Windows to the Words
Team:
Roberta Vinhaes
betavinhaes@hotmail.com
Maria Luiza Murce
malu_murce@hotmail.com
Social Group:
Prof ªAlice de Oliveira Goulart
alicegolmil@gmail.com
Núcleo de Artes de Copacabana
Rua Toneleiros 21, Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Our project was developed at the Núcleo de Artes de Copacabana (Art center of Copacabana) with the teacher of literary arts and drama. She eagerly attemps to, through her class and means, go beyond reading, writing and interpretation. Her work is very personal and has as her biggest goal see her student learn more respect and himself rather than the subjects itselves. That's what won us over, making it easy for us to decide where our project would take place.
At two of our first encounters, the teacher did an activity called “The windows to my name”, where the kids must create new words with the letters found in their names and, with those words, write a short story about their heritage. Alice always tries to unite literature with a personal theme, aiming to create a bond between the students and her class.
While we watched her class, we would write down everything that we saw, felt and heard, so by the end of our first four encounters we had a large data bank about that universe we had diven into.
Taking as a start point the words that compose Alice's vocabulary, we recognized as a theme to our project: “The words are as windows that open themselves to new meanings, images, actions and discoveries necessary for the valorization of the student's indentities.”
This sentence is a great summery of our teacher's work, as she takes the words to herself in its many dimensions. An example of this was when, in one of her classes, she asked the children to create a poem with their names in it and afterwards, illustrate it, opening the children's eyes (and windows) to eachother's uniqueness.
Taking our concept sentence as reference, we created twenty experiments, which, after being used, were organized by the teacher in a hot/cold line, in order to show us which object was closest to her teaching methods. After this enlightening dynamics, we defined our party; we ought to create something that had many tabs and endless options to explore the many dimensions of the words.
Knowing what path to take, we went throught yeat another experimenting phase, this time more focused on what we had already learned to be useful for the teacher. We did another hot/cold line with the new ten experiments which brought a winner to light, and origami with endless possibilities, which would be our starting point for a final object.
Our product was an origami with thirty two tabs divided into four categories (action, character, place and adjectif) where each tab revealed a card with either an image or a word.
To buil our prototype, we studied many different mechanisms and materials and decided which worked best. We ended up doing everything with denim with cardboard inside to give form to the object. To simulate the folding we'd done on paper through sewing, we left a small spaces between the triangles of cardboard. The cards were made by heavier paper plastified, and their pockets, were acetate sewn below every tab with a bias.
During the use of the product, a student takes a card from each color (each category is represented by a different color). Having a card forom each category picked, the student does a small play aiming to make the other guess who he is, how he is, where he is and what he's doing. The object explores the dimensions of the words, the dimensions of drama and does it in a way to show the diversity of thinking found amongst the kids, appreciating what each one has that's special.
Roberta Vinhaes:
When my boyfriend and I met, in the middle of my first semester, he told me
straight away, you have to take Ana Branco next semester. He hadn't himself
taken her and recommended the class based only on the fact that I like veggie
juices and because he thought I might like the gratitude methodology. Little
did he know that this class is much more than this and little did I know, how
much I'd grow in less than six months.
This project, although it's made in pairs, involves a great family, whose home is the tent, eating habbits the “juice of light” and the only thing we all have in common, is love and respect. In such environment, developping a project becomes so much easier.
The other environment attended by me and my pair was “The word's workshop”, righteous name as in there you don't learn a word, you create it. The master of words, Alice, was our partner and honored this title because we lived a truthful partenership. Immersed in these two different universes and families we created, after a long process and many gratitudes, the origami “Windows to the words”.
Being close to so many incridible people I was overwhelmed by their wisdom and came to learn so much. I learned a new take on life (and what life!) with Ana Branco, I learned the power of Vicente's smile, I learned with Socorro that to give love you don't have to actually see a person, I learned from Lu that when I draw, part of me is put on paper, I learned from Raoni that wisdom has no age, with Taiane, that her laugh can cure it all, I learned from Malu that to pair up is when two people hold hands and decide to become one and learned from the class that you can create your own family. And I learned to thank.
The gratitudes given throughout the project were initially hard, but when I finally understood what they were, it became really easy, whan got harder was to stop thanking. It was beautiful to see that everything that happens has a consequence inside of you and that's why we're always changing and growing.
Looking back to this project, now that it's over, I can see that it represented a huge growing period for me, but not any growth, it felt different as I could watch and understand it thanks to the gratitudes.
I remember the first day of the class, when we all sat in a circle and went around it making gratitudes, one of the students thanked for the opportunity to thank. If that day, all these months back, the gratitude was already appreciated, I now find myself speechless trying to explain its importance but I can say that, it was because of it that I got to meet incredible people, being one of them, myself.
I thank Malu for having shown me that it is possible to have group work in which both parts work equally hard. I had always preferred doing individual works because of the difficulties of splitting the work equally and the divergencies of opinions. However, with this project, Malu proved me wrong. Throughout the entire semester, I have not once felt overworked or unhelpful, and given the amount of months it took us, I believe that's quite a statement. My duo has always shown worry towards me and our relationship aside from the work, and I believe that was why we managed to develop such a calm and harmonic project, because we treated each other with the love and companionship of friends as well as the respect and responsibility of business partners. All this made me see that the relationship of the pair has great influence on the result of the work. Having a second person helps you to open your mind, increases your tolerance and personal skills and lots of things are learned on both ends. Whilst before I'd much rather work alone for finding it easier to stay organized and for knowing and I am and aren't capable of, I now see that when a group work is well done, it can be much better and enriching. I have my amazing partner to thank for that!
I thank our partner Alice for having shown me the power of words. Since I first entered her classrom I knew there was something very captivating about the name “Word's Workshop”, and now, months later, I know what it is. While many other teacher teach words and to write and read, Alice teaches her students to create words, build them piece by piece, and not just to read or write them but to see past them. I am nineteen years old and feel as though I have just learnt my mother tongue. All due to the way our partner taught us to open the windows to the words. It made me see history, beaty and life in everything that surrounds us. I hope once open those windows never close again!
Maria Luiza Murce:
When I chose to enroll in Ana Branco and Vicente's project I was sure I'd
like it. Not only because of what people had already told me but because the
environment already pleased me. The tent, the teacher's joy, the “juice of
light”... All this influenced on my decision to take this path, but even though,
when I truly began this journey, I saw it went even further that what I'd
already known.
Whenever I ask myself what I learned with this project and why I enjoyed it so much, thousands of answers come to mind and make it hard to put into words.
Well, I believe the most important thing I learned through these months was to appreciate love, thanking each gesture made by the people close to me I got to realize how important this feeling truly is. Through love we can conquer it all and, Beta, my partner, was a true example of this. Our friendship, companionship and partnership was the key to the development of smooth and well planned project. I also counted on the help of incredible collaborators: Ana, Vicente, Socorru and Lu were great teachers, they managed to rescue a feeling long lost for me, a loving relationship betweem teacher and student.
I also believe I learned the true meaning of a gratitude. Many times I'd forget to return people for something good they'd done for me, many times I'd let their gesture go unnoticed. With the gratitude, I became more aware of these gestures and learned to appreciate the good things people do not just to me, but to society in general.
I will never forget everything I went through in this project, the friendships built, the mistakes that were fixed, the teacher's opinions and advices, the incredible pair I had and all the moments will be forever cherished in my heart.
Thank my pair Roberta is very difficult, through all this process I have thousands of gratitudes to her but I think thanking her for being my partner in every moment, in and outside of the project, summons it all. Therefore, I thank Beta for throughout the semester never leaving me in the lurch, for always being concerned for my well-being, my opinions... For sharing every moment with me. Making me realize that having a pair like Beta is crucial for the development of a pleasent project. We managed to exchange experiences, knowledges and to build a true friendship.
I thank our partner Alice for being always prompt to use and comment on any and everything we took her. See that Alice really cared about the evolution of our project in a good direction made me believe and fight for a result that would please her.
Partner's Evaluation:
The project developed by you (Beta and Malu) came to a conclusion that may
have as support the words of Bartolomeu Campos Queirós (Multieducação pg.
160).
“To find pleasure on working with the language is to live from it, treat it with intimicy, with no remorse, no barriers. Must be the duty of us all, its speakers and users. Feel free to speak it, play with it, unveil the misteries held within the words...
The text, and I; If I observe a word carefully, I find, within it, many other words. Therefore, each word, as it enchants me, also addresses me. I keep on discovering, unfolding, creating relationships between the new words that from her unveil. That's why I always say, it's the word that writes me.”.
Therefore, as we experimented with the students the gift we were given in form of useful design, creative and well finished, I conclude that there is only enrichment in this exchange between public schools and Universities. The objects' cards made by the girls create a link between the workshop of Literary Arts and Performing Arts; when the students are challenged to create characters, with its characteristics and, through gestures and words determine its actions and the places they are (who, how, what, where). Obs1: My point of view as an educator is transdisciplinar, as I work with texts, storys, tales, poems that cam be written, screenplayed and performed. Obs2: This year I used the story of “Alice in Wonderland”, “Guilherme Augusto Araújo Fernandes” and the tales Brazilian natives from the book “Wedding Between Heaven and Earth” by Leonardo Boff.
Disciplina: DSG 1002
Turma: 1AC
Professores: Ana Branco e Luis Vicente