Art accelerates learning in Namibia

Art inspires passion for English and science

Salina, an Education Volunteer, uses art to inspire students to become passionate about English and other subjects. She teaches at a Catholic school based four hours from Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. She believes strongly in hands-on learning using different art forms to engage learners and increase retention.

A main location for art in Salina’s classroom is the blackboard, where she uses colorful chalk to draw pictures and share information, quotes and puzzles in English.

“When I was in school, I didn’t pay much attention to my teacher because I was always drawing or daydreaming. However, when she shared fun facts, gave me a riddle or something to solve, I remembered it,” Salina said. “I like to use the board to introduce what we are learning so if students zone out during the lesson, they will at least remember the information on the board.”

Salina also makes a weekly class calendar with artistic flourishes on the blackboard. It serves multiple purposes.

“When learners know what is happening their stress level goes down and they can focus on the tasks at hand,” she said. “If there are absences, I like to make sure kids who missed a day know what we did so they can get caught up. It also helps me because I tend to misplace my paper calendar.”

Finally Salina uses the chalkboard to illustrate concepts students are learning about. In a discussion about the sun’s wavelengths, Salina demonstrated how to render a sunset on the board, and students used what they learned to paint sunsets themselves. They also made silhouette landscapes and posed for silhouette photos to further understand the sun’s movement.

Students create many forms of art

Salina provides students with various artistic learning opportunities and allows them to choose according to their interest, such as: custom made greeting cards, architecture, drawing portraits, animal illustration, landscapes, and more.

With the limited resources available, she worked with students to create games students can play during their free time. Students were really excited about the game “Clue,” so together they made a Clue game that was customized for the school. Students created game pieces using recycled plastic and other materials.

Students in Salina’s English and art classes are currently working together to produce their own children’s book. Salina designed her own children’s book as an example. The class participated in a two-week online course in order to learn how to draw manga characters for their books.

She is currently training three children for an arts competition in September. These children have accelerated quickly and broadened their artistic capabilities.

Finally, Salina loves writing skits and incorporating acting and dance into the tasks her community prioritizes (she spent most of her high school years on the stage). In addition to her regular English classes, she’s currently organizing a play. Grade 7 is working as the stage crew to help build the set and ensure all runs smoothly.

Students are not the only ones who enjoy Salina’s creative efforts. During the holidays, when students and teachers are at home, Salina spends her time with the priests and sisters at the school. For Holy Thursday, she prepared a short skit and feast for them.

Salina’s students’ eyes sparkle when asked how they like having a Peace Corps teacher. “She is kind. She is funny,” students commented.

Salina loves teaching, her students and colleagues, and the priests and sisters she works with in Namibia. Through her work she is learning so much herself!