“Never to give up," is Ivetka Olahova's advice to other
Roma who are also working with Roma children.
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Ivetka has been leading Bible clubs for Roma children for 21
years, first in Sabinov, Slovakia, and now in Jarovnice, one of the largest
Roma settlements in Slovakia.
Note: This photo is
not from Slovakia, but it is of Roma children at a Bible club.
The answer is, they don't. That is not part of American culture.*
Don't we all do just what this Dutch friend did--don't we all take our culture for granted? It's hard not to. We assume all the time that people will act in certain ways and will communicate in certain ways because that's the way we do. I recently read a module that highlighted this: Cultural and Linguistic Differences: What Teachers Should Know.
For example, most teachers in America come from white, middleclass backgrounds like me. We expect kids to tell stories in a linear way--beginning, middle, end. Frankly, I have trouble following other styles of organizing information. A Latino friend, for instance, uses a circular way of telling stories or explaining ideas. This has fancy academic names--which I also didn't know called--topic association or topic chaining.
This realization makes me wonder whether she has as much trouble following my storytelling style as I have had in following hers. It also makes me wonder how, if I had students like her in a writing class, I would teach them to write in the linear way which is expected in most American academic settings while also honoring and appreciating the cultural style those students know and use so well.
Insights into this and related issues of the classroom as a foreign culture will be welcomed!
Mary VanRheenen
The first whole week or at least for the first few days the new parent(s) will also have a kraamverzorgster for whole or half days. This trained health professional will help them care for the baby, gradually having the parent(s) take on more and more responsibility. The kraamverzorgster will also prepare the beschuit met muisjes for the visitors.
And instead of handing out cigars at work, a new parent might bring biscuit met muisjes to announce the birth and share the joy.
This handout in Romanian and English is from a workshop given at the Rroma Workers Network Conference in Romania this past May.
Great news from Serbia! A new preschool for Roma children has recently been opened in the town of Leskovac, amidst great joy of celebration. This preschool is an initiative of the Roma Community Church in Leskovac in partnership with two international organisations.
The preschool consists of two groups of eight students each and will be taught by a teacher and an assistant. The teaching will be done in two languages, Romani and Serbian. At the beginning the teaching will be in Romani while students are introduced to Serbian words. Towards the end of the school year, the teaching will be done mostly in Serbian.
Pastor Misha Bakic, who is part of this initiative, says:
“For years education among the Roma people has been one of the greatest issues among our people. One of the things that is blocking Roma children from being successful in school is the fact that we speak our native language at home, which is Romani. So when the kids are starting to go to school, which uses the Serbian language as the official language, the problem is Roma kids won’t understand the Serbian language and naturally will fall behind in comparison to other kids.
“This is why we had on our hearts for many years to start a preschool education for Roma kids in which there will be a teacher who’s going to teach the kids the Serbian language, Bible lessons, hygiene, culture, good behaviour, and is going to help the kids to be able to follow the lessons and be good students.
“This is going to be a place of blessing, a place of education, and a place of the Bible. Lots of joy, lots of toys, and praises be to the Lord!”
Hello friends,
It is wonderful to be able to write to you again. On our last communication, I shared about my trip to Tim’s town. Since then, we’ve been able to arrange for Tim to experience life in our town. This has been an opportunity for me to see my town through Tim’s eyes. We have had moments of great learning. Much ink will be spilt sharing these points with you. For this week, I will focus on an experience which happened at the beginning of our tour.
I had time to prepare an itinerary for our tour of the town. I was determined to make the most of each day. To my surprise and frustration, we hardly kept true to the schedule. We stayed longer than expected in most of the activities. We were always running late.
Our visit to the museum was amazing. We spent so much time speaking with the museum guide that we never even got to the library before it closed. My stress levels shot up with every second we went beyond the scheduled time. Amazingly, Tim did not seem too bothered by this “minor” issue. Tim seemed to enjoy the experiences more the longer we spent in each activity.
I remember Tim’s words at the end of the tour. He asked, “Why do you keep on chasing the clock?” He continued, “You will tire yourself before the clock strikes. The experience is worth the time spent.” Tim’s words have lingered in my mind since his visit. I had not thought about time and events that way before.
Until we read again,
Songz
Cei tineri se întâlnesc la umbra copacilor în zilele însorite sau înăuntru când plouă. Focul poveștilor pline de suspans le încălzește inimile. Când se spune o poveste, fiecărui copil i se dă ocazia să respună povestea. Cu acest exercițiu ei devin parte din poveste. De asemenea, acest lucru îi ajută să rețină informația. Am observant un lucru: copiii își compun propria melodie pentru fiecare poveste. Ei o cântă în timp ce se joacă, în timp ce învață, sau chiar în timp ce își îndeplinesc atribuțiile casnice. Una dintre poveștile preferate ale celor în vârstă e despre cei care au întemeiat orașul. Am fost surprins să văd cum copiii au putut și ei, cu multă ușurință, să spună această poveste. Ei au inmagazinat în memorie toate întâmplările.
Există o zicală pe care copiii o repetă des: “Dacă vrei să te ascultăm, arată-ne. Nu ne spune doar!”. Ei chiar au și o melodie ritmată pentru această zicală. Ei preferă să primească informația în imagini sau video. Acest lucru mie mi se pare ciudat. Eu gândesc în cuvinte și propoziții. Imaginile mele sunt alcătuite din cuvinte și videourile mele sunt propoziții. Așa că am vrut să testez această zicală ciudată. Am văzut o fetiță venind spre casă pe bicicletă, așa că am întrebat-o cine a învățat-o să meargă pe bicicletă. Ea părea că nu înțelege întrebarea. Până la urmă, mi-a spus că a învățat când i-a văzut pe alții mergând pe bicicletă. Acest lucru mi s-a părut ciudat. La noi în oraș, copiii sunt învățați de către părinții lor sau de către frații mai mari. Un copil este asistat și susținut până când este capabil să meargă singur. Mersul pe bicicletă nu e ceva ce ei să învețe de unii singuri.
Repetiția e importantă în această comunitate. Poveștile sunt
spuse din nou și din nou, evenimentele sunt reluate și cântecele sunt cântate
iar și iar. Teatrul și muzica sunt
incorporate în povești și reprezintă adevăruri și lecții care îi ajută să dea
sens vieții. Există un cântecel pe care îl cântă copiii și care îi învață
despre pericolul de a se juca cu focul.
Casa arde (X2)
Privește acolo (X2)
Foc, foc (X2)
Toarnă apă (X2)
Acesta este un cântecel scurt, dar vioi. Este ca un
exercitiu mental pentru copii, cuvintele îi ajută să știe ce să facă în cazul
izbucnirii unui incendiu.
Iar noi, ne vom întâlni în următoarea scrisoare.
Songz
I visited Tim’s town again. I had the opportunity to observe how the children learn.
The children don't stop playing. But, I noticed that they are allowed to play with anything and everything. From sticks and stones to old appliances, almost nothing is out of bounds. They use the world around them to play. Self-discovery is part of the learning process. They pick up skills and knowledge as they play with adults and other children. I wish they had more age appropriate toys, though.
The young ones gather under the trees on sunny days & indoors when it rains. They are kept warm by the fires of the engaging stories. When the stories are told, each child is given an opportunity to retell a story. This exercise helps them to be part of the story. Also, this practice helps them retain information. I noticed the kids have their own song about their history. They sing it while playing, doing school work, even when they are doing their chores. One of the stories the elders love to tell is the story of the first settlers of the town. I was surprised how the children were able to retell that story. They had committed all the facts to memory.
There is a saying the children often repeat: “If you want us to listen, show us. Don't tell us!” They even have a catchy tune for it. They prefer information in pictures or videos. This is strange for me. I think in words and sentences. My pictures are made up of words, and my videos are sentences.
I had to test this strange saying. I saw one child riding a bike home, so I asked her who taught her to ride the bike. She seemed confused by the question. Eventually, she told me she learned by watching others ride. This was strange for me. In our town, children are taught by their parents or siblings to ride bikes. A child is coached until she is capable of riding without assistance. It is not something they explore on their own.
The house is burning (X2)
Look there (X2)
Fire, fire (X2)
Pour water (X2)
The song is brief and catchy. It is a mental fire drill for the
children. The words help them know what to do in case of a fire.
I thought our ability to read and write put us on an advantage. I misunderstood them because of our differences. There is so much we still need learn from each other. Hopefully, Tim & I will meet again.
Until we read again,
Songz
