Learning Community

Rural Teachers: A Great Challenge

Teaching is not only about giving a lecture since there are essential characteristics that make a difference, and the most important one is true professionalism in our daily work, no matter the specific locations we may be working in. Certainly, this is something well-known by rural teachers: People willing to accept the challenge to bring education to isolated areas as a way of breaking down the social gap that weakens the progress of our country.

The long distance between villages and schools makes the educational goals even more difficult to reach. The often inclement weather over these extreme regions are sadly ignored by those who have the opportunity to attend school normally.

Undisputably, teaching cannot be reduced to intellectual skills since we are constantly dealing with particular social realities that need to be managed as such. For example, a rural teacher needs to know how to use the acquired theoretical knowledge to provide an education of excellence and also to solve problems and concerns regarding his/her specific context. A rural teacher needs to be aware of the cultural diversity in which he's working on so students might feel part of the current educational project.

Santiago Is Not Chile

Rural teachers work for their community 24/7, and this is something we must learn about them as a true commitment is the beginning of progress in our class. Being a teacher is more than going to school every day and doing our work in the classroom as our role goes beyong the classroom itself: We must integrate each other in order to make trascendental changes in our students and so in our society. Also, it is of key importance to keep updating our knowledge and skills to provide an education of excellence. Thus, this social commitment has to do with developing our professionalism by participating in school, attending conferences, addressing critical issues and investigating about our own practice every single day as there is no progress if we cannot determine the factors that weakens our projects.

•Our goal: To provide equal educational conditions for our students by taking into account their culture and roots in this process. That means, to contextualize the curriculum.

The Educators We Need

•Our teachers must be able to use pedagogical knowledge based on their students’ needs

•As we are supposed to work inside a community, we must INTEGRATE each other (Teacher- Students – Families)

•We are not here only for teaching contents, but also for being part of a different culture and way of living

•Education needs to be based on our students’ prior knowledge. There’s no learning without cultural awareness

Teaching is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding jobs in our society. We learn from our background and the people that surround us every day. This is a experience that encourages us to make the most of our role and thus empower our communities, especially in rural areas where the cultural diversity is barely taken into account by big cities along the country.

...We must keep our roots alive!

Selknam People

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Unrepresented Nations and people organization (UNPO)

This is a website community that we want to share with you.

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international, nonviolent, and democratic membership organisation. Its members are indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories who have joined together to protect and promote their human and cultural rights, to preserve their environments, and to find nonviolent solutions to conflicts which affect them.

In this website you can find many articles about indigenious peoples. We find an article about a Mapuche school that we want to share with you.

Mapuche: School of Self Government

Based on sections of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Mapuche School of Self Government began its first day of classes.

Below is an article published by: Indian Country Today

Based on sections of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Mapuche School of Self Government began its first day of classes January 14 [2009] in Temuko, Chile.

Faculty at the new institution include an internationally famous Chilean jurist who helped prosecute former dictator Augusto Pinochet as well as noted attorneys and Mapuche legislators.

The school’s general aim is to create “an institutional space for the Mapuche communities to implement Articles 3 and 4 of the declaration relative to the rights of indigenous self-determination and self-government,” according to a press statement issued by the Mapuche Council of All the Lands, the organization that created the new school.

The mission of the school will be “to contribute, through education and training, to the formation of Mapuche leaders from different communities, organizations and different sectors of society. … On top of that the school will seek to create. … leadership based on the principles of free determination and self-government, and whose academic programs will bring about leadership that will contribute effectively to self government.”

The Mapuche council stated that, after the passage of the UN declaration, “we, the Mapuche, are entitled to the right of Free Determination, and as such, we have the responsibility to seek ways of implementing it in practical terms and to further broaden those aspects that concern Free Determination.”

At the first day [14 January 2009] gathering, the council’s leader, Aucán Huilcamán Paillama, said the need for the school arose, in large part, from the marginalization of the Mapuches by Chilean authorities.

“We understand that the Chilean state was formed two centuries ago, and in two centuries it operated the same way, without the Mapuches. We have made every effort towards having the state include us, and it has not done so, therefore today [14 January 2009] we set our own course, in a free manner, under the protection of international law. From today we invite all people dedicated to Mapuche self government to be part of this process.”

One of the people attending the opening ceremonies was the new faculty’s most famous professor, former Judge Juan Guzman Tapia. He gained international attention and respect for indicting and prosecuting Pinochet. He is also the dean of the University of Chile’s School of Law, one of the country’s most prestigious institutions. Other faculty members at the Mapuche School of Self Government include attorneys Rodrigo Calderon, Juan Sanhueza, indigenous leaders such as Lonko Aniceto Norin Catriman, former congressman Rosendo Huenuman and Huilcamán Paillama, who is an expert on international indigenous law.

Starting off with a blessing ceremony, the first academic session featured “A teaching module on government issues based on international law relative to the rights of Mapuche self-determination and self government” according to the press release.

[The Mapuche people have resided in what are now parts of Chile and Argentina for thousands of years, and are famous for their successful resistance against first the Spanish and then both the Chilean and Argentine governments until the late 19th century.]

If you want to vistit this website, it is the link,

http://www.unpo.org/

Diversity in the classroom

Our world is full of different types of people. It is very important for children to understand that all people are different. These differences should be understood and appreciated. There are two main aspects of diversity that children will most likely encounter in the classroom. One is learners with special needs. Included in this category are children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. Children need to be able to understand the problems of others and help to make all students feel comfortable. Another part of diversity comes from the many cultures that are a part of the world. Children need to respect and admire different cultures. They also need to realize that minority groups have faced a large amount of unnecessary hostility. All of this will help children to learn more about themselves and the people around them. It will foster respect and appreciation for others.

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/diversity/

Dimensions of Diversity

http://www.ryder.com/aboutus_diversity.shtml

Muslim Girl Re-Registers At School After Receiving Chilean Government’s Support

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Written by Dominique Farrell

Wednesday, 10 November 2010 05:14

Yasmin Elsayed, a 9-year old girl who was prohibited from wearing a hijab (an Islamic head scarf) at the W. A. Mozart School in the La Reina borough of Santiago, was allowed to register again for the 2011 school year on Tuesday.

The school claimed the hijab was not part of the official school uniform. Yasmin’s parents complained that school officials had said their daughter would not be able to enroll for the following school year if she continued to wear the head scarf.

Muslims represent less than one percent of Chile’s population.

On Sunday, Education Minister Joaquín Lavín announced his support for the family at the Islamic Cultural Center of Santiago. The meeting was also attended by the ambassadors of Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan. Lavín informed the family that authorities had contacted the school, and that Yasmin would be able to continue her education there.

“The Education Act protects the right of Yasmin to wear the head scarf along with her uniform,” Lavín said. “This is something that has to do with a deep religious conviction.”

Lavín added that there can be no religious discrimination, and that Chile must respect multiculturalism and diversity.

The school indicated that Yasmin could continue wearing her hijab without problems. For their part, members of Yasmin’s family said she would wear a hijab that was the same color as the school’s uniform to avoid future problems.

SOURCES: LA TERCERA, EFE
By Dominique Farrell ( editor@santiagotimes.cl )

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/news/education/20155-muslim-girl-re-registers-at-school-after-receiving-chilean-governments-support-