By Grace Princess Tarwo, GNA
Accra, Oct Nov.2, GNA - Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, the Acting Director of the National Folklore Board has called on teachers to inculcate Ghana’s Folklore into pupils to promote a sense of patriotism and enable them identify their cultures and values.
Folklore is a tradition passed on orally from generation to generation which comprises of customs, beliefs, material culture, dramatic arts, festivals, storytelling, proverbs, poetry and scientific cultural legacy that had been celebrated over the years.
Speaking at the National Folklore Board (NFB) Kids Club training for teachers from selected schools on Thursday, she said as part of the board’s commitment to implement its mandate to promote and protect Ghana’s Folklore, it had initiated the establishment of folklore kids clubs in selected basic and special needs schools to teach the children the essence of folklore in their daily lives.
She said the training was aimed at equipping the teachers to enable them sustain the clubs in their various schools, adding that they would be able to build the interest of the pupils and instill nationalism in them.
Nana Adobea Asante said traditional games and songs and the art of storytelling were some activities covered to enable the teachers impact the knowledge gain into the pupils to boost their creativity.
She however disclosed that, in revitalizing folklore in the country, the NFB and the Ministry of Education was about establishing a creative arts school in Kumasi in the Ashanti region to promote local creative arts with Ghanaian elements in a better way.
Mrs Eleonora P Baffour-Agyei, the director of Kids Patriot Club in her presentation on the ‘’Essence of folklore and teachers roles as coordinators’’ said folklore entails learning the traditions and customs of a group of people mainly passed on orally from one generation to another.
She said folklore was important as it depict a group’s identity, maintained values such as; politeness, morale uprightness, respect and promoted cohesion, unity and support for each other and noted that it should be blended with the foreign curriculum to enable pupils have vast knowledge and uphold those values.
It was a pivot of cultural life, connecting the past to the present and the future but foreign culture had taken over as a result of undervaluation of local culture, she said.
“We are gradually becoming foreigners in our own country”
Mrs Baffour-Agyei recommended that folklore should be taught more in schools which included; the local languages, festivals, customs, poetry and proverbs and be told by parents and guardians to the children to instill nationalism in them.
Enoch Nana Yaw Oduro-Adjei, a rapper known as Trigmatic on his part spoke on the sustainability of the clubs adding that, to ensure the clubs stand the test of time, the teachers needed to take advantage of social media, using committed people with ideas to create content that could be branded and sold to generate income.
Mr David Dontoh, an actor and television personality said the folklore clubs were important as it would teach the young ones more about the country’s cultural heritage and enable them embrace their culture.
He said the ‘economy was based on the culture’ as people turn to patronise what they believe and love and commended the NFB for the initiative and training.
The teachers were engaged in some local games and art of storytelling as well as taught traditional songs to teach the children at their various clubs.
GNA
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