Wesley, proud of his painting

Notice New York in the foreground of the painting, and the favela (MV, for Malvina, the favela where they live) in the background.

This painting was supposed to illustrate a short story, by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, about the first steps of man on the moon.... And the kids managed to drop the favela in the middle of it all! Dani, with whom they did this work, was devastated - 'It's got nothing to do with Drummond! Why do they always have to come back to these themes, favelas, guns and drugs?'

National day of the book! Success?

Last week on Friday was the National Day of the book. We had decided to organise an event in the school, to use this day to read, study and talk about books, writing, reading and literature in general. So we invited a professor from the university (UFRJ), who's also a writer of books for children and adolescents, to come and talk to the kids. And we organised workshops of storytelling, poetry, illustration... and told everyone in the school that Friday afternoon was to be left free for the day of the book.

Come Friday afternoon: we were exhausted, because organising an event like this around here is not easy, and the kids were in hysterics. The first part of the afternoon was for them to present the work they had been working on for the past two weeks. One of my groups refused at the last minute to present the mini play they'd been working on... the others presented their poster, book and cartoon story. After that it was time for them to choose the workshops they wanted to do. And by then it was total chaos!

But I think overall the event was a success. Many of the kids attended the workshops. The younger ones, who had studied Georgina's books, were really impressed by her presence there. They could barely believe that it was her, a writer!, flesh and bone, there talking to them. They hugged her, touched her, mesmerised. A real writer! This was very touching.

So I think they got something out of the event and out of the work we had done beforehand. These kids don't read, not because they don't want to, but because it's not part of their parents sculture. There are no books at home. No magazines and no films either. They live in a world that's devoid of such cultural manifestations, of such intellectual stimulation. When I think about it, the difference between me and them scares me: I was born, and have always lived in a world that's absolutely full of that stuff. I cannot think of myself without this in my life. It's such a big part of me. What I know, what I've read, seen, heard is what defines me!

A typical class...

We get in. Five students are messing around - listening to their mp3 player, playing with their phone, fighting, flirting... We have to wait another 10 minutes for the rest of the class to get in and sit down. And then it takes another 10 minutes to divide them into 4 groups. I leave the room with mine, to go work outside, in the refectory or under a tree in front of the school. 10 minutes later we're ready to start. I start. Today we're reading short stories. A few minutes into the exercise Mairone goes off to pick the fruits of the tree we're sat under, I tell him to come back. Roger asks if he can go to the bathroom, I say no not yet. And Anderson asks me if there are badam trees in France. Now guys, we're reading short stories here, and we need to choose one to present for the day of the book, I mean, this will be marked, don't you think you should be paying attention?? And so on. Why is it that these kids have absolutely no attention span? Why is it that they see absolutely no obligation in listening to you and paying attention to your class? The problem is not that they're not interested in learning or are not curious, it's that they will not accept to be forced to sit down and think during a predetermined period of time. For me, they've all got ADHD. And no respect at all for the school, the teacher, and whatever knowledge these can give them. But when we get to understanding and analysing the text, they all do a brilliant job! Even ADHD Mairone, who's actually the cleverest, and this might explain the hyperactivity. How frustrating! How much time lost every class trying to keep the group together and focused!

National day of the book - preview

Erica - turma 601

... swimming in Brazilian literature

We've started working with literature with the kids, to prepare for the National 'Day of the book' on the 18th April. It's been fun - and hard work for me - looking for interesting texts and books to use. I didn't know much about Brazilian literature, I now know a little bit more.... Clarice Lispector, Cecilia Meireles, Fernando Caio De Abreu, Carlos Drummond de Andrade: I am discovering amazing writers and really interesting literature. I particularly like the 'chronicles' - cronicas - typically Brazilian short texts originally destined for newspapers. A bit like clever and well written columns. They can be commentaries on recent events, or just reflexions, on details, the minute and inconsequential. And so some of them can be very poetic, like A arte de ser feliz (The art of being happy) by Cecilia Meireles, which I am studying with a group of 13-year olds...

In action

Flashback - week 4 and 5 - Les triplettes a la rescousse

A few weeks ago I brought Belleville Rendez-vous to show to the kids and use as a starting point to practice story-writing. Belleville Rendez-vous is an absolutely brilliant animation film set in France and in New-York in the 50's. I asked the kids to focus on one character, to then write a description of him/her, paying particular attention to the character's relationship with objects. Most characters in the film use objects in really inventive ways: hoover and lawn mower become massaging instruments in the hands of the grandma Ms Souza, the triplettes owe their survival to their makeshift instruments - fridge, hoover and newspaper - and pans, hats and shoes turn into arms in the final battle against the French mafia.

I was worried the students might not get the story or might find the whole thing too weird and too 'foreign'. But I was wrong, most classes liked it. They understood everything, caught most details and found it funny.

I explained to them that the French are called 'frogs' by the British and Americans because they eat frogs, like the triplettes, and that I too have eaten frog thighs before... They absolutely loved the story...