Education through the Arts
Creativity for All
"The arts
humanize the curriculum while affirming the interconnectedness of all
forms of knowing. They are a powerful means to improve general
education."
- Charles Fowler
Rote learning, the
common teaching method across Pakistan’s public schools, stifles a
student’s creative impulse, restricting the child to monotonous and
repetitive but meaningless tasks. As a result, children lose their
ability to think, imagine, dream, and create.
However, Government
Girls Primary School Gharibabad No. 3, located in the district of
Sukkur, has become an artist’s paradise, a fertile ground for
imaginations to soar and creativity to explore unchartered realms. The
school is participating in STEP’s Whole School Improvement Programme,
which strives to improve opportunities for children’s learning by
undertaking development work in schools as a unit.
On
May 12, 2014 the school’s Parents Teacher Association (PTA) and the
Afaq Foundation organised a Drawing Competition to enhance students’
creative skills at GGPS Gharibabad No. 3. A total of 42 government
schools, including STEP schools, participated in the competition. The
children painted, drew, coloured, and actively explored their creative
sides. Students with the best paintings and drawings were awarded
certificates and prizes for their work. Students from five of STEP
schools in Sukkur received top three positions. Students from two STEP
schools tied for first place, one STEP school received second place, and
two other STEP schools tied for third place. Because of the success of
this activity, teachers, parents, and the community members are now
planning to organise Mathematics and Writing Competitions in the near
future.
The
school overall has demonstrated significant progress in providing
quality education and cultivating a child-friendly learning environment.
The female teachers of the school spend their hours after school
painting the walls with colourful pictures of animals, plants, and
various learning displays. Furthermore, community members of the
locality have pooled their resources and efforts to purchase a drinking
water tank and a generator. The teachers have developed and are
implementing a systematic plan for developing the school, establishing
targets and criteria and then strategising accordingly to meet the
targets. The increase in enrolment from 150 to 400 students over the
past 3 years, since STEP’s intervention began, is perhaps the greatest
indicator of the school’s improvement. Parents are transferring their
children in this school from private schools; moreover, even government
officials have enrolled their children in GGPS Gharibabad No. 3.
