When: July 7-11, 2014
Where: Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Institution(s): Colégio Positivo Junior and Colégio Positivo Internacional
Facilitator(s): Doris Sommer, and Jacques Fux
From July 7-11, 2014, Doris Sommer and Jacques Fux facilitated a Pre-Texts workshop in Curitiba, Brazil for thirty people. The participants included primary school teachers, school administrators, and publishing professionals who work in schools and a publishing house that belong to Grupo Positivo. Grupo Positivo was founded in the 1970s by teachers whose work in education is guided by their shared principles of social responsibility, inclusion, and preservation of the environment.
The Curitiba workshop followed the Pre-Texts structure: all participants read the same text and used it as a starting point to create artistic interpretations. Based on the first pages of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, the participants produced plays and created music, posters, and games. They composed texts that were edited, revised, and published in various forms of literature such as poetry and stories.
At the end of the workshop the participants noted that when teachers give their students enough space to elaborate their own questions and opinions, the results can be constructive and enlightening. By participating in these activities, students develop critical skills that transcend the specific texts as they apply them to other issues and concerns that are part of the participants’ daily lives.
The workshop is already producing results: the facilitators who participated in it are implementing the Pre-Texts approach in their classrooms, reaching approximately 600 students. The trained facilitators will continue to implement the methodology of Pre-Texts to propose new ways of reading, creating art, and fostering civic engagement.
For more information on specific activities being used by facilitators in the classroom: http://blog.educacional.com.br/pre-textos/
