Girls and boys as Heroes and Heroines

Children are going back to school.  

What are we going to teach or do with our students after this pandemic?

Children and families were in lockdown during the pandemic. They did not see friends for months; perhaps someone in their family or surrounding was ill? Died?

What is the most relevant thing to do with them now?

How can we support them?

I have a broad suggestion for all ages that you can adjust to your needs. It is a basic procedure dealing with processing this bewildering year. It can reframe the problematic experiences into empowering the children who are heroines and heroes of our time. 

The goals of this suggestion are:

• Acknowledging girls and boys as heroes and heroines in their struggle this year with distance learning, in complex family situations, loneliness from their friends, sick people around them, and more. 
• Expressing in any media the qualities of forces they found within, the ones they created, invented. It will surface feelings of empowerment, resilience, belonging, caring, compassion, and a sense of value.
• This year’s personal artistic expression can become a preventative therapy treatment in the school’s community.

How is it done?

The suggestion is planned for art teachers, but it is recommended to share it with more or all school educators.

It could be even better if it will be a school process.

There’s no reason to run these personal projects just in an art room. On the contrary – as it is a broad school project – it strengthens the whole community’s mental health.

This will be the most meaningful learning these days because it is relevant and connected to reality.  An entire school that will deal with this beyond art class provides preventive care to all students!

All the materials documented can be shared as a presentation for end-of-year events. It would be authentic documentation of the children and families and how brave they were.

Shelly Gabay – the art teacher

The procedure

Personal process

Every boy and girl is the hero of their personal story. They are invited to express it in any material and way that suits them. This part will be given about 3 weeks. You can assist them in any way needed. 

These are the story elements, that will lead to a long-term artwork: It can be a series, a3D work from cardboard, a story, a video, etc. 

• Description of the hero or heroine and her surrounding. 
• Something is changing in the world, threatening, going wrong. 
• How does the hero or heroine deal with the problems? What are the tools they use? What powers do they discover inside them? Who’s helping them?
• Who are they helping? What do they learn about themselves?
• What new strengths did they not know about?

Small-Group process

Groups of 3-4 children will sit together and share their work and stories.

Large group process – a whole class.

Each child places in the center of the room, hall an object that symbolizes one of his powers.

This mutual Mandela of all is the power of all in the face of the Corona

Filming and documenting.

Comics done by Tamari Franko, 15 yers old