Child is the father of the man, and this child will become the adult of tomorrow. Hence, it’s clear that investing in the right ways by parents and schools in a child’s development becomes imperative. Between the ages of 0 and 5 is when children absorb maximum information, and whatever can be taught within that window has a lasting impact on them; a fact backed by scientific research. Post that, it’s only permutations and combinations of life.
Education System Today
The education system today needs a rejig. Some of the approaches still prevalent are colonial, with an unquestioning attitude towards the curriculum. Universities were established here to mirror those of the west, yet fewer have recalibrated their curricula to remain relevant for the demands of the ever changing world.
The world is facing a lot of challenges today that may take a toll on the children of tomorrow. Hence, preparing them with two or more skills to adapt is the way forward. Also, technology may have integrated itself into most aspects of our lives but we would always need human intervention in most things. We need our future generations to be sensitised towards the hurdles they are going to face tomorrow, and this is where we need fine arts.
Why Performing Arts?
Every city needs more than one platform that celebrates performing arts. We need many more spaces without any marketing gimmicks or pride being sold to children, where they can be themselves and breathe normally. Art is a spiritual practice; a medium that searches for truth and public welfare.
Theater & Children
Theater is a way of living and executing life. It encompasses teamwork, art, articulation, empathy, understanding, linguistics diversities, regional characteristics and many life skills, embodying society and a human being in his complete self. A play is not just a story but comprises several components such as history, literature, a (historical) timeline, geography, language and the different classes of characters that make the story. This in turn helps children understand the politics of a region. It’s a beautiful microcosm that teaches children how to deal with their lives. They understand that society sometimes can turn into a wild creature when left untamed.
For instance, once a classroom has performed a play or two, the chemistry between children changes. They understand each other’s strengths, drawbacks and learn how to work within the shortcomings of their group. They understand their respective group’s limitations. They learn together which creates a sense of belonging. Stories that they would perform on can help them develop a perspective of their own at a tender age, instilling values without getting blinkered by parental or peer pressure.
Involving the School Community
The heart of a parent never wishes for their child to fail; a parent only wishes that their child does well because they have been a byproduct of this education system, and understand the nitty-gritties of the world and society. Fortunately for us, a lot of parents who have subscribed to theater are those who never got an opportunity themselves. Parents are going an extra mile to change for the experience they wish their children to have; something that they were deprived of in their own childhood. Some schools have helped parents visualize a new picture, a new tomorrow for their children. A lot of schools still need to head towards that path.
Yet, the onus of a child’s development lies both on the parents and educators. A teacher plays an important role in a child’s life, because a student spends many hours in the environs of an educator. A teacher is many things for a student; a safety net, a guide, a morale booster and understands a student better than anybody in the world. Teaching and learning are two different sides of the same coin, and the correlation between teaching and theater are woven together. Just the way a student places their complete trust in a teacher and believes every word and value imparted, the audience in a live performance will believe an artist on stage if the latter conveys that he is in the arctic and shivering in sub-zero temperatures.
Screen to Stage
When you go to watch a live performance, everybody's heartbeats are different in the beginning of the show. By the time they are 30 minutes into it, everybody's heartbeat converges to become one. Yes, that’s the magic of performing arts, and you can't get that in front of a phone, or a television screen.
Children are exposed to a lot of screen time in schools and at home, an excess of which affects their minds. To offset this digital lifestyle, parents who were a part of our theater activities as kids have started bringing their children for our workshops. Theater may not turn their children into superheroes but it will help them unearth their skills; a child may have excellent writing skills or someone may be good in oration. Theater identifies them and nurtures them. Like the quote that goes, ‘for a star to be born, one thing must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse’, children are like nebulae and performing arts turn them into stars, bringing about a transformation.
How Should Schools Nurture Fine Arts
Unlike other subjects in the curriculum, theater isn’t a number scoring area; you don’t get a 9 out of 10. It also requires a great director who comes with a knack of opening up children, and emphasising the importance of even the smallest role a child can play. For instance, children need to learn that it’s not always important to play the roles of a king or a queen in a Greek tragedy; a child handling backstage responsibilities with costumes and props is equally important to another child who’s a part of the chorus. Children learn to respect the magnitude of every element which contributes to the overall success of a play.
They develop an aesthetic, a sense of colour, textile and texture; a curiosity about period dramas and the whole ecosystem of the story set in a historical time. They intersperse their opinions about a play’s character, wherein they question a character’s choices, norms, societal anomalies and develop a sense of right and wrong.
Conclusion
Providing a platform in schools for performing arts is a huge responsibility, because along with educating children, it also imparts knowledge, creating a possibility for a wide range of experiences. Theater helps recognize qualities and values in children and who better than a teacher to do that. Teachers today are becoming warmer, and are adding experiential learning to develop a child’s overall personality. It rests on the school management to put the child in the centre of their decisions and create a pedagogy to help ameliorate their cognitive development. Changes can’t happen overnight but small steps could be taken so that art can become a subject above all others. It’s a tough journey, but the destination is beautiful, so, keep walking.
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