Porscha Kazmierczak

Our fourth dispatch is written by Raina LaGrand, who just graduated with a degree in Women’s Studies, Sociology and Anthropology.she is a returning POAer. Noelle  Sanford also graduated in Women’s Studies and Porscha Kazmierczak also recently graduated with a degree in Theatre Directing. They all write about their experiences in teaching the children at Charles Hugo Primary School. In this  video you get a glimpse of the teaching process with the Primary school students teaching back in front of the whole school. Of Interest is the hilarioous translation between two Jabulo and Lindo from zulu to English a requirement of the process

Enjoy, Nesha Z. Haniff

Integrating Theatre into POA

There is a moment every time we arrive at a new teaching location where we go around introducing ourselves and telling what we studied at Michigan.  And every time I follow majors like Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science, Psychology, Neuroscience, or Sociology with; “Hi! I studied theatre directing,” I wonder what I’m doing here and how I fit in.   Teaching a group of 6th graders last week at Charles Hugo Primary made me realize that theatre has more than just a place in the Pedagogy of Action, it can play an integral part.  On our last day with the learners, Lungile (initially very shy and quiet with the module) announced that she was prepared to teach the entire module back to the class all by herself.  At this point the attention of the other learners had begun to waver but none of them yet had a firm enough grasp on the module to teach it back to the school, which they were required to do before the morning was up.  It was at this moment that I was presented with the incredible opportunity to combine my two passions and integrate theatre into the Pedagogy of Action.

The learners at Charles Hugo Primary assisted me in experiencing first hand the power of theatre as a tool for social change.  As Lungile began the introductory part of presenting the module, the other learners became players in the story, acting out the part of the injured friend, blood dots, soldiers, the various ways of contracting HIV, and the ways of protecting oneself from infection.  With help from our groups teachers, Randy, Simi, and myself, the learners created the world of the module from beginning to end.  Later during the lunch break I was astounded and proud to see that interactive aspects of the module had worked their way into the games the children played with their friends.  One of the games they called Cat and Mouse was in essence the lesson of how a baby can get HIV from its mother while in the womb, the only difference being that the baby was a mouse and HIV was a cat.   In the module we explain that the baby can get HIV while in the mothers belly if the bag that the baby is in breaks.  In the game version the learners hold hands in a circle to represent the bag around another learner who acts as the baby.  Then another learner on the outside of the bag plays the HIV trying to get to the baby. Cat and mouse operates in much the same way.  Another of their lunchtime games did not even differ in title.  The students immensely enjoyed the game of FACTS, where they dramatized moving closer to or further away from their goals based on the decisions they made.

Seeing the module come to life like this was a beautiful moment for me because that is when the learners fully understood the module and took ownership of their education.  That is what the Pedagogy of Action is all about.  As Professor Haniff reminds us; “the module is really about empowerment” and at that moment both the learners and myself were empowered to seize our education and pursue our dreams.  I was especially empowered because I fully felt for the first time that drama and me have a place in POA.  I have always appreciated theatre for it’s ability to bridge gaps between different people and cultures and tell a story that can be both personal and universal.  But on this trip (and many other times in life) I wonder if I’m sitting on a useless degree; if theatre can really find a place in revolution and social change.  The children at Charles Hugo showed me that it can.  That I can.  Dramatization is a form of communication that anyone can understand and own for themselves.  It is story telling, which is the oldest way of communicating and teaching.  I will forever be grateful to the children at Charles Hugo for showing me that drama can be my tool for empowerment.

Porscha Kazmierczak
Pedagogy Of Action Team Member 2012