By: Precious Mills

BASSTERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 31st August 2018) – Twelve children on the island have successfully completed their month-long lessons at 12th annual Traditional Musical Workshop, coordinated by well-known Cultural Preservationist Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett, and during this past weekend’s graduation ceremony, the featured speaker well-known educator, playwright and novelist Loughlin Tatem schooled those present on the importance of good behaviour.

The closing ceremony was held on Saturday 25th August at the new location of Zack’s Historical-Cultural Library Museum situated at Buckley’s Estate, for the second year, before the presence of family members and other well-wishers gathered.

The graduates who attended were brothers Dalan Roberts and Aiden Roberts and also Jethro Douglas and Bernard Phillip.

The workshop- which ran from Monday 30th July to 25th August- as usual featured Music specialist Robert ‘Bobby’ Martin was held under the theme: ‘Discipline Continues To Be The Key’.

Students were taught how to play the banjo, quarto, guitar and triangle and lively renditions performed by the music students at the closing ceremony.

In commending the performances of the children, Nisbett said: “I think they were all good” which landed more thunderous applause from the audience.

Speaking with this reporter, he said “To me the workshop was great.” The workshop coordinator revealed that most of the students were absent from the graduation ceremony because they were engaged in other workshops and camps over the summer period.

As it relates to Tatem’s presentation, he touched on the subjects of bad peer pressure, self-control, bullying and career choice.

“It’s not everything that comes to your head that should come to your mouth. There are thing you’re supposed to think and only you alone know that you are thinking it. There are some people who have mouths like buckets with holes…no kind of thinking, no kind of self-control or self-management.”

On the point of bullying, he encouraged: “Respect other people’s feeling; don’t bully anybody.”

He went on to make reference to the Christmas carol called ‘Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer’

“All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They wouldn’t let poor Rudolph in in any reindeer games. There is a name for that and it is called bullying. Be careful about how you regard other people’s feelings.”

Touching on the topic of negative peer pressure, the youngsters were told: “Don’t always follow the path of your brain that tells you that you need other people’s company. I say to students all the time.. I see students like you, a little boy would get up and he would go to the teacher to mark a book or something and when he comes back down he is not watching his seat and somebody has a pencil with the point sticking up in the chair so when the poor boy sits down on the chair, the pencil will dig him on his bum.”

“It that right or is it wrong?” he questioned in quizzing the children who replied “Wrong!”.
Tatem added: “Those kind of actions are done by people who do not know how to tell themselves ‘no’; who do not know how to tell their brain ‘no’.”

Additionally, he admonished the graduates and other children in the audience to choose their career path early in life and speak to professionals in the fields that they select.
“Whenever I ask children and they tell me I don’t know, I ask them where is the office for ‘I don’t know’ because there is no job called I don’t know.Pick something even if you change it tomorrow…Talk to somebody who does that job.”

Tatem has commended Nisbett for doing a “tremendous job.”

Nisbett thanked all who were instrumental in helping to make the workshop a success including Delisle Walwyn and Company Ltd which has been onboard for the past nine (9) years, Development Bank, RAMS supermarket, videographer and technician Mervin Sage, businessman Carlton Dupont, businesswoman Karen Wyatt, event assistant Sam Franks, Pastor Walsworth Foreman (an employee of the Ministry of Finance) as well as the parents and guardians.
Photo: Workshop Coordinator Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett and graduates pose for a photo (Spokesman Snap)