Books written by Anita Perez

Friday, November 26, 2010

What Am I Building?



When you hear that 300 illiterate adults learned to read and write in 45 days, how do you feel?  Touched by the persistence of the students? Motivated by the dedication of the teachers?  Perhaps inspired by the realization that it is never too late to pursue your dreams?  

You might not find the idea of achieving functional literacy in six weeks very impressive.  After all, any adult with a degree of motivation and a committed teacher (assuming there is no learning disability) can pull this off. There are read-along books on tape, podcasts, cereal boxes, billboards, instruction manuals, newspapers – opportunities to practice reading are endless. And learning to read doesn’t have to cost a dime. Public libraries offer free internet access and tons of books and materials. And various organizations train and mobilize literacy volunteers (www.proliteracy.org). Yes, functional literacy in six weeks is possible.

But what if those 300 illiterate adults were farm workers in 1962 Brazil? Might the results seem more impressive? No internet, no podcasts, no public library, no literacy volunteers. The absence of modern learning tools slows down the process greatly. But the psychosocial dynamics of the time and place complicate learning in ways that are not easy to understand, let alone overcome. 

Colonialism, in its various forms, has left a debilitating impression upon Central and South America. The paternalistic relationships between the Latin American colonies and their external “parent” did not condition people to create, invent, or lead, but to be still and await instructions.  In most cases, colonialism included seasons of human trafficking and slavery that taught people not to dream or explore, but to labor and obey.  That is, until a home-grown leader surfaced.  For a season, he was seen as a savior. Then he began to imitate colonial leadership styles and soon morphed into a controlling, tyrannical dictator.  Colonized, enslaved minds easily drifted back into the roles of oppressed, obedient workers who don’t dare think, hope, or dream.  

Just as one who was reared in a dysfunctional family struggles to establish healthy relationships in adulthood, young nations struggle for generations to break unhealthy cycles and learn how to be strong, independent, autonomous democracies.

International development workers, though very well-intentioned, have also at times perpetuated paternalistic colonialism by literally stepping into developing countries, identifying problems, and imposing solutions. Latin Americans are appreciative of the help but their collective self-esteem is further damaged as they cling to the belief that they are not capable of solving their own problems.

Paulo Freire, author of “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and father of the modern adult education movement, observed that Latin America suffers largely from “narration sickness”.  

Panama is filled with wonderful, loving, compassionate, dedicated teachers. But most have been trained to teach in a way that mirrors Latin American leadership patterns. Students sit and await instruction. Students are often told what to think instead of being taught how to think for themselves. They memorize and regurgitate instead of experimenting and inventing.

Because of thinkers like Freire, we are learning that traditional teaching styles, where the teacher is the authority figure who narrates to students, actually makes it harder for the adult student to learn.  And because adults tend to have other priorities in life, working and caring for children trumps sitting in a classroom and being talked down to.  So change never comes.  And because learning is about so much more than the activities of reading and writing, ideas are never considered, problems are never analyzed, processes are never improved, opportunities are never presented, and horizons are never expanded.  This is the plight of rural Latin America. These are the conditions in which Freire tested his early theories of adult education and succeeded in guiding 300 Brazilian farm workers to literacy in just 45 days.

Today, Latin America has many modern, bustling cities filled with trendy restaurants and posh galleries where well-dressed, highly educated corporate-types juggle their laptops, Blackberries, and IPods. But for every one of the upper class city dwellers, you will find 100 people who live without electricity and running water.  Those same 100 people were raised by parents, who were raised by parents (and so on…) who taught them how to be good colonists: to labor and obey, to memorize and regurgitate, to wait for someone from the outside to come in and solve their problems. Today, in the year 2010, with the world spinning faster than ever, “narration sickness” still plagues Latin America and still stunts the growth of its people.  

In my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have the honor of being assigned to facilitate capacity building with Cosecha Sostenible Panama, an organization that works with vulnerable, impoverished, rural families to help them to do reforestation and organic farming while improving their economic condition. The staff is intelligent, creative and passionate about their work. So much so that when I first met them, I wondered what I could possibly do to build their capacity.  But because this unique organization has embraced a culture of learning and continuous improvement, they were thrilled when I suggested that we begin with the Transformational Leadership Seminar.

Over the course of several months, they learned about goal setting, establishing priorities, and managing resources, among other things. They also did a lot of personal reflection and experimented with some different ways of being with their families and their coworkers. When they graduated from the program and were certified as facilitators, they immediately began planning to take their show on the road by holding seminars in all of the communities where they work. “Now that we know how to teach adults using methodologies that uplift them and empower them,” stated Rodrigo Rodriguez, country director of Cosecha Sostenible Panama, “I believe that we can have a greater impact as we help families to help themselves.” 

The causes of Latin America’s problems are multifaceted and I cannot fool myself into believing that I have a magic wand and can change everything overnight.  But I trained seven people. And each of them is now equipped to train seven more (and so on…). Panamanians are highly-intelligent, resourceful people, fully capable of identifying and solving their own problems. And with each passing day, more and more of them are learning new ways of thinking and being so they can reach their full potential as dreamers, hopers, thinkers, experimenters, and inventors, ultimately becoming the creators of their own destiny.

When people find out that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, they often expect me to be building something like a school, an orphanage, or a health center. What am I building? I hope that I am building hope.  

Grace and Peace,
Anita