Life on Speed
 |
| Bornholm, June 2012 |
One of the reasons I don't get into the details of my life, is because there is simply so much to get into. Take yesterday for example. Yesterday I had four classes. two periods with grade 7, and two with grade 6.
Grade 7 is an amazing class (they all are, actually). The dynamic that each of these kids contribute to is inspiring and they shine. I could genuinely say I'm equally fascinated with each of them. This is the class that put on the production of The Seed last year. This was a class that co-wrote the play with me, and really gave an amazing performance. They loved the experience and want to continue doing theatre. We were talking about going to Amsterdam for a minute, and played with the idea of making the production available to the public to raise money for the trip. One of my students asked, "Do you really think people would want to see us perform?" "The world needs to see you all! The world needs to hear what you have to say!" was my reply.
Working as a teacher has opened my eyes up to a lot, most of all, the realities of our children today. I find it odd that we isolate the children of our societies in such clinical institutions, in such uninspiring environments. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about buildings in and of themselves, I'm speaking about the fact that it doesn't make sense that children do not automatically receive a living education about their world, about lifelong skills that will prove really handy. A syllabus is a fixed dynamic, not a living, breathing, co-creation.
In the end, if I am to be involved in any kind of creation that involves nurturing children, it will have to be unconventional--meaning that there should be more of a communication between the kids in schools and the society at large. And I mean real communication, where the kids are given a space, or they take the space, to really tell the world how they see things. I miss this, and so many more perspectives in our decision-making processes.
The only thing our education system is doing right now is encouraging children to believe that the world is how it is and it can not change.
You can not change anything if you believe you can not change it.
Anyway, my son is now in this class. He first met this class when they were in the 5th grade, and he said that the moment he opened the door and saw the kids, he thought, "that's the class I want to be in."
I haven't really let you all in on how much I love the place where I work. It is indeed, a special place. There are those who walk in and fall in love with it. It is a dilapidated building, tucked amongst a clutter of buildings...not that charming to impatient and intolerant eyes. But there is a profound beauty there.
When asked what he thought about the school thus far, my son replied, "It's the best school. I don't even feel like I'm in a school when I'm there." He's been shining lately, and I know this switch is what has done it for him.
On my way home yesterday, I bumped into an old student of mine, E. E is a tall, slim beautiful girl from Gambia. Whenever I met up with her since she graduated from our school, she seemed so unhappy. The last thing she had told me was that she would transfer. Well, transfer she did, and the young lady I met up with was beaming. "I love it." She said. "It's way more mixed."
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused, "Wasn't it mixed at your old school?"
"No," she said, shaking her head, "Out of 200 students I was the only black there. There were a few mulats, but you know, " she shrugged.
It's funny, this term mulat that is insisted upon, here in Denmark. At first, I was horrified! It was such an archaic, misinformed word, why would anyone want to use it? But now it makes a little more sense. Although Denmark as a whole knows very little about its plantocracy legacy in the U.S. Virgin Islands, it seems that they are aware enough to know, that mulat, which for all intents and purposes,
The etymology of the term may derive from the Spanish and Portuguese word mulato, which is itself derived from mula (from oldGalician-Portuguese, from Latin mūlus), meaning mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey.[8][9][10] Some dictionaries and scholarly works trace the word's origins to the Arabic term muwallad, which means "a person of mixed ancestry".
There is something that is happening here racially that no one wants to talk about. It has to do with the fact that the African girls, don't really like the mulats. It has to do with black female sexuality and how that is being projected, manipulated and misunderstood. The sad fact is that a lot of young girls are growing up in Denmark, with no real, tangible role models other than what they receive from the media. That being said, there are a lot of exceptions, and the fact of the matter is many of these kids are balancing narratives that may be quite complicated, especially in comparison with their average Danish counterpart. But the good news is, the kids I come across seem to figuring it out, seem to be putting the pieces together.
Saying all of this, I have to accept that my son is a mulat. I have to accept the fact that that is how he may sometimes be referred to, and thus perceived. At 12, he has already figured it out. "I don't believe how closed-minded people are." He confessed to me one day. And this is not just any one group he is referring to. The fact of the matter is, the kid is on to something. Many of us are walking around with our minds, and most importantly, our hearts, closed.
I don't like to romanticize childhood or any other stage of a human's life. I think they are all spectacular and allow us access into a myriad of experiences that contribute to building the character of our souls. But I do know that in order for things to start getting fixed around here, every one has to be heard. We can't keep on having discussions in lingo and contexts that are merely figments of our imagination, and this is a good thing. Because you begin to realize that the world is only as we imagine it, and so if that is the case, let us now imagine something new.
farvel,
the lab
