The Beauty of Expression

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Yesterday was my kind of day, because in both of my classes we drew! The art was simple – we had the students draw self portraits and label their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, neck, shoulders, and head. We’ve been teaching basic body parts and basic colors at both Nirmal Nagar and Sri Sai Nagar, so this activity seemed like a great way to review both topics and encourage a bit of creativity.

Behaviorally, the results were fantastic. At both schools, we had zero cases of students hitting each other, which is very rare. Also, all of the students at both schools were very focused and diligent when working on their drawings. We were able to simply give each student a sheet of paper, draw a sample portrait on the board, and lay the supplies in the middle of the room.

Creatively, however, the results were slightly more disappointing. Most of the students at Nirmal Nagar and all of the students at Sri Sai Nagar wanted to copy the sample portrait on the board. It was difficult to convince them to draw something original. I also noted that at Sri Sai Nagar, the students were hesitant to draw big, and mostly kept their drawings to the top third or top half of their paper. However, the kids eventually opened up. They started to use vibrant colors and fill up the page. At Sri Sai Nagar, the kids were given more time to draw, so we asked them to draw their favorite items or favorite places. One of our students drew a house, bird, and parrot along with his self portrait. Another drew herself in a garden. Justina and I were able to hang up the masterpieces in Sri Sai Nagar at the end of the day, and were very happy with the results. After talking to Sudeepa, I learned that the school system here does not foster creativity in the same ways that I am used to. Sudeepa told me that classword focuses solely on reading, writing, and memorizations. After learning this, I hope that we are able to incorporate more creative projects into our curriculum. I think that stretching the creative and artistic parts of the students’ brains will be very exciting and beneficial.

A few other memorable things happened today. First, Prasad asked us to measure and record the kids’ weights at Nirmal Nagar. The Prasads are working to improve the poor quality lunches at the school, and want to see if the changes will make an impact in the growth of these children. After compiling today’s data, we saw that these kids are about 15 pounds underweight for their age – the average weight of a 7 to 8 year old is 55 to 60 pounds, compared to the average weight of 41 pounds for 7 and 8 year olds at Nirmal Nagar.
Also, Justina and I learned today why one of the boys in our Sri Sai Nagar class does not speak. This boy is extremely kind and attentive, and always has the brightest smile on his face. However, he has never actively participated In the classroom’s activities. During our conversation activities and group games, he usually sits silently and gestures for us to skip his turn. However, during today’s drawing activity, he was able to participate fully. He drew a beautiful portrait and was not afraid of using many bold colors to fill the page. He was even able to correctly label the parts of his face. What was most surprising, however, was that he came up to Justina and said something to her! This prompted us to find out more. He clearly could speak if he wished, because he chose to speak to Justina. We asked Sudeepa to talk to him and to another girl in the class to find out the story.

What we learned was heartbreaking. This boy’s father died when he was very young, and his mother has not spoken since. Therefore, this boy does not speak either. I was not expecting such a sad story for someone who always looks so happy. Justina and I decided later in the day that we try to slowly encourage this boy to speak before our time in Hyderabad is over.