Approaches to Social Change
On Wednesday, my classmates and I visited Pamplona Alta, one of the poorest communities in Lima. Like the homes in El Agustino, the small houses are built on the unstable hills surrounding the city, and an earthquake would prove to be disastrous. While there is no shortage of dogs in Pamplona Alta, the people who live there often lack basic needs, such as access to water, electricity, sanitation, and healthcare. Because the homes are so high up and the winding “roads” are hard to navigate, it is difficult for goods and services to be easily transported. Many of the houses are accessible only by precarious stairs, leaving the elderly and the disabled confined to their homes. There are no water pipes, so water trucks must refill barrels, costing the residents of Pamplona Alta much more soles than what the people in the center of Lima pay. The only school can be very difficult for students from the other sides of the hills to reach, and classrooms often sit empty because there are not enough teachers. The situation in Pamplona Alta may seem bleak, but there are various initiatives and programs designed to help combat some of the problems the residents face.
While the people in Pamplona Alta and other places like it may face many challenges, there are a number of community-based assets that organizers are using to approach social change. When discussing ways to help marginalized youth succeed in school in the article “Lessons from Teachers,” Lisa Delpit writes about the importance of recognizing and utilizing the assets students and communities already have. Organizers are using this strategy as they find new ways to improve Pamplona Alta. For example, the hills of Pamplona Alta are covered in fog for most of the year. “Fog catchers” have been built on some of these hills, capturing the mist that the residents can then use for farming and cleaning. These mechanisms provide cost-effective access to water and are able to operate because of the hardworking community members who take pride in and maintain the fog nets. The Pamplona Alta residents’ sense of pride is seen in other areas as well. For example, some of the families have “baños secos” — composting toilets. These toilets provide alternatives to outhouses that can be difficult to access and help improve sanitation without relying on water. Those who have these toilets take pride in knowing that their family has a private bathroom and that it is environmentally friendly. And with the compost, they can fertilize the plants that decorate their homes. Instead of simply labeling communities like Pamplona Alta as “broken” or “disadvantaged,” social initiatives, like those working to install fog catchers and composting toilets, have recognized that these communities have assets that can be used to their advantage.
In addition to initiatives for social improvements, there have also been programs designed towards promoting educational change. Susan B. Neuman lays out seven principles that will help break the cycle of poverty in her book Changing the Odds for Children at Risk. The first principle she addresses is targeting, saying “the children who are most likely to benefit from interventions are those who are at greatest risk.” This seems like common sense, but too often the students who are most in need are not receiving the types of interventions that would be most beneficial. However, in Lima there are some initiatives designed to help students in impoverished areas. For example, the organization La Casita coordinates a series of afterschool and weekend programs in El Agustino. These art, music, and sport activities are located throughout El Agustino, including in some of the hillside neighborhoods. Children who live in the highest areas of the hills are the ones who have the most limited access to resources, so they would greatly benefit from these types of activities. La Casita targets these students to help meet some of their needs by providing a safe place for children to go after school and on the weekends. Targeting can also be seen in the form of certain types of compensatory education, as described in “Compensatory Education: United States, Policies, and Programs in Latin America.” One type of compensatory policies “support differentiated forms of treatment for low-income children in recognition of their unique needs and characteristics.” Therefore, the focus is not on achieving equal educational outputs, but on providing students with relevant and meaningful opportunities to support “equality of life chances.” This piece describes the Fe y Alegria schools throughout Latin America as an example of this approach. The Fe y Alegria II that we will be working in during our third week offers sewing and woodworking classes, in addition to traditional courses. This type of education provides students with both the academic and practical skills that will be helpful in their lives.
Through our readings and discussions, we have explored various approaches to educational and social change, including those discussed above. However, one of the most influential pieces of literature regarding teaching marginalized youth is Paolo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” In his piece, Freire advocates for a problem-based education — curriculum that encourages children to ask questions, particularly about the structure of society and how those in power continue to oppress the marginalized. Freire cautions teachers against seeing students as simply passive “containers” that need to be filled with knowledge; teachers also should not act as authoritarian figures. Instead, the relationship between teachers and students should be a reciprocal one, and content should be based on inquiry and collaborative studies. In the contexts of Pamplona Alta and El Agustino, Freire’s philosophical pedagogy is particularly applicable because these students are on the margins of society and face challenges that are the results of systematic oppression. Freire would argue that problem-based education would allow these students to “overcome authoritarianism,” increase their humanity, and contribute towards their liberation. As we spend more time in El Agustino and Fe y Alegria II, I will be on the look out to see if and how teachers are employing Freire’s pedagogy to help their students.
