There is a likelihood that children, who become involved in the playing of the steel pan, will benefit academically.
This is according Roddy Dowers of the Starlift Steel Orchestra, during his appearance on VC3’s Roundtable Talk.
Mr. Dowers noted that in the last ten years, there have been no less than ten national scholars coming out of the Starlift Steel Orchestra alone.
“Children, in terms of academics, pan could and does assist, people just don’t realize it. Over the last ten years—even less than years—Starlift has had a minimum of ten national scholars, minimum of ten national scholars,”
Starlift’s Dowers emphasized the positive effect pan can have on a student’s ability to retain lessons learnt in the classroom.
“Pan helps you to retain, I always tell the kids in the pan yard, if you could practice a panorama song and come and play it—ten minutes of music, and you’re playing all those notes, all those phrases and you could remember that, there is no reason you can’t remember your school work,” he said.
Mr. Dowers said that there are students involved that are heavily involved in playing pan, while sitting CXC exams, even participating in both the Junior and Senior panorama events and still manage to come away with exceptional grades.
