Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Now I know my ABCs

An odd thought occurred to me while listening to Cameron sing through the Alphabet Song. The last line finishes with "Next time won't you sing with me?". Who is that question directed to? If Cameron is singing it to me, is it an invite to sing along next time purely for accompaniment? It certainly feels as though the words are meant as a direction from adult to child, or mentor to pupil; an encouragement to learn the song by singing along. It also smacks of progression. Once you have learned the song you can then pass it down. The student becoming the teacher.

I don't recall such an overtly learning centred verse existing in other songs, although I'm surprised it has taken 35 years to realise that the words are so purposeful. Maybe it's the Teaching degree kicking in; changing my mind to look for pedagogical principles.