Prior to stepping into the boardroom where we taught one Friday morning, I would categorize myself as a “pseudo-participant” who was not fully invested. My initial struggles with learning and teaching through the module will be coupled with my expectations, actual experiences and realizations to relate to Freire’s school of thought on the relations between the oppressors and the oppressed. Paulo Freire explains that those who are “generous” enough to empower the oppressed may not deserve the gratitude they receive for their actions. This is because their generosity is likely a much smaller act than the steps the oppressed must take to empower themselves. Being the “dominant” role, I wanted the communities schedule to work around my part time job, classes and extracurriculars, without recognizing that their lives may be more hectic than mine. As a group, we failed to put our initial community group first and in result experienced miscommunication and scheduling errors that left us scrambling. Nervous that we wouldn’t find community members to teach the module, we were lucky to find a group to share the experience with us. Collectively devoting time, we would swivel back and forth of who was thanking and giving thanks.
There were two waves of people from the Ann Arbor community willing to meet with us and learn the HIV module. The first group included an art teacher, social worker, community activist and two students. Before asking this group to teach the module back to us, we were given feedback. Something that stuck with me was the social worker, Faye’s, comment that we had to “give [the community] permission to be empowered.” We had to create a space where they could interject their own experiences within the framework provided by the module and encouraged others to apply real situations that resonate. The second group that we worked with was remarkable in the way that their personalities really radiated through every step, assuring their audience that it is safe to hug an HIV positive person with their demonstration.
Cynthia, Emily and Shawn undoubtedly gave me more than I gave them. Each had their own personal connection with HIV: Cynthia working in a HIV clinic, Emily had family friends with misconceptions and Shawn wanted to be informed for his community counseling. After teaching the module once, we broke into smaller groups to go through the six steps in more detail. Emily and Shawn had some troubles expanding some of the letters into words, but did not lack one iota of passion. This smaller group allowed us to connect more.
Their animated characters played out in the module and outshone our performance. Shawn started with the story and HIV, virtually flawless and even added facts that we had not even provided. Cynthia had it down –fact, motions, personal stories – she was all there. Emily struggled remembering some meaning of the letters, but surprisingly Shawn was behind Cynthia’s back, whispering helpful reminders. Upon reaching step six, Emily and I exchanged beaming smiles. This was her strong suite. She spoke with so much passion; tears actually trickled down a couple of our student faces. During the final step of the module, Emily brought her entire team together in a warm hug, expressed her appreciation for patient teachers and the time taken to be with the community.
The authenticity that was encapsulated in the HIV module through the teachings of Cynthia, Shawn and Emily, was the true activism advocated by Freire. It was in this instance, that as students we saw how Freire’s claim that “the word is more than just an instrument which makes dialogue possible” became a reality through the call to action undermining the entire module. Voices that are normally silenced are lifted through the module, and by speaking the truth in their own voices the world is transformed (Friere, 2000, p.87). This alternative, problem-posing education “affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming” in a reality where their unfinished character is necessary for the continuous learning that involves more than the individual. Walking away from the boardroom with my group, something finally clicked. Working with Emily and Shawn helped me overcome my “pseudo-participant” self as they put the words into action. Finally I understood the module. It is not just the memorization of six steps. The unpredictable moments we all shared as a group, were short and powerful because we had all acquired a new skill that’s purpose was to be shared.
