Colour Blind?

Are we always the best teacher in class?

I've been teaching traditional West African drumming to five Year 5 children on a weekly basis since last September in a local primary school, and have two dyslexic students in the group, Charlie and Maya. I'm fascinated by the way they learn, and the idiosyncrasies in their approach to remembering rhythms. After the Christmas break, I was disappointed to see that they had both, apparently, forgotten the rhythm that we'd been playing at the end of last term. It didn't take the other children long to recall the hand patterns and the words we use as an aide memoire. But for Maya and Charlie, it didn't matter how patiently and clearly I went over and over the patterns, chanting “can of coke and a bag of crisps” (yes, I know, it should be “Evian and some sprouting beans”) I didn't seem to be able to help. Maya said please, please please could she start the rhythm on the bass, and I said no, because the sounds would be wrong.

I then asked the group to close their eyes, and listen to me playing the rhythm twice, and tell me if they were the same, or different. Each time, Maya and Charlie could hear no difference between the bass and tone sounds. In 14 years of teaching, this was a major revelation to me! It's never occurred to me that my students can't make that differentiation, and so would need to learn some other way.

Maya eventually said “I can't, I can't, I can't!” to which, naturally, I said “you can, you can, you can!” and we all started talking about what we had for Christmas, while out of the corner of my eye, I could see and hear Maya playing the rhythm totally correctly with a good hand pattern. As soon as the whole group started again, with me chanting “can of coke etc” Maya lost it again. Finally, I said to Maya, “does it help, me chanting those words at you all the time?” “No.” “Does it help you Charlie?” “No.” “Does it help if I say right, right left, right left right, left right?” “No.” “No.” . . . . “Can you tell me how you do remember then? Can you tell me what does help?”

“Colours.”

And so began a fascinating revelation to us all about how Maya and Charlie see the bass and tone sounds on their drums as two different colours. Depending on which drum she's playing, Maya's colours are those of the two rings around the rim which hold the skin on the djembe. So, if I chanted “red, red red white white white, red red” it was helpful! And even if we were playing a different rhythm, “red, white white white white red, red, red” would still work! The whole group (including me) left the lesson beaming.

I've since had a long chat with my friend Helen, SENCO and Assistant Headteacher at an inner London primary school, who's studying for an MA in Education and Dyslexia, who tells me that current research points to dyslexia being a phonological problem. She was unsurprised that Maya and Charlie had “forgotten” the rhythm over the holiday period, and that they couldn't hear the difference between bass and tone. She was also unsurprised that colours and visual symbols were helpful for the children to process the rhythms. Most of all, Maya's ability to understand her own difficulties and explain to me how she learns is invaluable, because I can now do my best to try and help, not hinder. When focused and relaxed, Maya and Charlie are great drummers, and I'm so glad to have them in my group. An insight into Maya's world can only help me as a teacher and facilitator – and maybe it can help you too.  Never be blind to what your students can teach you, if only you ask the right questions ...

I have no doubt this will have an invaluable impact on my work with colleagues on the Musical Inclusion Team for NMPAT (www.NMPAT.co.uk).