A Bradford primary school made it their mission to prove how only six hours of music per week can lead to an overall success, education-wise.
At the Feversham primary academy, things are done differently as far as traditional teaching methods are concerned. In fact, the academy itself caused quite the controversy a couple of years ago, when they realized that music could be used as a successful instrument in modern-day schooling.
Moreover, Naveed Idrees, who works as the head teacher at the Feversham academy, has found that a six-hour music session during school week can drastically enhance the general performance of students.
Take nine-year-old Abiha Nasir for instance. At first glance, Abiha may appear like your ordinary girl. However, this little miracle-worker showed up at the academy’s doorstep when she was five years of age. What took professors aback when it comes to Abiha was her uncanny talent in playing the drums.
As a matter of fact, little Abiha soon became the academy’s favorite wunderkind. In 2016, Abiha underwent an audition at the Bradford primary school, in hopes to become a part of the existing talented children program. Interestingly enough, Abiha got accepted to the school as the first Muslim girl to ever attend and soon became the uncovered diamond in the rocks for professors teaching at the school.
In the modern day, where everything develops in a fast-paced manner, the traditional schooling system seems to be falling behind. Schools are still driven by the theory that SATs running records are the yardstick for success and talent. While this may have been the case back in the day, in the contemporary society tests of this sort simply don’t do the trick anymore.
Feversham has long contemplated whether to introduce music as a new teaching technique. or to eradicate it completely. After suffering harsh criticism over the decades, today, the academy gets a much-deserved praise by Ofsted as well.
What may have seemed like a poor effort in the past, is now a 74% boost in outstanding reading, writing, and math problem-solving skills in students.
The educational evolution is further supported by staggering figures. Namely, out of all students who attend the academy, 99% have adopted English as a second language. Why is this so intriguing? Well, all students enrolled in the academy are entering it with no sound knowledge of the English language. With this in mind, Feversham has become a real-life manual on how to bring outstanding results by simply making music a part of their program.
Due to an instant increase of the refugee population, added to the already existing Muslim community in Bradford, the city council remained adamant in their claim that certain ethnic groups do not get the same appreciation and valorization as others.
From inside the school walls, however, a different tune is sung (no pun intended). Students get acquainted with English literature and music in a total of thirty different languages. Aside from this, youngsters are learning a handful of different games through which they get introduced to both historical events and even aspiring local artists, such as the regional YouTube sensation, Ahmad Hussain.
While there were many suspicions about Muslim children being exposed to Christian customs, the school’s annual concert penetrated and broke the cultural barrier with parents and children of all backgrounds, making this event an academy landmark.
In terms of music and its incorporation in everyday classes, each child gets a 30-minute music lesson daily. In addition, children enjoy a one-hour-long music event comprised of aspiring music groups and artists.
The academy’s head teacher, Naveed Idrees, assures that the technique which was once thought of as skeptical is now widely accepted by other struggling schools, too.
Prior to kicking off the entire teaching process, the school did its homework well and relied on the Kodály approach as inspiration. This method has helped children acquire various different skills, from writing and speaking to singing and solving math problems.
As Idrees explains, this new and inspiring manner of education enables youth development, not just mentally, but socially-speaking as well.
Furthermore, Idrees points out that Feversham’s newfound educational approach encourages the development of children, unlike the SATs method, which was labeled as inefficient. For the first time ever, creativity got the chance to stand out as the leading technique for achieving great results. Of course, this is absolutely not the case with the weak and tiring effect of evaluating students through Sats.
Several years ago, the city of Bradford was hit by shocking story of young Asad Khan, a student at a different school in the region, who committed suicide due to heavy bullying from his peers. Feversham used this case as a trigger to launch a project intended to help children cope with the negative side of life. Basically, the project allows youngsters to learn how to handle pressure, cyberbullying and even society’s unrealistic standards.
Idrees is certain that children are unaware of how to process more complex emotions. This is exactly what the project aims to achieve – taking something as simple as playing a game and turning it into a skill-developing method. Among other things, the project is devoted to improving children’s concentration, memory, and general performance.
Ladies and gentlemеn, it seems that an educational revolution is upon us, and it is high time we embrace it.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.
