So there you have it...

I worked for a woman who thought this film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJFZlzudbZk) was just good fun (she played the Concubine in the black dress), and who condoned showing it to children as young as 11 years old as part of their ethics and values assemblies, and who sent a section wide mail diminishing and belittling the concerns of teachers who felt it was not in keeping with the school's nor the IBO's values and let us all know that they should lighten up and have a better sense of humor.

In response (after getting permission from my head of section to do so) I sent a mail to my department imploring them not to show the film (anymore) and stating precisely why.

When she demanded I forward it to her, I softened the content of this e-mail, knowing full well that she already had access to the original and that it would lead to confrontation that would likely end in my leaving the school. I shouldn't have done that.

I did so because she menacingly threatened to fire someone in my department for expressing her political points of view in the press and I wanted to deflect her anger towards me.

I encouraged people I worked with to speak out against the ignorance and bullying we saw being practiced by people in some of the management positions of the school and their circle of friends.

I encouraged my teachers and co-workers to fight ignorance, racism and misogyny with education and information.

I was accused of trying to "start a revolution" and my contract was not renewed.

I was relieved because I did not want to work for someone who thinks it is okay to make fun of people for their race, or their passion for education and tolerance.

I know what my faults are, and I accept them, but none of my faults were condoning a film that glorified racism and misogyny as appropriate educational material or light-hearted comedic fun for all ages,  nor do they include belittling and mocking the point of view of passionate teachers who care deeply about the messages we send to children, especially children who have a responsibility to create peace and justice in a nation at war with itself.

I know what my faults are and I own them, and the consequences of them, every day.

I wish I had done things differently. I wish I had been more forthright.  I wish I had not been sucked down the rabbit hole of politics and game playing.  I've never been very good at games.  I am very sorry for that.

But despite all my faults, I have never, and will never support bigotry or tell professional educators who find the courage to speak out about their concerns that their feelings are wrong, that they spoke too harshly, or that they are "over reacting" when they sense something is out of whack.

THAT, I would never do.

Enough Said.

Day One

A day late and a dollar short as my grandpa used to say. It seems I have joined the blogging world. What better way to relieve my brain of all its useless banter and get down to real life, eh?

This day is a day like any other here in Argentina. The sun is bright and doing it's best to warm the fall day which is crisp and cool and feels like tangible freshness. It makes you want to sit still and inhale the air deep into your lungs until they are full and hold it until you have absorbed every ounce of nutrients and oxygen it has to offer...days like this make you feel generous and kind, especially when they come right on the coat tails of a stretch of rain that has flooded the plains to the North of Buenos Aires so badly that countless people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes, which up until last week consisted of little more than brick shacks on the mud flats, and today are merely scattered piles of bricks and tin roofing. The cattle ranchers have been fighting the elements to rescue those animals that managed to escape the ravages of the rising rivers and the sinking deltas that served as their grazing land, and too often discovering they were too late for some. These blue sky days seem well deserved after all that.

Yes, the blue skies of Buenos Aires do provide the soul with a sense of hope and peace. It's intense.

Today started off cold as I headed to the school where I teach and I wondered if I had made the right choice in my clothing. I often wonder this as one never really knows which way the weather will turn. By mid morning the sun had confirmed my choices.

I feel very in control of my students at the moment. Classes run with smooth percision, and homework flows in and out at a manageable pace. It's nice to have that centered balance. Nothing worse than feeling like an utter phony in front of 20+ teenager who can see right through you and who resent you for existing in the first place.

It would be so nice if the rest of school was as easy as the classroom. In the classroom there is a simple equation: Well planned lessons + fun activity + well prepared students = great lessons, feel good vibes, and educated students. Win. Win. Win. The staffroom is not easy to navigate. There is no neat and tidy formula. The staffroom is a minefeild, each co-teacher a potential explosion and you never know when you've stepped on the wrong trigger until the mine has already been detonated and probably taken a piece of your eye along with it. You can't turn back time or rewind to clarify, or undo the damage of a misunderstanding with co-workers as easily as you can with a group of students, who through all their resentment and misplaced anger, ultimately WANT to trust you and believe that you have their best interest at heart. My co-workers are too cynical for all that.

But today was a good day; my students participated, and understood the instructions and they listened and they really discussed the issues at hand. It was inspiring.

Currently I am discussing Lord of the Flies with my yr 9 students and Face with my year seven students. Both novels address the theme of human nature, but to very different degrees. LOTF deals with our inner beastie and the nature of civilization. Face on other hand deals with the nature of society and the power of social institutions to exacerbate the dicrimination it is supposed to be fighting. It also deals with issues of self-confidence and where we find self-worth in our society.

The reaction of my students is fabulous. I feel like a proud mother duck watching her ducklings paddle out of the water, spread their wings and fly for the first time. It's very nice.

Well this is my first blog, ever. so I will try to keep up if people are interested.

Thanks for reading,

Rebekah