DI ISABELLE FREMAUX & JOHN JORDAN
I Sentieri dell'Utopia - Un viaggio di sette mesi attraverso l'Europa alla ricerca di modi di vivere utopici contro il capitalismo
"Siamo quelli che costruiscono questi luoghi, queste città... noi lavoratori possiamo rimpiazzarli con edifici più nuovi e belli. Le rovine non ci spaventano. La Terra sarà il nostro retaggio, non ci sono dubbi. Lasciamo che la Borghesia mandi in frantumi il suo mondo prima di lasciare il palcoscenico della storia. Portiamo un nuovo mondo nei nostri cuori e quel mondo continuerà a crescere. Sta crescendo anche ora, mentre parlo" .
Buenaventura Durruti (Anarchica spagnola che inventò l'esproprio bancario e usò i ricavati per finanziare una scuola anarchica) intervistata dal Toronto Daily Star, ottobre 1936.
Merida, una delle più importanti city \u200b\u200bof the Roman Empire, is literally built on the ruins, and extends to the southwest border in the dryness of the Iberian Peninsula. Many of its modern buildings rise from the ruins on display, sometimes incorporating them into their structures. The polished concrete and glass are juxtaposed with rough and ancient ruins. After the pink signs that lead to the tourist office there are similar signs for the temple of Diana: here the shore this past at every corner. The Roman Empire collapsed due to military and vice-label, and the day that we get each flag is at half mast. Two English soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Rarely empires learn lessons from each other. For
29 years this city has hosted what is one of the most durable Anarchist schools - Paideia. The name comes from the Athenian concept of character building, something that was seen as the key educational process of direct democracy in the polis. The school is an extraordinary laboratory of radical citizenship. If the Utopias are places that challenge us to bridge the gap between what is done and the impossible, then our three-day visit to the Paideia have certainly done. This world upside down - a school without bells, where children are in the classroom and where the program is based on the values \u200b\u200bof anarchists - taught us about freedom more than anything we had ever experienced before.
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"Beware of the mind that created, because it might look to the future that you dream of" creating
Mujeres (Bolivian group of anarcho-feminist way). Quoted on the walls of the class for children.
Located in an old farmhouse on two floors, colored with a yellow crayon, on what were once the city limits, until last year, Paideia was surrounded by lush green olive groves as far as the eye can see. This year every single tree was felled by bulldozers, and now the school is set in a sea of \u200b\u200bmud from wheels and plowed roads partially built. Once it was a free school in the country, is now paralyzed oasis in the middle of a hell of urban sprawl. Huge bulldozers the wandering around, emitting loud vibrations through the walls and stone floors. Next year will be surrounded by 1,500 identical suburban homes, another speculative development of Spain, whose corporate motto is proudly presented on the ads above the devastation, which commemorates the French Sum: "We are creating the future."
The semester has just begun when we arrived. Our first meeting took place in the evening, with eight staff members, who have been together for 58 students from 10 am to 6 pm and then take the administration up to 9. Despite the long days of work, we welcome with great warmth and many kisses. We sit around a large table surrounded da scaffali di libri e pile di documenti. Kim e Carlos, amici dalla permacoltura collettiva di Escanda, in Asturias, sono venuti per aiutarci a tradurre. Kim ha istituito il collettivo di educazione popolare radicale Trapeze, che ha girato l'Europa durante molte grandi mobilitazioni contro i summit capitalisti. Carlos, che adesso lavora ai piani di Escanda per una fattoria ad energia eolica della comunità, insegnava Spagnolo agli immigrati in un centro educativo occupato a Madrid. Hanno sempre voluto visitare questa mitica fondazione educativa. La scorsa notte, al Campo, abbiamo ammesso che eravamo tutti un po' ansiosi di visitare la scuola. Infatti ci sentivamo proprio come al primo giorno di scuola, un ricordo molto vecchio per noi, ma riconoscevano i nodi e l'apprensione nei nostri stomaci. Nonostante la sua lunga storia, poche persone hanno il privilegio di visitare Paideia, e non è chiaro perché ce lo abbiano permesso, sebbene il fatto che si definisca un'Utopia in molte delle sue pubblicazioni ha probabilmente aiutato.
Pepa, una corpulenta sessantenne, è tra i fondatori della scuola. Nonostante i suoi brillanti capelli tinti di rosso sembra ancora la più normale insegnante scolastica possibile, allo stesso modo delle altre sette donne e dell'unico uomo che siedono attorno al tavolo con noi. Ci spiega che le prime settimane dopo l'estate sono sempre differenti dal modo in cui funziona regolarmente la scuola. "Ritornare dalla vacanze estive è sempre un problema", dice, "per two months the boys live with their parents and grandparents, who are starting to do everything for them, so they lose their autonomy. "At the heart of the philosophy of the school's autonomy and self-management. Every aspect of school is managed through meetings, from deciding on the lunch menu schedules, personal conflicts in which teaching materials to choose from. Everything is discussed and decided collectively without hierarchy and imposition by the staff. Students from 18 months to 16 years self-manage school together. They cook, clean and make decisions on operations.
Paideia At one of the many things I learned is this: are free covers primarily the taking of individual responsibility and essere in grado di collaborare fluidamente in una comunità collettiva. "Quando tornano si dimenticano come fare le cose... come si tagliano le carote, cosa bisogna fare etc. Le loro menti non sono libere quando devono chiedere cosa fare", spiega Pepa. "Sono liberi quando sanno cosa vogliono... è più facile sentirsi dire cosa fare piuttosto che essere liberi, e così deleghi la tua responsabilità agli altri". Come risultato, la scuola è sotto quello che viene chiamato Mandado - ossia essere ordinato o richiesto. Descriverlo come una sorta di punizione collettiva sarebbe sbagliato. Nei tre giorni passati qui non c'è mai stato qualcuno che urlasse o alzasse la voce. E' una cultura di apprendimento temporanea imposta dallo staff. Visto che gli studenti non sono più in grado di prendere l'iniziativa per fare le cose senza dover chiedere alle figure di autorità, sono mandadi - viene detto loro cosa fare da parte degli insegnanti.
In seguito ho cercato di spiegarlo per telefono al mio figlio dodicenne, Jack, che si trova a Londra. Il motto della sua scuola è "Servire ed Obbedire", risplendente lungo l'araldico frontone di pietra sopra l'entrata. "Nella scuola anarchica sei nei guai se chiedi ad un insegnante il permesso di fare qualcosa piuttosto che darti da fare e farla da solo". Il suo confuso silenzio mostrava lo sforzo contro-intuitivo che abbiamo avuto tutti una volta realizzato cosa significava. Nella maggior parte delle scuole se non fai quello che ti viene detto sei wrong. Here you are wrong if you expect you to be told what to do. The
Mandado remains until the students decide to convene a meeting to discuss whether they are collectively returned to the state of freedom or not. If all vote for the dismissal is revoked. "They have to find their values \u200b\u200banarchists," says Pepa. "It does not take much. If they want to be free must fight to be."
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"There's the world a more sincere object of pity that a child terrified by every glance, that looks with anxious uncertainty to the whims of a teacher"
William Godwin ( the first great philosopher of anarchism and happiness, An Enquiry Concerning whose Political Justice had a huge impact in Britain of the 18th century. Content An Account of the Seminary That Will Be Opened on Monday the Fourth Day of August, at Epsom in Surrey, for the Instruction of Pupils Twelve, 1783 )
comes the school bus, a long, shiny, new, white van. The children swarm out. The greatest damage is with smaller hands, and guide you through the steps up to the school premises, where everyone idle caress the two dogs are kissed by teachers and school on hold. I have painful memories of when I brought my son to kindergarten, seeing so many children crying as they were being pushed beyond the gates delle istituzioni. Qui non sembrano esserci lacrime, solo sorrisi, corse e salti disinvolti. I bambini più piccoli, dai 18 mesi ai 5 anni, si separano dagli altri per dirigersi all'annesso asilo, mentre noi rimaniamo con i più grandi nell'edificio principale.
La prima cosa che accade quando arrivano è che il gruppo di cucina, sette ragazzi in età mista dai 5 ai 16 anni, va in cucina, si mette i grembiuli bianchi e inizia a preparare i menù del giorno. Fuori alcuni ragazzini stanno dondolando su un trapezio attaccato ad un vecchio albero di Cipro e altri stano spazzando con scope alte due volte più alte di loro. Nessuno sembra dir loro cosa fare, lo fanno e basta. Questa è forse una delle impressioni più durature: despite the state of Mandado, there is a constant dynamism and a large movement of energetic children throughout the building, rising above things without being reprimanded by the terrifying acute teacher or a school bell.
In the kitchen I feel a little 'tense seeing children five years of handling large knife, carefully cut the tomatoes and stir enormous silver cauldrons for boiling food. I am wondering if it is safe and soon realized what I have become indoctrinated by the culture of health and safety control that dominates the modern institutional life.
Manu, six years, begins to catch flies in the dining room next to the kitchen. The walls are plastered with quotations, including the famous tug of the first self-styled anarchist Joseph Proudhon: "To be governed ... is to be monitored, inspected, spied upon, directed, regulated, regimented, prisoners, indoctrinated, preached, estimated, valued, censored, commanded ...". Viewed in this context, suddenly becomes a good description of the traditional school. "We eat many different dishes here. It 's the best food in the world," said Manu between shots. I really can not believe that school lunches have risen above the level of flour cooked in water. "It 's the best school in the world?", While I ask the help to roll towels. "Yes," said his great brown face while she fiddles with a grin and mop.
"Next, it's time to work," says Carlos from the kitchen. Despite having only seven years, and not the official coordinator of the cooking group, which is the thirteen year old Arai, Carlos is able to understand what must be done and can push to finish with Manu in the massacre of flies. Ernesto, the largest, said assistance to Kim who is in charge, telling her to bring one dish at a time because otherwise would be dangerous. Here the culture of aid is amazing, it's Ernesto trentacinqenne Kim as saying the dishes or how to bring the older girls that tie the shoes of children, it Paideia permeates everything. While I see all this, there is a time when everyone would like to convey here that I said "anarchy and chaos" in this exquisite example of self-organization, and by children!
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You learn about a sixteen year old high and bony, with freckles on her face heart-shaped and huge ears. We kiss and then shows how deep voice Jara. "This is the hour of the collective work," he says, gesturing in complete security with its long fingers. "Cooking, cleaning, etc.. Let me explain our time." Leads us to the main board into the INPUT. Most Alerts are written by the children with their handwriting. Lists of working groups and various times. Near the colorful list of working groups, decorated with pastel drawings are pinned to the sepia postcards of the anarchist CNT union, and run by ferrotramvieri Ricoluzione Anarchist telephone operators during 1936.
"After the collective work we have breakfast. From one o'clock until half past eleven we have a general meeting or attending a study group, after which we have our free time. Then there's lunch at three and a bit 'collective work until four, then an hour and a quarter and end the afternoon tea. " Janza understands that is dominating the conversation and the floor to Manuel, his companion so. Encourages him to continue the explanation. It 's rare to see such a sensitivity to group dynamics and such a sense of solidarity by a teen-ager.
"As schedules are decided," I ask. "With the assembly," he says. "Before the beginning of each school year as we analyze what went before, we decide which subjects to study in groups and should be held as scheduled. Deciamo also working in the assembly."
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The central body of the school assemblies are, but what are the handles on a daily study groups and committees, all composed by the boys. Apart from the groups for the cooking and cleaning, there are also committees that keep the school administration. Chris, a student from Yorkshire to look typically English, who moved to Merida two years ago and now has ten, tells me that the committee is of the "soluttori", a job he likes. "I must be on guard for problems and conflicts that are raised, he says," and if there is a problem speaking and try to help, if he can not find a solution to convene a meeting. "Explain that there are also 'committees values' whose role is to examine and evaluate what it is at the heart of the school, which values \u200b\u200banarchists. At the very heart of what is learned and practiced at Paideia not There is an abstract knowledge, no dates, facts, history and arithmetic - but a series of profound human values. These values \u200b\u200bare the foundation of everything that happens - is the program of the school. Instead of the traditional three R's of education [reading, 'riting,' rithmetic = reading, writing, arithmetic, ndt] anarchists there are seven values: solidarity, justice, equality, freedom, non-violence, culture and above all happiness.
The committees are composed of values \u200b\u200bfrom one student from each age group and change every two weeks. There are four age groups in schools for older children and each has its own name and class: 5-7 years 'group lover', 7-8 years 'tornado', 9-11 years 'group one', 12-15 years 'group two'. I 'committees of the values' change every two weeks and shall report to the General Assembly.
Chris is in the midst of a study group on history. They have no lessons, I am told that this sound too religious and throw religion out of school is essential in a country where the Church was the right hand of the fascist dictatorship. What we want to tackle the subjects of study in the working groups was decided in the General Assembly at the beginning of each school term, which reflects the whole school went on as the previous one. The staff can suggest a series of 10 workshops, and class five collectively decide they want to do. The 'group one ', that Chris has chosen to do History, English, Global Economics, Language Arts.
In the working groups is not a teacher standing in front of a blackboard in front of rows of pews. Each class has all the desks pushed together to create a large central table around which sit the students. They go on with their work, they get up to find a book, write notes, occasionally throwing a tire at a classmate. A teacher, although they have never called as such, but usually with their name or "adults" do you live in the classes from time to time to help and go through the work they are doing the books.
Each student establishes a commitment to do some number of projects for each school term. They engage in what is called "intellectual work". It 's a project decided, quite independently, on any subject they want. All complete and sign a complex document of commitment at the beginning of each period, each deciding their personal commitments, ranging from those projects and workbooks want to complete and reflect the values \u200b\u200bas anarchists, as a collective work and what will undertake on an emotional level. At the end of each period jointly assess their respective commitments.
Chris is doing the work the Roman empire. After two weeks will stand in front of his class and the present. There will be no vote. The only verification formal end of each school term: 'La Prueba Larga', a test that is done one by one with Pepa and covers everything from motor coordination to general knowledge. There is no voting, is just a way for staff to check the children's development.
Fremaux Isabelle & John Jordan
Source: http://www.utopias.eu/
Link
15.10.2007
Translation for www.comedonchisciotte.org & http: / / scuolalibera.blogspot.com by Carl Martin
Site Paideia: http://www.paideiaescuelalibre.org/Index_bis.htm
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