Building Community Projects
Through Literacy and the Arts
by Matt Oppenheim
Matt Oppenheim is the Title 1 Family and Community Coordinator for the Albuquerque
Public Schools in New Mexico, USA.
 
Shrii P.R. Sarkar in a deep personal meeting asked me to devote my life to the facilitation of social prama. Prama is the equipoise and equilibrium underlying all the aspects of personal and collective harmony. My path since then has been to merge a Proutist practice of social transformation with Neohumanist education. Education is a social flow that happens everywhere in cultural life. It is not just isolated behind school walls, or just the responsibility of school-teachers. The Western colonial model places social institutions in isolated cells in an attempt to thwart genuine social movements.

When we critically examine our own notions of education, and the colonizing influences that inhabit our own consciousness we begin the path to liberate education from its ensnarements. Paoulo Freire helped liberate the poor of Brazil by first having them reflect upon the forces that oppress them. Then he had them draw pictures about their ideal lives in order to reflect upon the values and processes that gave them a sense of liberation.

The next step once our minds elevate above those ensnarements is to flood our thoughts and actions with universal love. I believe in knocking down the literal and metaphorical walls of schools, encouraging educational cultures to lead by the aspiration of samaj samaja tattva, the principal of social equality and the spirit of collective social movement. What then can we do to integrate education with a flow of social transformation?

Understanding how community members and educational leaders come together in a path of transformation has been my focus of research and practice for quite a long time. This has led me to question a long-standing assumption that many Proutists have made in their own research. This assumption is that Prout work is primarily intellectual and that research is carried out by a lone researcher.

The field of participatory research inspires collective research that foregrounds the talents and skills of the collective and research that liberates and empowers the researcher through a cycle of action and reflection. Several scholars in this field emphasize indigenous research; or research that is founded on the spiritual philosophy, values and social processes of indigenous peoples. Here the leadership and wisdom of elders is recognized and social processes such as community rituals, collective problem-solving, and actions in harmony with the earth are transferred to the process of community research. I believe that our own quest for an ideologically based research paradigm has a lot to gain from indigenous based research; which like our own philosophy foregrounds the intuitive and creative; the collective and the processual.

I believe in liberating this unexamined colonizing paradigm by introducing proutists to a process I call transformative research, as well as introducing educators to transformative processes. On a very basic level, we know that our personal and collective flows are physical, psychic and spiritual. On a deeper level, we know that the expressions of our chakras and related kosas not only manifest in personal expression but in collective expression as well. The field of critical education foregrounds an experiential learning cycle that mirrors many of the highest expressions of our chakras and kosas, integrating the intuitional with the creative and innovative; the practical, the conceptual and somatic; the emotional and the psychic.

It is in this spirit that I offer the following exercises as a step in evolving an integrated practice of social transformation with experiential education. Our social flow becomes vibrant, vital and resilient when artistic aspirations and social expressions merge together; when we flow together through creative and somatic processes that heighten and give purpose to our intellectual and psychic skills.

I welcome the reader to experience the following projects and practices as an experience in the creation of education and social transformation as one project. Time and time again I have used this in mutual projects between schools and their communities. Here we can integrate the often demanding pressure to develop literacy skills with a natural process of inner joy and creative expression. As Proutists, we can paint the sometimes dry work of the Proutist researcher and intellectual with a heightened spirit of social pranah dharma, a movement in which all of our expressions come to life in social movements.

Each of these projects encourages the participant to think about their individual and social lives as integrated. The first step is reflecting upon the cherished values, experiences and cultural life of their ancestors; their present lives, and then to consider what values, experiences and culture they want to pass down to future generations. Each of these projects also inspires people together to create a collective social flow as a way to return back to the spirit of community that was once an integral part of their heritage.

Let me know if I can help you and the schools and communities you work with in any of the following processes. And I hope you feel the joy and deep inspiration for both social change and education reform that comes out of experiential education.
Matt Oppenheim <oppenmearthlink.net>
 
The “Community Story-Tree”
 
Participants bring their community history alive through an art project, developing a sculptural tree that speaks of the community’s past, present and future. Together, community members plant the tree sculpture in a special place, and then gather to share stories around the sculpture.

To begin with, families bring artifacts from their histories and share their stories, their struggles and their triumphs. Participants collect rocks and other objects from the community, interview residents and draw pictures and take photos of the special places in the community.
 
Together participants experiment with art forms; the use of clay, carving, framing, and recycled materials to create an artistic pattern reflecting the ecology and social life of the community. Within this pattern individuals use photos, family treasures and pieces of discarded objects so that the stories of families are woven into the community story.

The tree sculpture is planted during a community celebration of song, dance, poetry and art as participants reclaim the land in the name of their neighborhood. From then on, the space around the tree becomes a gathering point for school literacy, history, social studies, and art classes to shape their own stories and for community events to contribute to the ongoing story and evolution of the sculpture.
 
“Community Treasures” - Community Storybook
 
Participants share the special places, stories and people of their community through the creation of a book, using family literacy, art, and photography.

In the first stage, families discuss the important places, objects and people in their community. They may choose a special tree under which they often have a picnic, a neighbor whose house is inviting and creative, a local church, business, community center or park; or a local “hang-out” where students 		 
skateboard, share music and talk about their day. They may have special friends in the neighborhood or a grandparent who welcomes everyone into their home to eat the best home-baked cookies.

Together the family takes photos and writes stories about these special places. The community then comes together to create a book representing all the special people, objects and places in the community.

This exercise becomes s superb way to develop family literacy, to survey and understand the community better, to build teamwork and a sense of community spirit, and as a tool for students in school and their families to reflect upon the community in order to plan special events, outings and projects that build upon the treasures uncovered.
 
“Cultural Heritage Necklace”
 
  Through this exercise, participants create an artistic necklace which reflects the special values, experiences and cultural treasures of their past, present and future. First, participants think of two generations in the past to their own grandparents. They discuss and write about the special values, experiences and stories of their grandparents, then choose a bead or two that reminds them of these experiences. They list the
important events that they want to remember about their grandparents and stories that they want to pass down to their children. They then think about the same experiences with their parents, and choose a bead or two reflecting the stories their parents told them.

The third set of beads represents the present life of the participants; the stories, experiences and values that are most sacred to them. The same process continues for their own children. Parents discuss what values, experiences and stories are most important to pass down to their children’s’ generation, and then again to their children’s’ children’s’ generation.

After they have chosen beads representing the past, present and future, they combine the chosen beads with other artistic charms and trinkets, and shape their own “Heritage Necklace.” As they carry on with their daily life, they remind themselves of these special values and stories by rubbing the beads.

To celebrate the creation of these necklaces, each participant stands before the group and shares the stories enshrined in each particular bead. Participants create a community celebration by bringing all their families together to share their stories and discuss the special values and experiences shared throughout the community. These shared values and experiences create a lasting bond amongst participants and community members, creating a strong foundation with which to create future community projects together.
 
“Community Visioning” Workshop
 
Community Members (families, community residents, students, local business owners, agencies, and school staff) use guided imagery to develop a rich vision of the future of their school/community.

In this process cherished values are expressed and participants commit to important projects for the support and development of a true community spirit. Out of everyone’s imaginations a holistic picture of their community develops; and community groups are formed around common projects and themes.
 
An artist worked with the facilitator and sixteen art students to paint this mural.
 
The workshop creates an open atmosphere where each participant feels deeply valued for their contributions. More than that, shared values become incorporated into vision and mission statements in order to create a shared culture of community organizing. A deep appreciation for individual and cultural values and experiences also develops. This workshop has successfully created shared long-term community projects in Australia, New Zealand, Los Angeles, and the Ozarks of Missouri. Examples of projects include: Community Center; After School Programs; Local Economy; Environmental Programs, etc

 

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