May, 2012

[ A FREE AND YOUNG MAGAZINE]

GONZÁLEZLÓPEZSANMARTÍN

THE CHANGE AGENT

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1Contents

Anti-authoritarian Education ……………………………. 3

Interview: Vocation ……………………………………… 6

We are young we want to change the world …….... 7

Vegetarian Recipe ……………………………………….. 8

Tips for future teachers …………………………………. 10

Games ………………………………………………………12

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3Anti-authoritarian Education:

A real solution for everyone is possible

Over the years of reading andsearching information about Chileanhistory, I've realized that our country isgetting worse in terms of education.Being a teacher in Chile is difficult inmany ways, they act in accordance tocertain programs fixed by thegovernment, they have to be a figureof authority for children and in top ofthat they receive bad salaries.Education in Chile has become in abussines that only benefits rich people.Children have lost interest in learningbecause an education based oncontrol and authoritarism makes themlost their freedom and this currenteducaitonal system treats them likeobjects only with the purpose ofworking as slaves for foreigncompanies. The real purpose ofeducation should be the developmentof subjects able to think for themselves,a person with a critic thought aboutreality that can act in order totransform society.

In the middle of the XIX century in Chile,were developed two main educationalsystems. In one hand, there was theformal educational system developedby the government. This system wasmade only for rich people and neverthought for the lower class. In the otherhand, the working class peopledeveloped a very interesting kind ofeducational system without any help ofthe State (the State only wanted toeducate rich people). This systemwasbased in mutual help and

everybody

could help each other. With help of theLiberals (mostly masons) was possiblethe construction of schools in which theworking class and artisans could learnto read and writes along with manyother things.

Then in the beginning of the XXcentury, working class movementsappeared, along with anarchistlibertarians thoughts and the firstsyndical organizations. Was build theUniversidad de Chile and the firststudent’s movements appeared. InChile the anarchist thought had a biginfluence in education. Soon peoplewere able to think about the roots oftheir problems. Teachers, tailors,shoemakers, students, miners and mostof workers were united and educated.They even redacted a new

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4educational program that later wasshown to the government. Obviouslywas not well received by the presidentand he ignore their proposal, then thegovernment educational formal systemwas imposed. Was in that time wheneducation suffered a big change. Theeducational system learned by artisansand the working class in the 20's got lostand slowly became to disappear.

A couple of decades later, SalvadorAllende was elected. He was a bighope for education and working class,but the right-wing minority with help ofthe USA overthrew his government andthe military started a dictatorship.Pinochet wrote a new constitution andeducation became a business untilnow.Many years passed under a“democratic” state and now peopledon't have fear anymore. In 2006 highschool students marched for a changein education, the government solutiondidn't fix the problem. In 2011 studentswent out to the street again. In this timethey were not only high school studentsbut university and CFT students whoclaimed a change in education.Education as a right, not as a business.The secondary school studentsredacted an educational program inwhich they stated they wanted a deepchange in education, (just like teachersin the 20's) but the government didn'tcare about the program obviouslybecause they didn’t want to lose theirvery good business.

But now that we know that we arecapable to create a new kind ofeducation, and that education wouldbe created without any State

intervention just like people tried in XIXcentury, so our goal is to achieve aneducational system in which there's noauthority but yourself, an education inwhich there's no a curriculum involved,an education that create subjects notobjects. The current education onlyproduces more capitalism,discrimination, selfishness andcompetition. Is up to you and everyone of us to change it. Together westand divided we fall.

By Esteban López

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Today, in our interview section we are going to talk with an Englishteacher from “La Protectora de la Infancia” school in Puente Alto, hername is Carol Soto and she is in charge of fourth and eighth grade in thisschool.

What do you think about our educational system?-I think our educational system is not what it should be in terms of equality and cultural items.

Education in our modern society must be people's right and because of high fees some

people cannot get a quality education. Furthermore, because of certain freedom the school

has many people are discriminated because they don't stick to a certain institution profile.

The Chilean educational system is very poor in many ways, first of all the low priority given to

student's needs and the lack of participation by professionals of education at the moment of

taking important decisions, also the little commitment from the state with teachers, and the

poor relevancy that has acquired over the time this profession. It´s an unfair system that

keeps the status quo intact and makes us be socially separated from one another. It´s also a

system that make us discriminate each other, and is based on having the freedom to choose

what you want only if you have the purchasing power of paying heavy sums of money. The

only way to solve this is by making radical changes in our system, from the way we think to

the way we act.

And do you feel available to change things? I mean you are going to be a teacher, a

change agent.

It's difficult, but it's possible. As a teacher you don't have to allow the system to consume you.

You can do different lessons in order to make your student learn and take conscience about

the important issues, though it's still had because you found yourself limited by the curriculum.

Although, I strongly believe that I, as a teacher, can do some changes. As I said before, it's

just matter of finding a good practice inside the class, such as: make the students think, let

them reflect about what they like and about what it's happening in the world.

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We are young; we want to change things… It is onour veins.We, as young people must think in our culture, education, music, friends, college and try tochange it! Why just minds, if we can make a real life style change? I am talking about food; itgave us an everyday energy for doing the things we like to do. I used to think on “greenpeople” like vegetarian, as hippies. But I was wrong because it is not just the food it is yourentire life and beliefs.

This time I want to share with you a recipe of vegetarian food: Cauliflower Peas Curry or GobiMutter Curry, that I learned in my new favorite food site: http://www.vegetarianrecipes.net tryout and share with your friends and family.

Bon appetit!

There have been quite a few requests for posting Curry recipes. I prepare quite a fewvarieties of Curries regularly and they are usually quite simple to prepare and even beginnersto cooking can handle them well. Best of all, curries like Cauliflower Peas Curry or Gobi MutterCurry are usually well received and appeal easily to most.

I am a big fan and regular visitor of Sharmis Passion and try out many of the recipes posted

there. I sourced the Gobi Mutter Curry recipe from Sharmilee’s blog and it came out reallygood. Recipe is quite simple and just reading theingredients, one can guess the instructions. This one goeswell with Chapati/Puri and I found it can accompany

Rice too well. There is a nice aroma to the Curry, it’s nottoo spicy and does not have too much masala in it.

Try out and let me know if you like it.

Gobi Mutter Curry Ingredients:

Cauliflower or Gobi – 1 cup or 1 Small Sized Flower

Green Peas – 1/4 cup Tomato (big-sized) – 1 pureed Onion – 1 Finely Chopped

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8 Ginger Garlic Paste – 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp Dhaniya Powder – 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder – 1 – 1/2 tsp Salt Sugar – 1/4 tsp

Seasoning Ingredients: Oil – 2 tbsp Cinnamon – 1/2 inch piece

Cloves – 1 Fennel Seeds – 1 tsp or Fennel Powder

Time to Prepare: 30 min

How to Make Cauliflower Peas Curry:

1. Cook Cauliflower florets in a bowl containing water and a little salt for 5-8 min. Thenstrain out the water and keep aside.

Cook Green Peas in a Microwave for 5 min or cook in a pressure cooker until you heara single whistle.

2. Heat Oil in frying pan, add the seasoning ingredients mentioned above one at a time.Then add finely chopped Onion and Turmeric Powder and saute until the Onion starts

to look transparent. Then add Tomato Puree and cook for 2-3 min or until the raw smellof the Tomatoes disappears.

3. At this stage, add all powders – Red Chilli Powder, Garam Masala Powder andDhaniya Powder, Salt. Finally add Sugar, mix well, add a little water and cook for 2

minutes.4. Now add the cooked Green Peas and Cauliflower or Gobi from Step 1, close the lid

and cook for 5 minutes or until the gravy is mixed well with the Cauliflower florets andGreen Peas.

By: Paola González

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INFORMATION FOR FUTURETEACHERS

Every student of pedagogy is always desirous

of learning constantly, and we will help you onyour way to be a teacher with a little informationwhile studying, to make it more interesting andmore entertaining.

An author of interest to a student of

pedagogy is Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educatorand writer of great importance. One of his mostimportant works would be to "Pedagogy of theOppressed", which proposes a pedagogy with anew relationship between educator and studentand between social subjects.

Another big topic of interest is given by the

psychologist Jean Piaget, where his research laysimportance on the "Stages of cognitive growth,"where he noticed that there are periods or stagesof development, which are four cognitive statesof knowledge, learning along our lives. It is veryuseful to understand the human behavior, moreeven in children, and that's what your career willbe made in the years that follow.

And for the not so good readers is

recommended a few films of high quality andgood lessons. As the film "The Choir" Frenchfilm, where showing a teacher of music, whichthanks to his subject, gives different values andteaching his students, who live in an atmosphereof repression and lack of preoccupation .

Well, we hope that our support will be of

great benefit to you, our readers, later we will begiving more information and data to help on theway to be great professionals in the area ofeducation.

By Pablo San Martin

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