIES……….THE MAN WHO NEVER READS LIVES ONCE”. – George R.R Martin

#worldbookday2022

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