"The arts are about the qualities of human experiences. Through music, dance, visual arts, drama, and the rest, we give form to our feelings and thoughts about ourselves, and how we experience the world around us."
-Sir Ken Robinson
The Problem
Children in India are deprived of access to joyful learning spaces created through art and expression-nurturing classroomsdespite the Indian National Education Policy of 2020 advocating for the integration of art and SEL into education, the implementation lacks a clear roadmap, disproportionately affecting children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
This problem affects over 250 million children attending government and low-income private schools, (Ministry of Education, Government of India, 2020) who lack safe spaces for expression and the agency to thrive.
The Gaps in India’s Education System?
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Lack of Art Teachers
The UNESCO Report (2021) highlights the nation-wide deprioritization of art education, leading to academic educators at these schools to conduct art class without necessary tools and support
Absence of Curriculum
The lack of a government prescribed curriculum focusing on mindset building hinders schools from effectively implementing learning opportunity, depriving children of essential development tools.
What happens to a child because of these problems?
A child within such a system, experiences the lack of an outlet to voice out what they truly want in their education journey.
They are not exposed to working with tools and methods that feed into creative thinking, imagination and collaboration.
They often grow up to experience low levels of confidence, struggle with communication, building and maintaining healthy relationships & collectively problem solving.
This deprivation of holistic and creative learning, hampers their journey as a student in the education system.
How does it also affect an educator?
Educators feel helpless not knowing how they can create safe and joyful spaces of learning for their students.
This is due to the lack of contextualized resources and training in order to cater to student's current needs.
Educators also feel overburdened by numerous responsibilities and find themselves unable to learn and grow
This restricts them from adopting and practicing innovative learning methodologies.
Our Solution
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Saturday Art Class works as the bridge to solve problems at the systemic level as well as solve problems faced by children in Indian Education.
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Our programs aim to strengthen and capacitate systems of education that are inclusive of children and educators.
This enables children to develop key skills such as communication, collaboration, perseverance, imagination and critical thinking that will help them thrive creatively, socially and emotionally.
Our relevance in the National Education Policy 2020
The National Education Policy lists several benefits of a higher quality education system that promotes multidisciplinary learning. It highlights the need for setting up an education system that promotes the holistic scientific and creative development of individuals.
The Saturday Art Class Curriculum and our model approach for our flagship programs directly contributes to the National Education Policy and address various components of the policy, specifically talking about bringing arts into our schools.​
Holistic Development
Section 4.2: Expands on the holistic development goal by providing clearer directives for developing empathy, resilience, ethical values, and social skills, in addition to cognitive and academic growth. It also calls for curricula that integrate these elements more explicitly into everyday learning.
Integration of Arts and Sports in Curriculum
Section 5.6: Strengthens this recommendation by mandating the integration of arts and sports at all levels of education, making them central to the daily curriculum. It highlights experiential learning through these activities as crucial for holistic development.
Early Childhood Education and Holistic Learning
Section 3.1: Provides guidelines for ECCE, emphasizing the inclusion of creative arts and hands-on learning activities from early childhood to promote comprehensive development across cognitive, social, and emotional domains
Teacher Training for Holistic Education
Section 10.1: Mandating specific training in social-emotional learning, child psychology, and diverse pedagogical strategies to better equip teachers for fostering holistic development.
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The policy mandates regular teacher training programs focused on understanding child psychology, SEL, and diverse teaching strategies that promote holistic growth. Teachers are encouraged to use pedagogical techniques that foster a safe and supportive learning environment where students feel valued and motivated.