Monday, December 17, 2007

Back with a Vengeance


It´s been a little while, but I´m back and better than ever (check out the two posts that I added right before this one). Stay tuned the next few days as I´ll be working overtime to chronicle what I´ve been up to for the past couple of weeks.

Happy Holidays,

Chas

What exactly are you doing, Chas?



While Beach Studies 101 in Salvador has brought a great deal to my life, what is driving me here in paradise has little to do with the beach. This post is dedicated to all those who have asked (and the many who are undoubtedly wondering) “Chas, what exactly are you doing other than traveling and postponing your entry into the world of work?” I hope that this will answer your questions, though anyone who knows me knows that clarity at times escapes me and attempts to communicate my ideas.

The work that I have been doing here in Salvador (Brazil) and that I plan to do in Dakar (Senegal), Capetown (South Africa) and Havana (Cuba) involves an analysis of systems of primary education and how these systems are connected to social mobility. Now for a little bit of history.

I am not exactly sure when it happened, but at some point in my academic college career I discovered that what really excited me were universal principles and concepts. As a student in Government, I found that I was constantly frustrated by models and arguments of international cooperation and conflict. Some arguments focused on the fact that inter-country relationships were based on power; other suggested that what mattered more was collaboration and cooperation. Don't get me wrong; I certainly understood (and understand) the importance of most of these theories, but it never struck a chord with my thoughts and beliefs. Additionally (and significantly) what I learned as a Government concentrator had a great deal to do with systems and how they work in relation to one another (I was provided with a very macro view of the world). This was important, but I also longed to learn about people, their decisions and how they relate to these aforementioned systems.

It was not until I began researching the topic of my undergraduate thesis that I stumbled (I use this word deliberately) onto the “concept” of social mobility (I write “concept” because it seems strange to call something so straightforward a concept). Simply defined (for the purposes of the flow of this post) social mobility is the measure of an individual's ability to improve her life within a given society. There is more to it than that (for example, how do we define “improve”?), but I believe that this explanation captures the concept in its simplest terms. The topic of my undergraduate thesis was an exploration of the link between international migration and social mobility, focusing on the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Writing the thesis was a wonderful (read: agonizing) experience, and on many days I would wake up and ask myself what exactly I was writing about. That said, the biggest and arguably most important aspect of this thesis was not the work itself, but the ideas that began swimming around in my head. The concept of social mobility proved central to the overall argument of my thesis, which left me with a desire to explore it further. What was most appealing to me was the fact that it was a truly universal concept; something that lives and breathes outside of the academic realm and affects all people.

As I was becoming more and more interested in the concept of social mobility, primary education was becoming more and more a part of my life as I made a conscious decision to pursue a position in Teach for America. Conversations that I had about the U.S. system of primary education, both with recruiters (and specifically Josh Biber) as well as my peers made it clear to me that there was a link between education and social mobility; as a look back, it is a connection that any thinking person should be able to make, but for me, it was truly a moment of clarity. Of course education plays an incredibly significant role in one's ability to improve their position in society. It's obvious. However, if it's so obvious, why is it that this is a discussion that has to be had so often in our society?

As I was accepted to Teach for America I was genuinely excited for the opportunity to find a personal answer to this question. Not that I was ready to enter with a romantic vision of what lay ahead; for some time I had received mixed reviews about the experience, largely because the challenges that are presented in the classroom. I don't presume to be “ready” for what's in store for me as I begin teaching in the Atlanta elementary school system in September 2008, but I certainly know that it will not always been fun and will definitely be one of the most challenging experiences of my life. But I digress...

It was around this time that I was notified about the Finley Fellowship. In all honesty, I cannot remember exactly what I wrote and said to the selection committee, though I do know that it was not as clear or well-organized as this post. Fortunately, while my proposal and explanation of my desire to see the world were certainly lacking, it was sufficient to be awarded the fellowship and for this I am eternally grateful to the fellowship committee. It was not until after the receiving the fellowship that I was able to further refine my proposal.

The two areas that I want to unite are social mobility and primary education. Primary education is even more important because a great deal of work that has been done on the connection between education and social mobility focuses on university-level education. While this connection is important-especially because most young people begin working after graduating from college, making college an important determining factor in which occupations the student has the ability to enter, which in turn determines (at least in the initial phase) the individual's ability to improve his or her life-what is clear to me, both in the U.S. and abroad, is that university-level education is not an appropriate starting point for this type of analysis. This is largely because the quality of education that students receive in the levels of education prior to college determine the quality of the schools that these students can enter.

Hopefully that was at least somewhat clear.

As that should explain why I have chosen primary education specifically as a point of focus, the question arises of why have I chosen these four aforementioned countries? The simplest answer is that they are all four places that I have the desire to visit and (outside of Brazil) I have never had the opportunity to. There are more specific reasons as well. As I speak Portuguese (capably), Spanish (functionally) and am currently learning French, each country gives me the opportunity to spend an extensive period of time using each language (including English). Additionally, and specific to the research, there is an important racial component, as each of these four destinations is both racially and ethnically diverse, which has a significant (though not always obvious) impact on the way primary education is structured.

In terms of how exactly this “research” is structured, I've broken it down into three parts: a general literature review to both familiarize myself with the most important aspects of primary education (from an international perspective) and ensure that the work that I'm doing is relevant; collecting data from each country including curricular materials from elementary schools and historical data on student performance; interviews with teachers, principals and administrators in each country. The first phase of this research began in the weeks and months before I began my travels, though it continues presently and will continue throughout the entirety of my trip. For me, the most valuable aspect of the research is the third part, because it involves perspectives and experiences that I will not find in books or reports. Since I've been here in Salvador I've conducted 15 of these interviews, which have ranged from 20 minutes to nearly 2 hours. Each one has given me valuable insight into the conditions of and challenges faced by Brazil's (and specifically, Salvador's) system of primary education.

The essence of the research is to determine what factors allow “good” schools to prepare their students properly (and conversely, what “bad” schools are lacking in order to give their students the proper preparation). It is research that I am doing without a concrete thesis. Of course, I've got my own ideas about what factors are most important to ensuring that students receive a good education and are prepared for the next level of schooling. That said, I see greater value in the work as a collection of data and information for future use.

I'm no fool; this is very important work that should be done by someone much more qualified and experienced than I am. As it is, however, I am the privileged recipient of this opportunity, and I plan to make the most of it. There is certainly a great deal that I still don't understand about the functioning of these systems of primary education and especially how they are linked to social mobility. My only hope is that with my skill set, dedication and resources (thank you again, Finley Fellowship Committee) I will be able to produce something that will be of use to somebody.

Salvador Homecoming




My triumphant return to Salvador didn't exactly start out as I had hoped or expected. After waiting a couple of hours for my flight to board (note to the international traveler: you will be hardpressed to find a domestic flight in Brazil that leaves on time) I stepped onto a plane that looked like it had seen its best days a few decades ago. It was a small plane, commissioned by OceanAir (the fourth largest airline behind Gol, Tam, and Varig-which is now owned by Gol), which prior to purchasing my ticket, I had never heard of (well done, Chas). Just about every aspect of the plane looked well “broken in.” To make matters worse, as the plane accelerated to take off, several different parts of the plane's structure began to rattle. I'm usually not one to worry (especially while flying, my mentality is one of faith in God and his plan for me), but I could not help but think that this might not be my day. A little morbid I know. To make matters even worse, about halfway through the flight, I was awakened by one of the flight attendants yelling at the passenger seated behind me, a woman, about how the use of her electronic device was going to cause the plan to crash. I said a quick prayer and forced myself back to sleep.

Fortunately, and thanks to God, I arrived in Salvador safely.

The family that I am staying with is that of my good friend and teammate David “Silkk” Williams. He, as well as James Hairston, were two good friends of mine who made the journey to Brazil with me in the spring of 2006. I suppose now would be an appropriate time to reference, for anyone who is unfamiliar, my first blogging experience: bahiaboys.blogspot.com. This is a blog that I co-wrote with my two aforementioned friends, Silkk and James, and I must say, it was a pleasure sharing it with them (though it was they who did the lion's share of the blogging). But I digress...

The head of the household, and Silkk's Brazilian mother, is Tia Denize, one of the kindest and warmest people I have ever met in my life. She goes by Tia (Aunt), largely because she is like an aunt to so many who come by the family's apartment in Barra. The nuclear family is completed by her husband, Reginaldo, and their two children Reginaldo (simply known as Junior) and Jamile, though you would never know the family is so small because there are always more people in the apartment, whether its friend or family. It was a bit overwhelming the first time I came to visit Silkk during our semester abroad here in Salvador because there are rarely fewer than 8 people in the house. Along with the empregada (housekeeper), Sol (who might as well be a biological aunt) the house is always full.

A full house also means a LOT of food. There has never been a time, either when I was visiting Silkk, or since I have been here during this stretch, when there has not been food, either on the table, in the refrigerator or on the stove. It did not take me long to get used to this and I can only imagine the kind of withdrawal my body will go through once I leave Salvador.

The last couple of weeks (I arrived in Salvador on November 27) have involved a lot of reminiscing. Anyone who knows me knows that my preferred method of travel is by foot and the past two weeks have involved rediscovering some of my old paths. It's funny how the human mind works; a certain place will bring back a number of memories and it is incredible how vividly this occurs. I sometimes find myself wandering and happening upon a place and remembering exactly what I was thinking while at that place two years ago. Overall this rediscovery has been a wonderful and very rich experience (though I have yet to make it back to the Pelourinho where I got jumped. You'll have to check out the previous blog for that story in its entirety), though not without its drawbacks. My time out of Salvador has allowed me to forget exactly how hot it is out here during this time of the year (the beginning of the summer down here); on a normal day, I go through 2-3 shirts, a difficult task as I only packed 7 shirts. I've had to buy a few more shirts, but I've also had to find creative ways to dry shirts in order to “recycle.” I imagine that most of you reading this right now can hardly imagine sweltering heat at this moment.

Yes, I know you probably hate me right now. Prepare to hate me a bit more.

The most welcoming aspect of Salvador must be its beaches. Salvador is not famous for its beaches, but I have yet to visit a place where they are nicer. The combination of the weather, the geographic setting and some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen (I'm just being honest) it is too easy to pass the day on Salvador's beaches. I'll leave it at that before I start receiving death threats from those of you trying to prepare yourself for the winter to come.

For any of you who is interested in some great perspective on Salvador and Brazil in general, I would definitely recommend checking out the aforementioned blog: bahiaboys.blogspot.com. I say this because as it is my third time here, Salvador has become familiar to the point where I feel that some of my current posts will lack some of the explanation that you might be wanting. As much as I try see this place through new eyes when I write, it is difficult, especially as it is filled with so many memories already. In addition, I truly believe that the perspectives of my companeros, Silkk and James, will be enlightening and are certainly worth reading.