Olivier Masson
23 October 2007
Port Louis — Edutainment could well becoe a breath of fresh air in the rat race and the overall system here. This interactive and fun educating method seeks to educate as well as to amuse.
Linda Gillan and Greg Hasting holding their show carrying out values such as politeness through songs and poems with pupils from the Prem Sahadeo Government School.
"Down the billabong, all day long, listen to the band". For one moment, while being introduced to Linda Gillan and Greg Hastings' Wandering in the bush show, one could wonder if one was still at school.
But the children that are sitting cross-legged around the performers are all pupils. Whether from the Mapou International Preparatory School or Alexander House in Floréal, the young, mesmerized audience are not just listening to a collection of songs about the Australian bush and its animals, but to an authentic lesson in which education is fun and interactive. "We bring awareness of another culture, actually the oldest surviving. At the same time, children have fun with each other as well as with us", explains Linda.
This kind of activity, which can provide some of the developmental teaching recommended by specialists, is sometimes called edutainment. It seeks to instruct or socialize its audience by embedding lessons in familiar forms of entertainment, to educate as well as to amuse.
Children aged between 4 and 12, laughing, enjoying themselves, waving their hands and following the performer's gestures that depict the actions of the animals of Australia, not dancing but using movements.. Greg, a professional entertainer, just wants to bring the essence of the bush to their hearts, without any real program. The opportunity is a rare one ..
Edutainment has its advocates and its critics. In seminars, in crash courses meant for adults where it has become very popular, it is sometimes viewed as emphasising fun and enjoyment at the expense of educational content.
In its most radical expression, edutainment is even seen by some as a threat: in the United States, people become so used to flashy, polished entertainment venues like movie theatres that they demand similar experiences at science centres and museums. This could be called "the temptation of Disneyland".
Yet, in the context of schools, and especially in Mauritius, it can be a blessing. An invaluable breath of fresh air in the rat race, an outing to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre, that edutainment temple with its display of interactive games, is a very good means to inculcate a taste for science in pupils.
As it is, the show carries values that are much sought after nowadays in the educational system, like politeness: beginning with a ceremonial "Wawoo" standing for whole spirit, it closes after the last song with "please do not forget to say please" and "thank you and we'll thank you with a smile".
Children learn the words effortlessly
The didgeridoo is also an attraction. To see from so close up the "oldest instrument in the world" being performed is captivating. The sound not only comes from the deep interior breath, but speaks of the most ancient culture in the world - "from 40,000 to 80,000 years ago, 40,000 according to the books, 80,000 according to the oral tradition, in any case one which experienced the last ice age", as Greg told us.
The music, though immersed in aborigine culture, is not purely traditional. First meant for aborigine children, it is a very apt instrument for opening people up to the primeval notions of nature, as experienced by those who still live in harmony with it: Kan-ga-roo, Co-cka-too, Ko-a-la, the wonderful fauna, are described in songs, signs and actions that represent the animals in sounds, movements and emotions. "Children enjoy the repetition and learn the words effortlessly, sometimes amidst laughter." While the children move and follow Greg and Linda, their perception of facial expressions is enhanced. "Aborigines are intuitive people: the face tells all". For G-o-a-n-na, an added spice is involved as this animal is known for being "good food" by the aborigines.
A breath of fresh air in the rat race, an outing to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre, that edutainment temple with its display of interactive games, is a very good means to inculcate a taste for science in pupils.
After the show itself, uninhibited children ask spontaneous questions. "They can be most receptive at 5-6. While the little ones just tell us what they have understood", points out Linda, "when they grow older they will ask: how do you blow the didgeridoo? or where do you live in Australia?"
It is the second time the perfor-mers have come to Mauritius and some institutions, like Alexander House, have asked them to return. "The show also brings to the pupils a sense of community that is primal in aborigine culture." If this is undisputable, the entertainment brought by the lesson is too: after the show, one can hear the children in the playground, going on with their bush game: Kan-ga-roo, Co-cka-too, Ko-a-la
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