NOT JUST A GAME

I know I promised you a post on street art, and it will go up in good time.  Due to recent events here, however, I just can't help but share a few thoughts on sports first.  Overall, Argentines like sports, lots of sports. Polo is supposedly popular in the interior, though I have no evidence for that. Tennis fans can find high-level competition--after all, Juan Martín del Potro, is one of world's Top 10 pro tennis players and hails from the province of Buenos Aires. (Jared Donaldson, a teen tennis prodigy from Rhode Island and new friend of mine, trains and competes here on his way to the big time--watch for him in the future.)  NBA basketball also as a certain following; earlier in the season I enjoyed catching Celtics games on occasion.

But let's be honest...there is no sport that captures the hearts and minds of Argentines like fútbol. 

The United States is inundated with complete sports fanatics dedicated to so many different games. Some live and die for baseball, others for hockey, some for American football, while basketball reigns supremely for still others, just to name a few of the biggies. Even soccer has an ever-growing following (side note: Argentine players are known to contract with MLS once they hit their 30s so they can keep getting paid to play). All the same, we have nothing like the rest of the world has soccer. 

Volumes have already been written on this subject by sports journalists, sociologists, historians, and economists.  I've collected a few of my own short anecdotes to further illustrate the ways in which fútbol is not just a game:

• Last night, River Plate, one of the historically best teams in the Asociación de Fútbol Argentino (AFA) lost its place in the A Division for the first time in 110 years.  Once a team drops to the B Division, they pretty much stay in that less competitive and less glamorous division until they find themselves in the B league's championship game at the end of the season--no easy feat. This is such a serious matter that River fans rioted in the streets near the stadium in one of Buenos Aires's more affluent neighborhoods last night. Fires. Fights. Upwards of 89 people were injured and 50 arrested, according to a major newspaper.  I kid you not.

On the flipside, fans (or hinchas) of the rival Boca Juniors club partied gleefully outside of their home stadium. (Given that Boca has a soulful and spirited history, plays at a stadium located close to me, and that I've met a couple of the players, I've been rooting for them.)  Last night some Boca fans sang this funny little chant to the River Plate Chicken, loosely translated:

         Antes que te vayas al descenso,   Before you go down

         Vamos a quemar el gallinero.       We will burn the hen house. 

         Mi vida no es igual                       My life won't be the same

         si te vas a la "B".                           if you go to the "B" Division 

         Como te voy a olvidar...               How I will miss you... 

         Gallina no vuelvas más!               Chicken, don't ever come back!

Keep in mind that this was not a championship game, yet it was still somehow more shocking, even sublime. Imagine if the Yankees lost to, say, Baltimore's farm team, after having a few rocky seasons and were demoted entirely to Minor League play.  No more team in MLB.  That's basically what happened tonight. I repeat: destructive riots and ridiculous revelry.  P.S.  I didn't receive it, but I'm told that the"warden" from the U.S. Embassy in Argentina sent a warning e-mail to some ex-pats about this game two days in advance of the match. 

• Since 2009 the Argentine government has broadcasted AFA soccer matches on public television under the name "Fútbol para Todos" because, obviously, watching soccer is everyone's right. 

• During a pre-game asado bbq, my neighbor lost his apartment keys. He complained all night that he didn’t have them.  His father had an extra set, but he lives an hour away and wouldn’t bring them.  My neighbor would have had to go for the keys himself, but how could he do that?  Boca was playing.  No, it was far more important to watch Boca than to be able to get into his apartment he explained to me.
• GOOOOOOOL!…I've gotten to know a radio journalist who is "the Voice of Boca". He can announce a goal as good as any commentator on Univisión. Hilarious guy. (Northampton friends: he is kind of the Argentine-soccer version of Adam Hargraves.)
• May 1, International Labor Day, fell on a Sunday this year. It really messed with the hardcore fútbol fans. Quote: [sighing sadly] “Domingo sin fútbol no es domingo” (Sunday without soccer just isn't Sunday)
• A couple of months ago, the San Lorenzo club fans protested the movement of their stadium by blocking traffic (an extremely common and frequent collective action here). I asked around: is this protesting really going to do anything?  Absolutely not.  The deal was done. They just felt... nostalgic...snff snff. 
• Martín Palermo, the star forward for Boca, was honored during the last game of the season because it marked the last game of his career. Afterwards as a retirement gift, the Club gave him the goal. I repeat, they gave him the whole goal.  Net, posts and everything.  What do you do with that?  Put it in your backyard? Over your bed? 
• The sport remains dominated by men, and while there ain't no Title IX in Argentina, more and more girls and women are playing these days. 
• Lionel Messi, the namesake of my cousin's son, is the all-time leading scorer for the European Champions League and considered the world's best soccer play on the pitch today. Argentines call him el crack – slang for "the best". He's sick, he's the bomb...he's from Argentina!  And I hear that he shows up for dinner near my office in Buenos Aires once in a while.  
• When my brother came to visit in April, he happened to watch a few 6-year-olds kicking around in a plaza.  A fairly accomplished U.S. college player himself, Mike was blown away by the ball control of the little guys. He simply shook his head and stated plainly, "The U.S. is never going to win the World Cup."

Sure, it's easy to argue that the passion for the game--and the money, the near-saintly status of star players, etc.--are completely over the top and out of control. As outrageous as it is, and while there are many Argentines who are very critical of this obsession, it's not likely to change anytime soon. And frankly, dangerous riots aside, it's great fun.

La Copa América, the month-long championship tournament for South American soccer, begins this weekend. Argentina is hosting. We'll see what drama ensues! 

OVERCOMING THE ODDS

Mural painted by high school students in Córdoba Capital

Argentine public schools, once proudly heralded as a great part of this country’s human capital, tend to have bad reputations these days —particularly those located in economically weak districts and that serve marginalized populations, both rural and urban. The national high school drop-out rate is somewhere around 50% and closer to 75% in rural areas (NB: compulsory secondary education only became law in 2006). There are many reasons for the downward shift and the explosion of private school admissions over the last several decades that I won’t get into right now. As in United States schools, true inequality and inequity exists here. I have seen it, and from a human rights perspective it’s just wrong. (For a clear illustration, view "El Sur También Existe: Desigualdad Educativa en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires" produced by ACIJ (2008). I believe there is an English version available too.)

However, not all of the schools facing the most severe obstacles are entirely unsuccessful. Lili wrote in her blog: “Ariana and I visited three wonderful schools in Córdoba Capital, where we saw dedication, patience and hard work from teachers and administrators, especially three lovely principals.  These public schools have students who come from difficult circumstances, who received two hot meals a day, and in the case of one school, who lived (at one point) in a slum/garbage dump that was later cleaned by the city of Córdoba.  Many students come from broken homes, many work at nights with their parents as cartoneros or people who collect and sell boxes and paper goods from general trash, and many must care for younger siblings because their parents are absent during the day and/or night.

“Despite these adversities, the schools have managed to stage very upbeat 25 de Mayo celebrations…, to sponsor recycling and environmental programs,  and to start workshops in dance, art and music that have been recognized nationally.  If there is a will, there is a way.  I salute Adriana, Maria Isabel and Cecilia, the principals of three schools in Córdoba for welcoming us, for choosing to stay in their public schools and for encouraging their teachers and students to succeed.” 

Photo by Gian Paolo Minelli. For more Villa Lugano photos click Obras Minelli

Last Friday we visited a high school in Villa Lugano, a southern neighborhood of Buenos Aires with a sizeable villa, or shantytown, the Argentine equivalent of a Brazilian favela.  Numerous individuals in more central parts of the city wondered why we were going there and even warned us for our safety. From our observations, however, the reputation of the school belies its reality. We found ourselves inside a clean, comfortable physical plant conversing with proud, thoughtful faculty and staff and interacting with calm, curious students. No one denied that the school had weathered some very rough periods through the years, nor that it still faces major challenges. (The secretary office is under renovation after it recently caught fire from a Molotov cocktail bomb thrown through the window.) All the same, today the school has a 75-80% graduation rate, a peaceful climate and a relatively active parents associación cooperadora.  The building is wired and waiting for the delivery of netbooks for each student (part of a national campaign by the Kirchner administration to distribute computers to all, a program that has not been piloted). The library is bright and spacious with a Smart Board; we observed students studying quietly there with a tutor and independently. Over the weekend the school community participated in a marathon race and collected nonperishable food items in collaboration with other local schools, public and private.  

What makes these schools different?  Why do they function better?

There are some common characteristics. All have deeply invested faculty and able administrators, many of whom have stuck with the schools through the worst of times and found ways to move forward. There is a burgeoning sense of community, led by staff. The families and students are also involved.  For example, one of the Córdoba high schools did not start to noticeably improve until the students staged a takeover of the building demanding change. Their action provoked a greater response from state officials than any quantity of solicitations filed by the principal on paper. The principals in Córdoba have been given opportunities for motivating and meaningful professional development opportunities, including month-long Fulbright grants to study at schools in the United States.  The Villa Lugano high school takes advantage of Cimientos, a well-respected NGO that supports school leadership and instructional improvement in public schools, as well as valuable scholarship funds for promising students (akin to the National Equlity Project based in CA).

Are these schools still limited?  Yes, in plenty of ways. They still face incredible systemic, social and political challenges—including many of the same that stymie troubled U.S. schools as well as some that are distinctly Argentine.

My point, however, is that there are public schools using their resources to create positive learning communities for young people, even when the outside world prefers to judge and doesn’t care to look hard enough at what’s really going on inside.  In the most needy of circumstances, there are always those educators who teach because they have to – for the thrill of learning, for the chance to help a vulnerable child, for the prospect of changing a community.  These educators, in Argentina, the U.S. and elsewhere, need to be recognized, rewarded and supported to propel our work forward and attract other talent into the field.  We need to have a chance to be part of school governance.  We need incentives to work as professionals (not peons) to uplift tough environments.  And we need the cooperation of the private sector, government forces and the mass media.

So, there you have today’s soap box musings. Expect a more visual theme next time: street art!

Thanks for reading. 

Central courtyard of Córdoba high school that was cleaned up after it was taken over by students.
Notice student murals on the walls.

Close up of a student mural

PATAGONIA!

The weather has definitely turned chilly in Buenos Aires, but it’s far more mild here than down south in Patagonia! That’s why I made a point to visit that gorgeous region way back in the early autumn of April, before deep winter set in.  I very easily convinced my Fulbright colleague and friend Lili to join me on a little sojourn to the south, and it ended up being a great “team-building” experience for us. We learned that the name Patagonia comes from the Patagones, the name given by Magellan and his crew to the native people there because of their supposedly big feet.  

We didn’t have time to drive for days along the famous Route 40, so we flew to the town of El Calafate in the province of Santa Cruz, touching down for a couple of hours in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, the most southern city in the world.  Visitors go to El Calafate to access the famous Perito Moreno glacier, one of Argentina’s many natural treasures—and to sample locally raised lamb and artesanal beers. (We did all of these things.) Perito Moreno is the third largest glacier in Parque Nacional los Glaciares at 254 km². The larger glaciers are not even accessible.  From what we saw, the park, which opened in 1937, is very well managed and hiking and camping are very controlled.  I’ll write only a little bit more and let the photos speak for themselves....  

Later we spent two nights in El Chaltén, a small village of 400 residents founded in 1985. It’s located 220 km from El Calafate on the north side of the park. Actually, it’s located *IN* the park limits. When the bus drops you off, you first must attend an orientation on park ethics at the ranger center before you can even walk around the town. The town is dotted by trailheads that take you up into beautiful hills and even to the jagged peak called El Chaltén or Fitz Roy, a world-class epic feat for rock climbers.  The air is so pure, as is the water that is safe to drink directly from the river.  Soooo great! 

Have I mentioned that I love Argentina? J

BEING AN 'SLL' IN ENVIRO ED CLASS

Store name in B.A. with the common word for teacher

Yes, the Environmental Education class was definitely worthwhile (see last post).  I learned from and with other educators who are interested in the environment, citizenship and innovative interdisciplinary learning. To implement strong interdisciplinary curricula, their battle appears more uphill than mine. Typical Argentine schools (both public and many private) do not lend themselves well to this kind of teaching and learning, particularly at the upper middle school and high school levels where subjects are very departmentalized and teachers are known as “profesores taxis,” because they have to run around like a taxi driver to 2-4 schools a week in order to earn a decent wage. They have no paid planning time for themselves, let alone to plan with colleagues. I feel fortunate because at Paul Cuffee School cross-curricular, project-based learning is encouraged. We have a lot of room for improvement, but we are on the right track.

On another note, the class provided me with an amazing chance to elevate my Spanish skills.  I’m not going to lie; I was very self-conscious of my castellano in the academic setting when I first arrived. I have strong comprehension and make myself understood, but I’m aiming for a higher level still. The good news is that educators tend to be sensitive and encouraging of someone learning a new skill! So, after a few weeks or so, I just had to buck up and start to be more courageous. Like I remind my students at home, the only way to improve is to immerse, listen, read silently, read aloud, talk, ask questions, make mistakes, write, make mistakes, listen, repeat....  That’s how it works. 

I teach a number of English-Language Learners (ELL) students in Providence who were born abroad, and it’s a pleasure to watch their skills and confidence grow.  Here at school in Argentina, I am the “SLL” student!  I have tried to be aware of my own progress over the last two months, which follows a similar pattern to their long-term learning: at first I was silent. Then, I asked one question. Later, I presented a new idea in class discussion. I tried to work in a small group. Ultimately, I found myself presenting a PowerPoint independently to the whole class. That was a triumph! I have even more respect and admiration for my ELLs who are just tremendous learners and started with even less second-language knowledge than I did. Anyone who works with immigrants or ELL students should at some point become an immigrant him/herself and try to operate in a classroom setting. Your successful ELL students will become your heroes.

A nice poem shared by one lecturer:

"Utopía" 

by Eduardo Galeano

Ella está en el horizonte.

Me acerco dos pasos, ella se aleja dos pasos.

Camino diez pasos, y el horizonte se aleja diez pasos más allá.

Por mucho que yo camine, nunca la alcanzaré.

¿Para qué sirve la utopía?

Para eso sirve, para caminar.

SPREADING SEEDFOLKS

Two university sweethearts outside of UCA

One of the three prongs of my program is university coursework (the other two are school observations and a Capstone Project).  In April I eagerly enrolled in an environmental education class for professionals offered at my host university, Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA).  Many of the participants were classroom teachers, while some were informal environmental educators who work with municipal programs or NGOs, and others work in engineering, law and policy.

Last Tuesday night we convened for the last time to present our trabajos prácticos. All of the final projects were unit or lesson plans aimed at uncovering some environmental principle, problem or reality.  I was impressed by my classmates’ presentations which covered a range of topics and strategies such as interdisciplinary approaches for high schoolers on the consequences of mining, introducing water as a precious natural resource to small children, SmartBoard habitat games designed by sixth graders for first graders, a Reduce-Reuse-Recycle campaign, and a plan of study on flooding abatement in the city of Buenos Aires. 

I presented a lesson sequence on sustainable food systems and agriculture.  The final project for students in my plan is an investigation of our school meal service and the design of proposals to make it healthier and more sustainable. I would love to find a way to actually implement this curriculum at Paul Cuffee School as an extension of our study of urban community gardens and the novel Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman.  The professor had asked me to share out a bit on community gardens and urban farming in Providence, and it was great fun to describe Southside Community Land Trust southsideclt.org and our collaboration with the organization. Afterwards, a number of teachers asked me how they could find a copy of the translated version of the book, which does exist as Semillas (Paul Fleischman is so awesome). Special thanks to former PCS colleague Emily Hoyler, now of Shelburne Farms Sustainable Schools Project sustainableschoolsproject.org; Daniel Gilden, DAT Fulbright alum; and Alejandro Gagliardi (my copy editor) who all helped me with the assignment.  

Later, I took myself out to Chinese food next to UCA in the upscale Puerto Madero district, along the Río de la Plata, a mere 20-minute walk from my apartment. Not sure if the meal would be considered sustainable, but it was spicy – a rare treat in this country of delicious but mildly seasoned cuisine. 

Action shot of me presenting...not in Enviro Ed class but at an April presentation I gave at UCA with Lili on social studies instruction in the U.S. Not the most flattering shot of me either, but I love that you can see some of my former students and my classroom at PCS in the slide behind me.  

Puente de la Mujer
a new artistic bridge in honor of Argentine women, located in Puerto Madero