Let's Play and Learn the Story of Garbage

Most of the things that we vividly remember from our school education either had a picture related to the text in the book, or the words painted a pretty picture in our minds. There are countless studies that have confirmed the power of visual imagery in learning. For instance, one study asked students to remember many groups of three words each, such as dog, bike, and street. Students who tried to remember the words by repeating them over and over again did poorly on recall. In comparison, students who made the effort to make visual associations with the three words, such as imagining a dog riding a bike down the street, had significantly better recall.

We have picked out themes from the syllabus books of children to conduct Let's Start Art sessions this year, to encourage reading and improve the ability to retain information. The themes for art sessions this month were "Let's Play: Games and their types" and "Koode ki Atmakatha- The story of Garbage".

"I've made a drawing of an event where three players are standing in front of people, waiting to be felicitated. One of them is a badminton player, other is a football player," said Jyoti Bharti, a student of class 5th at Govt Primary School, Bhadaini.

"Would you give us gifts if you like our drawing?", asked Manisha, a student of class-3rd at Govt Primary School, Durgakund (1). It was the first session of Let's Start Art in this school. The students there thought it to be a competition and were looking for gifts. But they were equally excited when the instructor told them about regular art class in their school.
Manisha made a drawing of herself playing with her friends in a park near her house.

"There are two teams playing cricket in my drawing, both are wearing different jerseys. The baller is getting ready to throw the ball and the batsman is adjusting his bat to hit the ball.", said Ranjan, a student at Govt Primary School, Sonarpura. He also told our instructor that he likes to play outdoor games.

The second set of workshops were conducted on the theme "The Story of Garbage".

"My drawing is about how people sow seeds which grow into trees and gives us fruits. When we eat these fruits, we throw its remains in the garbage, and that's where garbage comes from.", said Zoya, a student of class 4th, at Govt Primary School, Nayi Sadak.
She has also made two separate dustbins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste in her drawing. Zoya told us that she wants to become a teacher when she grows up.

"This is the world of Garbage, all the things that people threw away have collectively resided into their own world. There are wrappers, plastic bags, broken fan, bucket flying all around. Some people are trying to clean it, but the waste is scattered everywhere." said Aamir, a student of class 4th at Govt Primary School, Sonarpura, while explaining his drawing on "The Story of Garbage".

"A child bought a toffee, ate it and threw the wrapper on the road. Then the sweeper came and swept it into the dustbin. Finally, a garbage truck came to take all the waste away. This is the story of Garbage that I have drawn in my copy." said Aryan, a student of class-3rd at Govt Primary School, Sunderpur 1. Aryan also told us that he wants to become an administrative officer when he grows up.