Opening the house's main gate, the child is surprised to see a flying autorickshaw driven by an angry troll. Adragon is also waiting for a ride. The troll flies her to the airport, and she sees more flying cars on the way.
However, all these vehicles would be banned after 12 years as they kill and disturb birds and threaten the existence of certain species. Now, people are stuck in traffic every day for at least 10-15 minutes. The kid gets bored in the car and then calls for reduction in traffic and the government gives its nod to the demand. Thus, the number of traffic comes down.
This is the summary of a story penned down by a kid that portrays her concern at the extinction of some species and traffic jam in the Dhaka city.
The unique pattern of storytelling indicates that children perceive the world differently than adults. And, writing helps kids freely express their feelings and ideas while broadening their horizons of thinking, and strengthening problem-solving and communications skills.
To promote writing skills among children, an event was organised by International School Dhaka (ISD), recently, where the teachers asked the kids to draft stories on anything they wanted. The teachers showed them a video of a couple of guys flying a CNG-run autorickshaw, and the children wrote stories impromptu. It was the first time a writing project involving a school community was undertaken. The kids enthusiastically joined the efforts to write stories and kept trying to perfect them.
From many stories - two from each class - four were selected for the final show and the best one was chosen to be transformed into a play which the teachers portrayed. It was a complete surprise to the student and her parents as they were not told about it earlier.
Her aforementioned story demonstrates the concern she and children of her generation have over degradation of environment and the traffic congestion. In general, stories provide a new way to explore people's perceptions of a particular topic. Simultaneously, the stories present the children's thought processes and perceptions of the world.
Such writing projects can be an effective way to raise awareness among children about critical issues of their life and surroundings. Writing helps children develop the value of personal expression during their school days and much beyond.
Schools across Bangladesh can conduct writing projects on numerous topics or just for fun. These events may also enhance their problem-solving skills and flourish natural talents of some of them. When the children read the stories in front of the audience, that would help them get out of fear and raise their self-confidence, something which will be helpful when they grow up.
Nurjahan Khan is a communications professional.
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