By Ashika Thusu, Educator
Participants of this masterclass walked into a room set up with a long sheet of white plotter paper, chalk pastels, and pencils. Venita Coelho read excerpts from her book, Dungeon Tales, throughout the session, choosing funny and intriguing sections that held the children spellbound.
In the book, a girl who doesn’t know how to read teaches herself stories, one of which features a heroine. The students were then invited to list qualities that make someone a hero/heroine. Some responses included:
- Personality
- Things they do
- Saving others
- Superpowers
- Grit and gumption
“There is no such thing as mistakes” was Venita’s comment to a student who said they needed an eraser when a mistake was made. This encouraged students to let their creativity flow smoothly and without interruption.
Students were encouraged to design their own heroine after listening to another excerpt from the story where a girl puts on armor and tackles an entire regiment. Students were encouraged to design their hero or heroine while keeping the following questions in mind: How does an ordinary heroine become special? What would the hero/heroine need? What would they stand up for? Who do they stand up against? This exercise helped students create a hero/heroine who could be woven into a meaningful story.
Parents in the room were also invited to illustrate their hero/heroines. The room was quite a buzzing space, with students coloring, drawing and putting their thinking caps on. Some of the participants were inspired by their prior knowledge of heroes/heroines, and tweaked their characters with interesting spins on popular qualities and superpowers.
These were some responses from the students:
- Sunshine fights for the disabled because he is disabled himself.
- Twilight stops bullying by using his power to be invisible.
- Stephanie is non violent, fights for women’s rights, and has arm extensions.
- Anya is the namesake of the creator, she uses her mind as a weapon. She also has grit and resilience.
- Mohini stands up for the needy.
The session ended with Venita reading one last excerpt from the book, where the funny twist was that the heroine wanted a song as her reward. Venita encouraged everyone to think of themselves as a hero anytime. She reminded the participants to draw on the same confidence and positive qualities that they had assigned to their characters, in their real lives.
