Hallifield School trains students on importance of diverse culture

Esther Taiwo

In its bid to train the total child to be distinct and confidently face the future as well as build one global village, Halifield Schools has organised a 2-in-1 Concert which was held at Terra Culture in Lagos recently.

The first concert which was tagged “One World, Diverse Culture” featured different performances by the Pre School and the Elementary arm of the school.

Featuring a display of cultural values from countries such as Jamaica, Greece, New Zealand and Mexico: New Zealand as displayed by the pupils is a small island nation home to around 4.5 million people located in the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is famous for its national rugby team, its indigenous Maori culture and its picturesque landscape, among others.

Mexico on the other hand has large majority of Mexicans have been classified as “Mestizos”, meaning in modern Mexican usage that they identify fully neither with any indigenous culture nor with a Spanish cultural heritage, but rather identify as having cultural traits incorporating elements from indigenous and Spanish traditions.

In an interview with Oreofe Oyemade who represented Mexico, she said she talked about one of Mexico’s famous game referred to as Charrería : A modern bullfight typically also includes traditional folk dancing and equestrian events, called charrería (or charreada). Charrería, like a Mexican rodeo, is the national sport of Mexico.

Jamaican culture consists of the religion, norms, values, and lifestyle that define the people of Jamaica. The culture is mixed, with an ethnically diverse society, stemming from a history of inhabitants beginning with the original Taino people.

Jamaica is the home of Bob Marley but reggae, namely ‘roots’ reggae, is so much more than just Bob. Bob is only one of literally thousands of amazing reggae artists from and in Jamaica. Branch out beyond Buffalo Soldier and One Love and you will find an abundance of talent and island vibes.

Greece is widely considered to be the cradle of Western culture and democracy. … The ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, and comedy.

Speaking with the Director, Halifield Schools, Mrs. Halimat Oke, about the essence of the show, she said it was a show of different cultures, even though its one world there are differences.

“But these differences should seal the whole world because amidst the differences we still see things that pertains to each and every culture, Cultural diversity is a valuable resource for attaining development goals”, she said.

Oke added that one of the best ways Halifield School was able to achieve its aim was through presentation.

“One the reasons for presentation was for Long Term study : It is the best way to teach children not to forget, it also afford learners to imbibe a lot of knowledge. What these children have learnt during the time of practice they will never forget, they have learnt about different cultures, anthems, that most adults don’t know”, she said.

According to her, Long term studies is vital for knowledge, it also affords children stage presence which enables them to have good communication skills and poise; repeated presence on stage builds their confidence in the world.

“We are preparing our children for the world stage, it’s a global world and so our children will have to be ready to occupy their space in the global world. The children no doubt had fun, they enjoyed what they did and it has been proved that you learn better when you do things which makes you happy, presentations no doubt is beneficial,

for them to come up with amazing presentations show the input they have put into it. Presentation is also a way to bring out the talents that our children have, everybody has a talent, most of the time it’s in presentations like this that you discover talents and from there we encourage them in that area”, she said.

The second show which was displayed by Halifield College was tagged “Joseph and the amazing Technicolor dream coat” talked about the story of Joseph: how he stood out in his family, how his brothers were jealous of him and sold him into slavery; how he got to Egypt and eventually he became the second in command in Egypt which were demonstrated in songs.

Halifield Schools’ mission statement was to inculcate positive values and beliefs, have a shared sense of purpose, promote positive relationship and instill a sense of trust. Her motto ‘I CAN’ inspires confidence, promotes self-reliance and motivates its staff and students to strive for excellence in all academic and extra-curricular endeavours.