Culture fix-point dialogue

One day in Copenhagen, María felt ill and she decided to go to the doctor.  So, it was raining heavily, and she hires a taxi. Inside taxi there was another woman , and both of them were going to the same direction : the hospital.  They started talking each other.

A is a person from Spain. Her name is María. She is 35 years old. She is not a believer. She divorced a year ago. She has two children: a daughter and a son.   Now, she is leaving alone in the city. She likes hanging out with her friends in the weekends. She is a businesswoman. She likes reading science fiction book and watching romantic comedies.

B is a person from Turkey. Her name is Elif. She is 41 years old. She is a Muslim person. Elif , but she doesn’t wear a scarf  that covers her hair. She is married with one child. She is a doctor. She doesn’t drink alcohol and she doesn’t eat pork. Elif likes doing sport, she really likes playing tennis, and she is very good at swimming.

A: Hi! Where are you going? Because I really need to go to the hospital.

B: Don’t worry, I have to go there too.

A:  Ok. So, what is your name? Mine is María.

B: Elif. Nice to meet you.

A: Me too. Are you new in the city? Because you don’t look like Danish people at all.

B: No…Actually, I am here 4 years ago. I am almost a Danish person!

A:  I’ve asked you, because in my case I ‘m a foreign person, from Spain. I moved on here a year ago, and it was really hard for me to get to use to this new country. It is so different…

B: Really? For me it was also hard, but step by step you are getting to use.

A: Where are you from?

B: I ‘ m from Istanbul, Turkey.

A: So, you are a Muslim, right?

B: You are right. Are you Christian?

A: Well… actually not, you know, I don’t believe in any religion. I’m atheist.

B:  Why don’t you believe in God?

A:  Because, in my opinion, I can’t believe in something that I couldn’t see.

B: Unbelievable! But in the way you said, you couldn’t see your brain but you know that you have…

A: It is not the same… Do you mind if I ask you something about Muslim culture?

B: Not at all. You can ask whatever you want.

A: Ok, if you are Muslim , why don’t you use scarf? It seems strange for me.

B: Well…Actually it is not necessary wearing a scarf, if your option as Muslim. Nobody can judge you if you don’t wear a scarf.

A: Really? I didn’t know that…But is there some restrictions about food or drinks , isn’t?

B: Of course. For example, I don’t eat pork and I don’t drink alcohol.

They arrived to the hospital, and María was waiting for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when suddenly she saw Elif with a white coat. She was her doctor!

In the lesson of "Democratic Citizenship" Ilknur and me created this dialogue after having a look at these the criterias for socratic dialogue made by Dorete Kallesoe:

Dialogue Teaching : 

The teacher should ask open questions which enables students to create a dialogue

The Teacher as the Leader of Conversation:

Teacher should be in the background, only structure the dialogue and summarize the argument.

Active Listening :

The students should listen to each other and talk each other in sensible way

Analysing Concepts :

Teacher should explain the definitions of concepts that are the base of the dialogue

The Importance of Argumentation :

The students should learn that they have to argue about their opinions and the teacher should ask students to challenge each others' opinions.

Answering Thomas's questions

• If you use Iben Jensens "Analytical model" can you somehow dissect the dialogue above into the elements in her model (cultural self-understanding and so forth).

The Spanish woman:

Cultural self-understanding	Cultural pre-understanding	Position of experience	Culture fix point
“I ‘m a foreign person, from Spain. I moved on here a year ago, and it was really hard for me to get to use to this new country. It is so different…”	“if you are Muslim , why don’t you use scarf? It seems strange for me.” "Are you new in the city? Because you don’t look like Danish people at all."	“Really? I didn’t know that…”	“ It is not the same… Do you mind if I ask you something about Muslim culture?”
“I don’t believe in any religion. I’m atheist”	“But is there some restrictions about food or drinks , isn’t?”	“…María was waiting for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when suddenly she saw Elif with a white coat. She was her doctor!”
“I can’t believe in something that I couldn’t see”	“So, you are a Muslim, right?”

The Turkish woman

Cultural self-understanding	Cultural pre-understanding	Position of experience	Culture fix point
“Unbelievable! But in the way you said, you couldn’t see your brain but you know that you have…”	“Are you Christian?”	“and María was waiting for the doctor. But, it was a surprise when suddenly she saw Elif with a white coat. She was her doctor!”	“Actually it is not necessary wearing a scarf, if your option as Muslim.” “Why don’t you believe in God?” “Nobody can judge you if you don’t wear a scarf.”
“I don’t eat pork and I don’t drink alcohol.”

• Do you think it is it a good way of analysing communication? And why

Yes, I consider that analytical model is a good way because you can discover what we think about other cultures ( such as prejudices or stereotypes), how we consider within our own culture ( self-understanding), and the main difference between our culture and others. In that sense , we can comprehend better what is going on when people from different nationalities are speaking: what is said (explicit) and what is thought ( implicit).

• The way of telling a fictional story is that an easier way of discussing cultural issues? Are there some things to be aware about when doing it?

As far I'm concerned, I think that inventing a story is easier in order to be much more aware of pre-understandings. When you imagine other situation, you are trying to be less subjective and more objetive, that is the aim: to clarify our self-understanding, prejudices, etc. 

A Spanish folk tale

The life of "Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities" (better known as "Lazarillo de Tormes") is an anonymous Spanish novel, written in first person  It is an autobiographical story about a child called Lázaro de Tormes, in the sixteenth century, from birth and childhood to his marriage, and also in his adulthood.

The reason why Lázaro is called " de Tormes" is because Lazarus was born in Salamanca, right next to the river Tormes( Spain). Below you can see where is Salamanca in a spanish map:

 He was very poor and since childhood had to fend for himself, since he lost his father and his mother could not maintain him. He did not live in a happy world: but he was smart and witty.

In the tale Lazarus had to serve a number of masters who had to cheat in order to survive, so we spent a lot of hunger and hardship. 

This novel was written for adults, however, there are many things in it that may appeal to children, because a child is the protagonist. But there is a lot of adaptions to children. 

We have chosen one of them. Here you can see the page http://www.anayainfantilyjuvenil.com/catalogos/capitulos_promocion/IJ00196001_9999990314.pdf

A history that has survived many years being one of the most widely read books of all time. A book I like and entertains, it also shows how people lived at that time, making young readers appreciate what they have.

It is therefore a highly recommended book for ages 9 to 12.

The tale has seven chapters:


Chapter 1.-Lazarus and the blind. The central idea is the evolution of Lazarus, who goes from being an innocent child, without knowledge of life, to become the paradigm of "rogue" young boy must fend for himself in life to eat each day. A constant reference will be the "hunger".
 Lazarus devotes all its efforts to deceive the blind, a man very clever, to get some food or wine each day. At the end of the treaty, Lazarus , after he tricked his master and leaving him alone.

Chapter 2.-Lazaro and Maqueda cleric. The clerics is petty and miserable, that refuses to adequately feed his servant, and he is keeping few foods that are in his house in a locked chest. Lazarus, once again gripped by hunger , he decided to be more clever if he wants to gain a piece of bread to put in their mouth. Finally, the cleric aware of the deception and theft decided prescind from his services.

Chapter 3.-Lazarus and a squire. The squire is a low level noble who is living in the poverty but that still tries to maintain a false image of tranquility, respectability and wealth. Lazarus does not understand the pretensions of him master, but feels sorry for him and feed him many times. Due to bets, the squire flees from the city. So, this time the master leaves Lazarus.

Chapter 4.-Lazarus and a friar of the Merced. Lazarus talks about his new love, a friar of the Merced no friend of the duties of a priest and spent the day attending to and fro "certain businesses" whose nature is never clarified. In addition, the treaty concludes: "For these and other things that do not count, I left my master." This ending leaves all possibilities open: what are those "little things" by Lazarus decided to leave the friar?

Chapter 5. - Lazarus and a pardoner. The pardoner was a priest who used to walk the parishes selling bulls, papal indulgences that allowed those who had not bought that meet certain religious precepts (like fasting, abstaining from meat during Lent, etc..). Lazarus describes the dirty tricks used by the priest  without any real religious feeling just for getting good profits.

Chapter 6. - Lazarus with a chaplain. Again, the master of Lazarus is a religious. In this case, the chaplain allows Lazarus to work as a water carrier for the city. Once the boy has managed benefits and may have changed his clothes, Lazarus decides to leave the job in order to find a new master.

Chapter 7. - Lazarus account the reason for your letter. After working with a sheriff (police) job that seemed too dangerous, Lazarus is at the service of an archpriest, who suggests that marries one of his servants. At last, Lazarus gets married with a servant. But there is some gossip about her.

Lazarus, who knows the rumors, prefer not "hear" them. He has achieved "happiness" and some popularity in the city, yes, in exchange for giving up their honor and to allow his wife's infidelities.

Here, you can find the whole novel http://www.elhuevodechocolate.com/cuentos/cuentos6.htm. There is also a english version : http://www.lazarillodetormes.com/ingles.htm

HOW THE NEWS ENCOURAGE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IMMIGRANTS AND NATIVE PEOPLE

We have consulted two Spanish newspapers which talk about decreasing of social insurance budget because of crisis.  These two ones refer to the same event, but from different points of views.

On the one hand, in a newspaper called “Qué!” (http://www.que.es/ultimas-noticias/sociedad/201210301511-paro-afecta-doble-inmigrantes-espana-reut.html?anker_4 ) we can read this headline: “Unemployment affects double immigrants in Spain, according to the IOM” (International Organization for Migration). 

"Qué!" Newspaper

This newspaper explains this new using an objective method as it just says that more than a half of the foreigners who lost their jobs during the crisis also lack of social protection rights derived from Spanish Social Security system.

In addition, more than a half of foreign workers didn’t receive an amount equivalent to the minimum wage in 2010. A research has shown that the part of the native population who rejects immigration has grown since 2007 to 2010, achieving 20 %. Moreover, in general, the crisis and its consequences are triggering xenophobia.

ABC Newspaper 

On the other hand, there is another media that we consulted which is called “ABC” and is a conservative one. In this case, the title says: “The crisis demands savings in immigration costs “(http://www.abc.es/20121016/espana/abci-gasto-inmigracion-crisis-201210151941.html). 

Reading this paragraph, we, as readers, could think unconsciously and indirectly that immigration favors the crisis. So this is a proof that sometimes media encourages bad feelings against immigration in native population. As they make us thinking that crisis is, in some way, a consequence of the immigration.

Concurrently, if we go into the article “Understanding the alien in our midst: using citizenship education to challenge popular discourses about refugees” written by Jill Rutter, we can realize that it is something that, unfortunately, has been happening for a long time. For instance, we can read in his article that at the end of the nineteenth century “Jewish immigration emerged as a problem in popular discourse, with Arnold White, an anti-immigration author and campaigner, presenting the Jewish migrant as the pauper foreigner” in The Times newspaper. In that period the anti-immigration stance of politicians was reflected in the populist press, including the Daily Mail. Because of this, “the newcomers, referred to as aliens, were seen as: a cause of unemployment and overcrowded housing”.

As we can realize in the above information, we have always been under the influence of the media, which has encouraged as thinking what they want us to think.

Also, we could link what we have said previously with other news about immigration, which also belong to the same media, the one called “ABC” (http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20121202/abci-esclavos-espana-siglo-201211281343.html ).

In the above link we can read in the headline this: “Slaves in Spain in 2012”. It is about some cases of people who have not a residence permit and because of that they are considered as illegal people in Spain. Some people take advantage of the situation of these people, by forcing them to labor exploitation, to rape, etc. It is "a modern form of slavery".

Moreover, the ONG called Medics around The World, in November indicated that more than 50,000 people, mostly undocumented immigrant women, are victims of human trafficking in Spain for sexual exploitation, labor, organ trade, forced begging or forced commission of crimes.

The article concludes that it is essential that the government, police and society do their best to avoid whatever kind of cases where people is enslaved and deprived of their human rights and dignity.

Actually, is embarrassing that 175 years after slavery was abolished in Spain, thousands of people are victims of sexual and labor exploitation in our country.

The main reason that underlies the fact that some people exploit immigrants, and take advantage of their situation, is merely racism. Furthermore, the way that medias give importance or not to the immigrants, and specifically to those who lack of  human rights (like a home, social insurance or a dignified job), affects to what people think about it, particularly the new generations: children.

For this reason, it is vital that media challenge racism through the great power they have of influencing individual’s thoughts. And talking about children, the school has to face racism by teaching multicultural aspects.

In this point, as it is said in the text of Jill Rutter, the school has four key areas of work deal with racism:

•          Promote multi-agency working. School could collaborate with other institutions as police, youth groups, parents, several organizations.
•         Evaluate previous antiracist work.
•          Make sure effective sanctions against racism facts.
•          Use activities to develop, to promote diversity and equality.

But, the key point is that schools and teachers can not challenge racism in isolation from the rest of society, they should work with other organizations in order to be more effective.

Some examples of activities to do with the videos

We think that it could be a good idea to create several activity about the previous video :

If  the pupils aren’t from the same country, we can do:

• As teachers we can provide cultural insight before is shown in order to prepare pupils. Later they can   recognize the main characters.

• Pupils could bring some objects from their home.

• A imitating-activity, for example if the video is a dance , pupils can imitate the dancing way. It could be a introduction step, later on the teacher can explain the reason of the dancing.

•    For example,  we can plan some theme week about festivals or parties that are very known in their home country.  This could comprised  tasks devoted to understand other cultures.

•   Reflection on similarities and difference , play some of the  characters in the video.

•   A journalist ask a characters from  the video why is they did something.

Showing Spanish culture through a video

Last Monday, in our Democratic Citizenship lesson, our teacher asks us to find a video which shows something about our culture. So I decided to choose one which shows what happened the 23-F in Spain.

Firstly, before watching the video, you should know that the 23-F was an attempted coup d'état in Spain that began on 23 February 1981 and ended on the following day. It is also known as El Tejerazo from the name of its most visible figure, Antonio Tejero, who led the failed coup's most notable event: the bursting into the Spanish Congress of Deputies by a group of 200 armed officers of the Guardia Civil during the process of electing Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo to be the country's new Prime Minister. King Juan Carlos I gave a nationally televised address denouncing the coup and urging the maintenance of law and the continuance of the democratically elected government. The coup soon collapsed. After holding the Parliament and cabinet hostage for 18 hours the hostage-takers surrendered the next morning without having harmed anyone.

Once you have read the above information I would also like to tell you that the following video is about a musical playd by some actors in a very famous Spanish entertainment program, called "El Hormiguero". Although it is in Spanish, you can understand what is happening because of the show. It starts in the minute 00:58, I hope you enjoy and learn something about it.