Artwork by Melva Medina
Click on the above image for the larger version.
Last semester, in one of my adult classes, Melva Medina an artist and one of my students learning English, created the drawing pictured above and brought in into the classroom. The class was structured around the concepts of storytelling and memory. Throughout the semester we had been reading stories written by Maya Angelou and Sandra Cisneros and we wrote a series of stories about our lives. The students also took photographs and drew sketches representing their memories. It was the end of the class and we decided to put all of our classroom stories into a book.
We needed a cover for the book and Melva volunteered. When she returned to class the next week, I was shocked by the beauty of what she had created. The textures and repeated patterns in the image are remarkable. What I was particularly impressed with was how the image captured the qualities of our class. In some ways it has the ability to convey an educational philosophy even more clearly than an essay.
First, look at the faces. In Melva's classroom there were six students and two teachers (yes, a very small class; that is the beauty of adult education experiences). Everyone is represented by figures that seem to have forms similar to those found in Mayan and Aztec murals. I didn't ask her what her intent was, but it seems to point to the diversity of the students in the classroom -- many or our students are various mixes of different cultures, particularly indigenous and Spanish.
Melva also used the glyph in Habla's logo, a Mayan glyph that is often used when figures in murals are speaking to each other or praying to the gods. Our designer, Lucy Alcalá, had the idea of using it in our logo because "Habla" means "to speak," "to speak up," or " to speak out." We liked the political implications of the name in Spanish because we see it as our role in the community to help people find a voice in different languages and artforms. I find it interesting that this Mayan glyph also has spiritual implications as well, because I believe that teaching and learning a language isn't just a technical act. When we read the words of others who are no longer with us in literature, when we tell our stories in the classroom, we are both listening and reaching out to others. I believe the classroom is a sacred space -- a place where we connect with others and challenge ourselves.
The faces are arranged in a democratic way. There isn't one person who is in authority, separate from the group. All are engaged in a conversation together. The teachers are co-learners with the students and the students are co-teachers with the teacher. This is particularly true in this classroom of adults, where everyone chooses to give up their Saturday morning to be in the space together. When I look at Melva's drawing Brazilian educators Paulo Freire's words come to mind:
In the context of true learning, the learners will be engaged in a continuous transformation through which they become authentic subjects of the construction and reconstruction of what is being taught, side by side with the teacher, who is equally subject to the same process (Pedagogy of Freedom, 33).
This side-by-side positioning of the teacher and the student is critical for any language or literacy classroom. Teaching isn't the transmission of knowledge, rather it is a journey where we walk together down a path.
Finally, the cups of coffee. In all of our classrooms we have coffee, tea, and water available. Learning should be comfortable. I once participated in an education class in graduate school where we shadowed students all day in public schools. As an adult, following a middle school student around, one of the things that caught my attention was how there was no time to go to the bathroom! There was no place to get a cup of coffee or a snack. I declared in class next week that pubic schools were "biologically unfit." Many years later when we started our own school we made sure the bathrooms were easily accessible anytime and that the students had ample opportunities to eat and drink.
Thanks to Melva Medina for her wonderful work of art (she donated it to our school.) If you are ever in Merida be sure to stop by her gallery downtown named Nahualli, Casa de Artistas or visit them on the web www.artistsinmexico.com.
The Habla logo:
