Experiences in Malawi, Africa No. 2

Getting on the internet here is quite a task, so updates will be coming more slowly than before.

To summarize the last few days, I will begin with last Sunday, then work my way up to today. On Sunday, I slept in while everyone else went to a local church. When everyone returned, we left for the owner’s home (Annie) to have a late lunch and visit a village. The lunch was very nice, and very delicious. I sampled the fried chicken, potato salad, quiche, and some of the chocolate cake. There were no complaints from anyone, I assure you. Once lunch was over, we took a short trip to a village. In the village we visited with two dozen or so people, and were shown how the villagers live their day to day life. Life for these people is hard, to say the least. Food is minimal, and there are no amenities that could be considered convenient. A large family shares a home the size of small storage shed, where they sleep on mats of bamboo. Light is provided by filling a small medicine bottle with kerosene, drilling a hole in the top and lighting a wick that has been placed inside. Many injuries, fires, and deaths result from this method of lighting.

Despite these hardships, the people in the village seemed quite happy to have us present. They laughed and smiled nearly the entire time we were there. Two adolescent boys even performed a short skit to help explain village life. Everyone was laughing, and seemingly enjoying the experience. As I stood there, I thought about how often these people get such enjoyment out of a life plagued with misery and desolateness. I imagined it couldn’t be often. It was quite depressing, to be honest.

As we boarded the bus, I knew that the way I viewed the world would no longer be the same. I now had a dual, not mono, perception of human nature to contend with. On the one hand, I saw poverty and despair; and both made me doubt human kind. On the other hand, I truly came to believe that the way life is experienced is a matter of perception. You either wallow in misery, or you make the proverbial lemonade. While there is much more to be said about the trip to the village, it will suffice to say for now, that indeed, there may be a silver lining for people who endure hardships like those in that village and many others like it. That lining is created between their ears, and we have much to learn from them.

Over the next few days after that, I was again in the schools collecting data and teaching. Nothing exciting happened on Monday or Tuesday, though I am happy to report that I am well over 2/3 of the way complete with my data quota. There were, however, some exciting things that happened over the last two days. On Wednesday we ventured about 2 ½ hours south to Muvuu Lodge for an overnight safari getaway. We arrived around noon, and were quickly escorted across the croc-infested Shire River to the lodge and chalets we would be staying in. Soon after getting there, we took a quick tour. We saw vervet monkeys, baboons, warthogs, elephants, many birds, waterbucks, impalas, hippos, and crocs. We came back for an amazing lunch about an hour later. Afterwards we took a nice two hour siesta, and then ventured out again to see if we might see a rhino. No luck, although we did see a few sable and zebras.

We met up at sunset to have a beverage right in the middle of the savanna in which we just viewed all the wildlife. Once it was dark enough, we again ventured out with spotlights to see any nocturnal animals that might come out. We ran into a herd of elephants, which was pretty wild. We didn’t see much else worth noting, except maybe a mongoose. Once we returned to the lodge, we had another amazing meal and chatted for awhile. We were then escorted to our chalets, which were like little huts. They were stone up to about 4 feet, with mesh netting completing the rest of the wall. The ceilings were wood rafters, with a mesh roof. The place had electricity, comfy beds, and a beautiful bathroom made of stone and wood. They were pretty awesome. Even more awesome was the fact that the hippos, elephants, and crocs, could venture right on over to our chalet and hang out if they so desired. That was reason for the escort from the lodge. Pretty neat, eh?

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast, and then took a tour on the Shire (pronounced sheer-e) River. We saw tons of hippos (pun intended), an elephant, several crocodiles, birds, and even a monitor lizard. After about three hours, the tour ended and we left Muvuu to see a nearby primary school (grades 1-8). This wasn’t just any school though. This school was a model for all schools, especially those in Malawi. The school is centered on sustainability. For example, they collect water from the roofs and store them in huge tanks, grow gardens diverse in nutritional offerings, sell honey from bees they tend, and even make necklaces that are sold there at the school, as well as over at the Muvuu lodge. Most everyone in the group bought one to support the cause. All in all, the school is quite a model, and one that could really serve as a means to changing the way Malawians educate the masses. A most welcome change, I can assure you.

From the school, we headed back to Annie’s Lodge. On the way we stopped to shop at a market that sells wood carvings. Man, do those vendors like to wheel and deal. I again scored some pretty sweet carvings, like a table, salt and pepper shakers, chalices, and a bowl-like thing. We left there and stopped by a place where they make some really cool chairs, called chief chairs. They come in all shapes and sizes, and have just about any design carved you could think of. They were marvelous displays of craftsmanship, and cheap to boot. Many in the group bought one or two, but I decided I would refrain for some reason. I’m sort of regretting that, to be honest. Oh well, maybe I’ll snatch one up before I leave.

Experiences in Malawi, Africa

Today we hiked a portion of Mount Mulanje. We picked up two guides, Luscious and Wise One, who were both very experienced with the trails Mulanje offers. Luscious was a guide for the group the year prior and remembered a couple of the professors’ names from the last trip. Pretty amazing, I thought. After getting organized, we ascended a path up very steep terrain for quite some distance. At one point we encountered some baboons in the trees along the path. Being among them was surreal, to say the least. After a long ascent, we then traipsed our way down to a gushing waterfall. There we ate lunch and took a much needed break. The hike back to the bus was much easier; a relief to us all.

Once we exited the gate, we browsed wood carvings for sale by several vendors. The art of negotiation is a skill prized by the vendors, as well as the patrons they serve. I think I did quite well, having purchased several hand carved items for very reasonable prices, like cedar boxes, a walking stick, and a large wooden replica of the Earth. The whole scene was quite a spectacle. First, we walked around and asked about prices for items we were interested in. I negotiated and purchased a few items at this time. We did this for about 15 minutes, and then boarded the bus. When we did this, the vendors then gathered up items and came running toward us. The real negotiating began. The idea is to ask a price for a desired item and then offer about half or less. Most of the time, they concede. If they didn’t, we just made like we were leaving (by pulling off for a few feet). They would run alongside the bus, and then you could make another offer. We did this several times, maybe 5 or 6 at least. Everyone got in on the action. I think the vendors enjoyed the back and forth, stop and start negotiating as much as we did, seeing how they were laughing and smiling the whole time.

From there we went into Blantyre for a brief stopover at another Annie’s Lodge for tea, coffee, and cakes. This was provided for free by the owner of the lodge we are staying in, Annie. The tea was some of the best I have ever tasted. It was Chombe, export quality. I had two cups it was so good. The cakes were an assortment, with small pieces of vanilla, chocolate, and even something resembling apple pie. I tried several, but the apple pie was my favorite. It reminded me of home.

All in all, today was one of the best days of the trip so far. I am worn out. Tomorrow, we are supposed to go to church (which I’m skipping to sleep in), and then to a village to see what life there is like. From there we are eating a late lunch at Annie’s home nearby. It should be another interesting day, I’m sure.

Textbook Censorship

Authored by Lee Rakes & Nicole Lien

When dealing with the issue of power and control over school curriculum, a salient and pervasive issue that concerns teachers, administrators, and students alike is the censoring of information in textbooks. The K-12 textbook industry is largely relegated to four corporations, being Pearson, Vivendi, Reed Elsevier, and McGraw-Hill, with revenues in 2001 of more than $4 billion (Ravitch, 2004). These four corporations have several publishing companies that fall under their title. For example, Pearson owns Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley, Scott Foresman, Silver Burdett, Ginn, Prentice Hall, Modern Curriculum Press, Globe Fearon, and NCS. Driving the sales necessary to produce that $4 billion figure are the nearly 15,000 school districts in the United States. Texas and California comprise nearly 20 percent of those 15,000 districts, and thusly a great deal of influence about what subject matter is permitted or omitted in the textbooks they choose. Their sheer size coupled with the fact that they develop lists of approved texts from which local school districts can select (as do twenty-three other states) generates competition among publishers to create texts that will make the state-approved list.

As a publisher in the public education market there is incentive to produce textbooks that the largest market share is likely to adopt, in this case Texas and California, and then give the option to other states of either taking or leaving those texts. This option of take it or leave it is implemented because creating new materials would be too expensive to incur a desirable profit. “Publishers hope to recoup the costs of a big program from the sudden gush of money in a big adoption state, then turn a profit on the subsequent trickle from the ‘open territories’” (Ansary, 2004). Those companies that failed to make the list in these elusive two states are stuck recouping their loss for the next several years, usually six. Publishers who fail to make the approved textbook list for Texas and California struggle financially, thus making it even more difficult for them to compete in the next cycle of adoptions. As a result, there are only four publishers that capture a large percentage of the market. Knowing this, activist groups and other disgruntled individuals target the texts being produced and adopted in these two states due to the measures these publishers are willing to go to ensure sales. The result is textbook content printed in a manner to prevent any controversy, to the point even of self-censorship by the publisher. This self-censorship leads to distortion and outright omission of information; altering perceptions of history, science, and literature presented within texts they produce (Delfattore, 1992).

Several litigious activities have contributed to the current state of affairs regarding these censorship activities, including Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools, McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, Aguillard v. Edwards, Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, Farrell v. Hall, and Virgil v. Columbia County School Board. Each of these cases were fueled by local controversy and strongly supported and financed through powerful national organizations capable of providing the resources and clout necessary to generate animosity over textbook content (Delfattore, 1992). Each of these organizations is comprised of religious fundamentalists who are not content with the fact that ideas and information contrary to their own beliefs is being promulgated in public schools. Some of these organizations include Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, Moral Majority, American Family Association, Educational Research Analysts, and The National Legal Foundation.

In Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools (1984) Tennessee parents were concerned that the Holt-series of books used by elementary teachers that included “Cinderella,” “Goldilocks,” and the “Wizard of Oz,” violated their fundamental religious beliefs and instead promoted secular humanism. The court did not rule in favor of the plaintiffs in this particular case. However, it did result in a self-censorship from the publishers who were responsible for these “controversial” works through the removal of most of the content that had been deemed inappropriate. In McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education (1982) and Aguillard v. Edwards (1987) the pressing issue concerned evolution (considered secular humanism, and thusly a religion by fundamentalists) and the right to teach creationism (thereby balancing religious teachings). McLean’s verdict determined that the teaching of creationism violated the establishment clause, while Aguillard’s ruling made the teaching of creationism outright unconstitutional.

The Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County (1987) case initially resulted in the removal of forty-four history, social studies, and home economics textbooks from public school classrooms due to their violating the Establishment Clause, having been deemed as promoting secular humanism. The verdict was eventually overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, citing that Mobile, Alabama schools could use textbooks which purportedly promoted secular humanism so long as those texts were found to promote important secular values (tolerance, self-respect, etc). Farrell v. Hall (1987) and Virgil v. Columbia County School Board (1989) both involved school boards that had banned literary classics such as Lysistrata, Macbeth, and the Autobiography of Ben Franklin because they contained “vulgar” material. In both cases the court held that school boards could indeed prohibit material they believed too vulgar for students from entering classrooms.

To summarize, the textbook industry is one which is partially driven by the whims of individuals and activists who take issue with content that runs contrary to what they--individuals and activists--consider appropriate for America’s youth. Influence from both liberal and conservative camps work to exert control over textbook content. However, there is particular salience for religious fundamentalist groups such as Educational Research Analysts and Concerned Women for America, due to their involvement in some of the more prominent litigations that have resulted in textbook censorship. Their influence, along with that of various other groups, organizations, and individuals have culminated to ensure publishers redact content that may cause controversy or potentially offend anyone one sect of the population.

An example of such redaction may be considered when evaluating textbooks that laud the accomplishments of Helen Keller, who was born both blind and deaf and eventually overcame her disabilities with the help of her teacher Ann Sullivan. What generally is not printed in public education textbooks, however, is the fact that she was a radical socialist, joining the Socialists Party of Massachusetts in 1909 (Loewen, 1995). This example along with the aforementioned litigious activities highlight the self-censorship publishers employ to avoid any potential conflict that may arise from extremists on either side of the political continuum. This in turn produces texts that are as dull and bland as the fundamentalist to whom they cater, and consequently epitomize drudgery and disconnect by those charged with reading and teaching from them. In the end, if the intention is to discover the true depth of topics surrounding such disciplines as literature, science, and history, or simply not keel over from sheer boredom, considering alternatives to textbooks allocated for elementary and secondary education in the United States should be endeavored.

Notes:
Delfattore, J. (1992). What Johnny shouldn’t read. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Loewen, J. W. (1995). Lies My Teacher Told Me. New York: Touchstone.
Ravitch, D. (2004). The language police: How pressure groups restrict what students learn.
New York: Vintage Books.
School Data Direct Retrieved December 2, 2009 from:
http://is.gd/5aKDF