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AVALANCHE

My research takes on a much deeper meaning due to the global contingency of the Coronavirus, since all the socioeconomic and political shortcomings of the system were exposed. Inevitably my search reminds us of the immense tensions that exist between the vulnerable populations of the country and the abandonment of the state; and especially how education in these cases is fragmented to the point of being relegated to the background.

 

I would like to rethink the encounter with children from the impossibility of face-to-face communication and the synchronic encounter with them. Many of them do not have access to virtuality because they do not have 'smart' cell phones or data plans, much less computers. The technological barrier is simply another manifestation of the enormous inequality that exists between these families compared to the rest of the population of Bogotá.

 

However, this forces us to return to the idea of ​​unlearning, to give us the opportunity to propose new ways and methodologies for teaching. At first I came to think of creating a correspondence system between children, I thought of inventing a personalized radio network from which everyone could access class without having to depend on the technological infrastructure of a society that is exclusive in every way, I thought about creating non-verbal communication mechanisms.

 

How to rethink the possibilities of meeting and teaching?

 

Despite having considered all these possibilities, the school made its own decisions regarding the communication mechanism that was going to be standardized to retake classes. It was migrated to a completely virtual mode of education, however, not only were the teachers not prepared nor did they have the necessary infrastructure at home to carry out this drastic change, but also the parents did not have the conditions or the availability of time to be able to support their children in their traditional class schedules, since many of them had to go out to work and only when they returned from work at night could they accompany their children to do their homework and see what activities were they were made during the day.

 

The month that mandatory quarantine was decreed was the hardest time for everyone, the future outlook was very uncertain, survival became the number one priority for everyone.

 

However, the months passed and the commotion subsided, I contacted Professor Rosaura again in August to resume my Arts classes with them from virtuality.

 

The strategy that was used to teach the classes was given through the WhatsApp messaging application.

 

The methodology to do the class consisted of sending voice messages at a specific time within the group designated for the 201st course, in this group were the parents and siblings of the boys and girls. The classes were given through audio conversations, where each child sent an audio with their voice participating in what the teacher commented. It was a dynamic of dialogue and listening, where despite not being able to see each other, communication was very effective, because in a matter of minutes, there were avalanches of messages that arrived due to the participation of several children at the same time.

 

I continued using this methodology because it was fascinating to be able to listen to each child separately through little voice notes, it was a surreal class experience, but at the same time very beautiful and challenging in the midst of the circumstances.

 

 

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The project also sought to portray and make visible the difficulties these children experienced in terms of their education. There were difficult moments during the process since many of the children did not have internet so they could not attend classes, of 25 children in total, only about 4-6 children appeared daily to receive classes virtually, which represents only 20 % of the original total. However, and despite all the above, the children were able to continue receiving classes thanks to the immense commitment of their parents and they to learn from home and from virtuality.

 

For my part, I wondered how to continue in a coherent way with the initial purpose of creating an animation with them. You had to propose fun ways to imagine fantastic worlds, imaginary creatures and never-before-seen scenarios. His wonderful ability to fantasize in the midst of all circumstances was the key to navigating reality from fiction and vice versa.

 

"the ability to fantasize is the ability to survive" - TERESA MÉNDEZ-FAITH

Paraguayan Children's and Youth Literature of Yesterday and Today

 

That was how every week, every Monday at 12:30 PM I started giving them classes on cinema and moving images. Through different improvisation exercises from drawing and class participation, the drawings that would become the protagonists of the final animation were created.

 

I was interested in being able to explain to them the reason and why of what we were doing, I wanted to teach them the principles of photography, cinema, projection and animated images, so that when they came to see the animation projected on their school, they could understand more clearly how fantasy, play, imagination, drawing, fiction, light and science can all be intertwined in a fantastic universe that materializes when his drawings come to life.

 

We study the camera obscura, the magic lantern, the thaumatrope and zoetrope, animated cinema, cartoons, among others. Somehow I wanted to teach them that, despite the difficult circumstances of learning from home in the midst of a pandemic, the origin and principles of creation were within their reach, since countless ways are derived from drawing. image creation. It was not necessary to have a digital camera to take photos, or to have a film camera to produce images like the ones we see in movies, or to have digital equipment to observe the projection of a drawing or an image. My intention was to equip them with the tools every week to resist from analog to an era that completely depends on digital, to return to the origins of everything, that should be the way.

 

Finally, and in accordance with the idea of ​​going back to the origin, I decided to visit the school again to record it photographically and share it with them. They realized that the school was desolate, their absence was evident and weighed on the environment, they missed playing, sharing, being with their friends and being children again in their school, they wanted to return.

Colegio vacio 1
Colegio vacio 7
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Colegio vacio 6
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Colegio vacio 5
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Colegio vacio 3
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Colegio vacio 4
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Colegio vacio 2
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Then I invite you to go through my journey month by month with the children from the Progress Log, where I show them, and I tell them in detail how was the specific interaction I had with them, and what we all learned during each class.

© 2024 by Angel Hurtado.

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