EduAction has now been underway for a month and we have started to get a handle on this teaching business. After the first weeks of getting lost on the way to school and getting home without a voice or ounce of energy, we have gradually adjusted to our new and demanding routine. We have begun to feel at home in the schools, build relationships with the teachers and pupils, and find our place in the community.
The first required topic of the project was culture. After presenting our own culture and getting the children to recognize their own, we travelled the rest of the world with the students. Class 2 was entitled ‘Cultural Differences’ and was an interactive extravaganza, if I do say so myself. We began by brainstorming the word culture to remind the kids what we talked about last lesson. Then we show the following advert from HSBC…
This video always guaranteed a laugh! Their eyes fall out of their heads when they see what the Chinese eat. It got them thinking about how it’s not only sport, dance, and music etc. that is different in each culture, but even the way people behave.
Next we gave a Power Point presentation that showed clothes, food, transport, houses and parties from all over the world. The key to a good Power Point presentation? The element of surprise. They are amazed to see African women with shaved heads, or Muslims in a burka. They crumple their faces at an Asian insect market and insist eating with chopsticks is impossible. They shriek with laughter to see people living in igloos and travelling by rickshaw, and would like to join in with the Holi Festival in India or La Tomatina in Spain. The message of the presentation was that the way we live/eat/dress/transport ourselves/have fun is completely different, yet we all do these things!
Next we divided into 3 groups and did a rotation of 3 activities. One group learnt how to greet people in other cultures. From India to Japan to Italy to Papua New Guine, they learnt what to say and do. My favourite was Zambia – they say ´Muli Shani’ and shake hands whilst holding their right elbow.
Another group learnt about religion – this was my baby. I printed explanations, images of important people, symbols, place of worship and festivals for each religion and we worked together finding which cards belongs to which religion. They start off without a clue, which makes it all the more satisfying at the end of the activity when they have learnt which religion prays 5 times a day, which religion has many Gods, which religion has none, and the difference between Judaism and Christianity.
The final activity is a study of discrimination. We discuss what the word means and the different forms it can take and then play a game (which always gets them interested). They stand in a line and are given cards with characteristics. We tell them they are no longer themselves, but the person on the cards. Next, we call out instructions, such as ´those who do not like football, take 2 steps back’. They end up spread out, but with one or two people far away from the group. We ask what has happened and sometimes they are quick to realize it is an example of discrimination. We ask how the people left at the back felt – the answer more or less every time was ‘awful!’ We explain that when we separate and exclude people for being different we make them feel bad… and we are all guilty of doing this. We make a promise not to do it anymore… by putting our hands in the centre and shouting I PROMISE!
The best activity however has to be one we only did with the older students, to demonstrate cultural difference. It’s called The Albatross, and we learnt it at an AIESEC session on cultural shock. Nelson and I wait in the classroom, with sheets draped over our clothes. I kneel on the floor and he sits in a chair. Other chairs form a circle around us, and in the centre we place a cup of water and a plate of biscuits. Ezequiel ushers the children in and told the girls to sit on the floor and take their shoes off, and the boys to sit on the chairs and keep their shoes on. He is of course met with some disdain, but that is all part of the plan. He welcomes them to the Albatross culture, and tells them they were invited to have breakfast with us. We play some tranquil music and begin. First, I feed Nelson some biscuits, and feed the other boys. Then, I kneel, take a biscuit myself and pass the plate to the girls, who also serve themselves. I return to my place my Nelson and bow to the ground. Then I feed Nelson from a cup of water, then all the other boys. I then kneel, drink myself, and pass the cup for the girls to drink. Once more I bow to the ground and we both leave the room.
When we return we ask them what they think of the Albatross culture. We couldn´t have hoped for better answers. ‘The women are slaves!’ ‘The men are superior!’ ‘The woman is not respected!’ We go on like this for a while. Afterwards, we explain the reality of the Albatross culture. In the Albatross culture, the earth is sacred. It is what gives us water, food and life. The Albatrossian people believe that as the woman is also the giver of life, she is also sacred. Therefore, she is the only one privileged enough to walk on the ground in bare feet, to sit on the ground, and touch the food the earth brings. If the woman does not feed the man, he dies of hunger. So, who depends on whom? Who is superior in this culture? Were your assumptions about this culture wrong? What does this teach us? That we cannot apply our own way of thinking to another culture, and that we cannot judge another culture before truly understanding it.
When the activites go well, the children react as if a secret of life has been revealed to them. Watching the realization of how wrong they had been about the Albatross culture dawn on their faces was a delight. Another group that is a little hard work worked on discrimination with me, and when I explained the meaning of the game they had just played, the naughtiest boy in the group had a light bulb moment. ‘Ohhhhh. I get it!’ He exclaimed. He finally understood what it was to discriminate. He then turned to another boy in the group that I know is given a hard time for being effeminate and said, ‘Hey… I´m sorry for being like that, ok?’ It truly brought a lump to my throat, and made the entire fortnight worthwhile.
It’s often the ones that are a pain that enjoy the lesson the most. And trust me, some are a pain! Today I confiscated a box of matches that a boy had lit in the classroom. Other times I have been exasperated with the way they talk; “Don´t these fans work?! I´m dying of heat!” The way to ask, my dear girl, is, “It´s really hot in here, could we turn on the fans please?” But there I go again with my ethnocentricity. We have to remember that these children have tough lives. A lot of them don´t have parents who teach them to behave nicely. They live in a poor neighborhood and have more responsibilities than kids back home – several have brought their younger siblings along to class because they don´t have anyone to leave them with and others tidy up after the lessons beautifully, through what I assume is force of habit from home. Lack of education and support at home is glaringly apparent – in one class we have a heavily pregnant girl who can be no more than 14. She sat apart from the others on the sidelines, her swollen belly embarrassing her into silence. During the discrimination activity she almost mumbled an answer, but quickly shrank back and shook her head when I asked what she had said. But her confidence must have grown, because by the end of the lesson she managed to answer a question and give us a smile.
Two of the four schools we teach in swiftly became our favourites. Adauto Ferreira Lima, where we teach on Tuesdays is the smallest and best organized of all the schools.
The head teacher, Eliseuma is a neat little lady with a cool head and a strong will. In contrast her second in command, Clea, is a towering presence with a gruff voice and a heart of gold. Together they have welcomed the project with open arms and are doing their best to accommodate us. We have our own classroom with air conditioning (an unheard of luxury in Maracanaú) and we have a helper, Daniel who sets up their (somewhat dodgy) projector for us. We pay the equivalent of one pound to have lunch with the teachers in the staff room, which is invariably chicken as we are always there on a Tuesday! There is always a little something sweet for afters like a slice of Doce de Goiaba (thick, sweet jelly made from fruit) or Doce de Leite.
Our other favourite is Rui Barbosa, where we teach on Wednesdays. Although it is somewhat more chaotic and haphazard, it is still a wonderful school. Each classroom has a name such as ´Peace’ or ‘Justice’ and inside there is a picture of a leader that represents this quality such as Gandhi or Martin Luther King, and one of their famous phrases. At Rui Barbosa we have the luxury of a huge projection screen, a huge space to work in groups at tables, and students with never ending enthusiasm. During break and lunch we are victims to a friendly bombardment from children of all ages, wanting photos and hugs… even autographs!
The head teacher Isabel enjoys having us around, although she does sometimes get the wrong end of the stick when organizing things, or forget to impart vital information (like a dance show kicking off in the middle of our lesson!) But all in all it’s a lovely place to be.
However - no social project is easy. All involved begin with the best intentions, but are bound to encounter difficulties along the way. I was fully prepared for EduAction to be the same and unfortunately in the other two schools we have come across some stumbling blocks.
We are directed by the Secretary of Education in Maracanaú, who had a clear idea of how they wanted to the project run. Firstly, our class would be extra-curricular, and therefore optional. Secondly, to teach the largest number of students possible, we would teach the same lesson over a period of two weeks, so each student would have a lesson once a fortnight. Now, I’m a highly organized person, but I think that even when I was 11 I would have had difficulty getting my head around this system. To complicate matters, Brazilians enjoy putting public holidays in the middle of the week, rendering the rest of the week useless as schools and companies tack on extra days holidays either side. So matters got even more confused. The students of Walmiki (Mondays) and Ana Beatriz (Thursdays) never really got the hang of what was going on. It´s a real shame, because I truly believe it´s not down to a lack of interest on behalf of the kids. The teachers insist they passed on the correct information to the children but that they are truly demotivated and have no interest in anything.
Walmiki is a small school for a lot of students. We teach in a room that is half staff room – half classroom, which gives you an idea of how pushed for space they are. The head teacher is very young, new to her job but doing her utmost. It’s situated in the Industrial District, close to the huge market CEASA where all fruit and veg coming to Fortaleza stops. She told us that many of the student´s families live off the scraps from this market, and many work there painfully long hours. The students who do come along to the lessons enjoy them a lot… so much so they come back every week (It´s the same lesson guys! Oh…can we stay anyway?!) And we do believe that the school did all they could, and it’s now up to us to have a Marketing Blitz in the coming week. With an Art Workshop and a Global Village up our sleeves, I´m confident our number of students will grow again.
Ana Beatriz on the other hand, we feel is a lost cause. Yes, it’s a tough neighbourhood, yes the kids are difficult. But they truly did not have the capacity to receive the project. It’s a brand new school in which 3 smaller schools were combined. It was inaugurated earlier this year and guess what… it´s an absolute nightmare. It’s a spacious building with 2 floors and wide patios – something which these kids are not used to. So what do they do? Spend every possible moment running and screaming in the corridors, up and down stairs, banging on doors and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The head teacher is constantly drained from shouting at one and another, she has not had time to gain control of her new territory. Again, the students who do attend the lessons are adorably interested, we only feel sorry that they don´t have bigger, more active classes. So we are looking into the possibility of mixing the classes together and teaching one mega class. We will get there in the end, there is no room for failure in anything I undertake!
We still have two more full months to go, and plenty more to give. Next up, the Environment and Social Responsibility…
