No respect for national instrument -- TT Unified Teachers Association

 

“STEEL PAN, oh what an invention./It should be the pride of our nation./Steelband music the world knows about it,/And is we invent it so why should we disregard it?/But what I am seeing lord it have me grieving./Why is the steelband still suffering?” – Merchant.

When Merchant sang Pan in Danger he was begging our country to pay respect to the instrument that was born in Trinidad and Tobago – it being the only instrument invented in the 20th century. At that time there was a lot of lip service paid to the steel pan, but nothing changed.

In 1998, Ian “Teddy” Belgrave, a teacher at the Arima Senior Comprehensive School, initiated a meeting inviting teachers who were interested in promoting the national instrument as a necessary part of the school’s curriculum. This meeting was held at the office of the and the result was the formation of the Pan in Schools Co-ordinating Council (PSCC).

This body immediately decided to host a School Steelband Music Festival in 1999. The idea was to create interest in the instrument. It worked because two years later in 2001 the participation increased by more than 100 per cent from 40 schools to 110 schools. The initiative worked and the performances were so fantastic that then minister of education Hazel Manning and then prime minister Patrick Manning, who were in attendance, were easily convinced by the members of the PSCC that there was need to have a steel orchestra in every school in TT.

Following lengthy discussions between the PSCC and officials of the Ministry of Education, the Pan in the Classroom project was born. It was decided that the high cost of pans prevented the immediate establishment of a steel orchestra in every school so this introduction would be done on a phased basis. The structure of the Pan in the Classroom Unit was developed, and specially qualified tutors were hired to teach the children the rudiments of the pan.

The process of establishing steel orchestras in schools was slow but steady. However, there were objections by some denominational boards. In fact, one board openly declared that there would be no pans in schools belonging to that denomination. At the same time, the PSCC continued to create opportunities for the pan to be integrated into our schools. The council introduced a course in the making of the pan which was eventually incorporated into the curriculum through the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications.

However, in 2011 Pan in the Classroom received a fatal blow when the project was discontinued and replaced by Music in the Classroom and the process of putting steel orchestras in the schools stopped, forcing the tutors to work with whatever they could. Our national instrument was thrown into the fire for reasons that only those in authority at the time could explain. The change in Government made very little difference as the project was never revitalised and continued to limp along.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world has embraced the steel pan with all their heart and in many instances embedded it into their school system. In Europe, Asia, Africa and America schools are teaching children to play the pan while in TT the instrument is treated like a disease to be scorned and avoided.

The final nail has been put into the coffin of Pan in the Classroom with the non-renewal of the contracts of the remaining personnel in the unit. Merchant made the plea to respect the national instrument and 37 years later the disrespect continues from the Government and those who still see the instrument as a product of the bad-john era and something to be avoided at all costs.

The reality is that the country of the steel pan has never seen it as something of which we should be proud but has treated it with disdain despite its international acclaim and the fact that many countries have embraced it within their schools’ curriculum.

We call on the Prime Minister to intervene and do the right thing by ensuring the reinstatement of the Pan in the Classroom project in its original form. Our future leaders must experience playing the national instrument and feel the sense of pride that one should feel as a citizen of this blessed land. Once this is accomplished, we will no longer have to say like Merchant, Pan in Danger.