Reflections
1. Reflections from the Classroom
Throughout the project, students and teachers navigated new and unfamiliar approaches to learning. For many, this was the first time that art-making, storytelling, and drama had been positioned not as “activities” but as core ways of knowing and expressing.
Children responded with openness and energy. They made drawings filled with intricate personal detail. They built models that blended memory and aspiration. They created characters in drama workshops based on people they saw every day. The freedom to create, and to be heard without correction, opened a space of confidence and self-definition.
At the same time, challenges emerged — from stage fright to uncertainty around improvisation. The unfamiliarity of a non-instructional space created moments of doubt. But gradually, the students learned to own the process, finding joy and trust in one another.
2. Teacher Growth and Shifting Roles
The project also required teachers to shift from controlling instruction to facilitating expression. This shift was difficult at first. Used to giving instructions and expecting compliance, many struggled with how to support students without taking over their process.
But over time, many teachers reflected on how children opened up when given space. The co-design workshops helped teachers see their role differently — as listeners, supporters, and co-creators. In several sessions, meaningful conversations emerged between students and teachers around shared neighborhood experiences, deepening their connection.
3. Space, Structure, and Constraint
BND Public School operates within a tightly structured system — limited classroom space, noisy environments, tight schedules. These constraints often made artistic practice difficult. Children struggled to focus during rehearsals, teachers hesitated to let go of control, and time to reflect was often squeezed.
But these constraints also revealed something valuable: the importance of play, spontaneity, and movement in learning. When students were able to act, draw, or build outside of typical routines, they brought new insights into the classroom — insights that curriculum alone could not produce.
4. Insights from the Drama Workshop
The drama process particularly revealed the depth of student observation and emotional intelligence. Scenes that emerged from improvisation exercises were full of honesty and humor — shopkeepers, elders, frustrations with pollution, dreams of clean spaces and kindness.
Improvisation helped students:
- Build emotional literacy
- Embrace performance as reflection
- Speak about everyday life in creative and critical ways
Children improvised their way into a script, collectively crafting a performance that felt true to their experiences.
5. Challenges and Areas for Improvement
While the project achieved many of its goals, it also revealed areas for growth:
- Younger students struggled with sustained attention during long rehearsals
- A few children dominated scenes while others stayed silent
- The school space was not always conducive to focused theatre work
- Some of the best improvisations were difficult to capture or re-stage
Suggestions for future improvement include:
- More warm-up and small group activities early on
- Use of quieter, dedicated rehearsal spaces
- Incorporating visual scripting and cue-based performances
- Rotating leadership among students to encourage inclusion
6. Final Reflections
Mera Aas Padose reaffirmed the power of arts in education — not as an “extra,” but as a core method of learning, relating, and imagining. It demonstrated that even in resource-constrained contexts, children can express complex ideas, reflect on community, and take pride in their voice.
Teachers, too, discovered new ways to relate to their students. And the school — if only briefly — became a space of transformation, where performance, curiosity, and creativity took center stage.
The project closes, but its insights remain. What if schools were always like this?