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Slide 2 DOING BROTHER REX PROUD: TRINIDAD CARNIVAL MAS CAMP A CULTURAL BASED MODEL OF EDUCATION? Janice B Fournillier Georgia State University Slide 3 Going beyond the findings of an ethnographic study of mas makers perceptions of teaching/learning practices in Trinidad and Tobago Carnival mas camps Geraldo Viera Senior & Geraldo Viera Junior Slide 4 One of the most terrible implications of the ethnographic approach is the insistence on fixing the object of scrutiny in static time, thereby removing the tangled nature of lived experience and promoting the idea of uncontaminated survival. This is how those generalized projections of a series of events that obscure the network of real links become established (Glissant, 1989, p. 14) BEWARE! Slide 5 Who what why how and where Brother Rex? What have others said about Brother Rex and how did it impact my knowing and belief that it is necessary to take action in order to make Brother Rex proud? What has Brother Rex said that has brought me to the realization that to know is not enough and there is need for action.? What do I know now about the research I did given what I learned from Brother Rex? Why do I think it will make Brother Rex Proud? Slide 6 ANCESTOR BROTHER REX NETTLEFORD: 1933-2010 Our ancestors have already given us the foundations on which change can be built, if we were simply to accept who and what we are (Gibbons, 2010). Slide 7 BROTHER REX REMINDS US An apt description of the typical Caribbean person, then, is that he/she is part-African, part-European, part-Asian, part-Native American but totally Caribbean. To perceive this is to understand the creative diversity which is at once cause and occasion, result and defining point of the Caribbean cultural life. (p. 1) Slide 8 WHO, WHEN, WHY, HOW, WHAT? BROTHER REX Slide 9 WHAT TOWN SAY: He was probably one of the most brilliant African thinkers of the last century. He was looking for ways to use his incredible intellectual gift to empower African people and to come to their defense and protection in a frequently hostile world. Howard Dodson Jr., director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. Slide 10 WHAT TOWN SAY: Mr. Nettleford had never considered pursuing the opportunities available to him in England: He had a one-track mind. For him returning to the Caribbean meant everything. He wanted to make contact with the wider population. To that end, he founded and ran the Trade Union Education Institute, which offered free classes to agricultural and factory workers. Alister McIntyre Slide 11 WHAT.. Mr. Nettlefords field research among the Rastas informed his work with the dance troupe as well as his seminal 1969 study of Caribbean identity, Mirror Mirror. And his reframing of the Rastafari movement helped pave the way for the worldwide explosion of Rasta-inspired reggae music in the 1970s Slide 12 WHAT.. An intellectual and creative genius whose contributions to shaping and projecting the cultural landscape of the entire Caribbean region are unquestionable. JAMAICAS PRIME MINISTER BRUCE GOLDING Slide 13 BROTHER REX S VISION OF EDUCATION A process of learning which serves firstly to open the human mind to creative thinking and action, secondly to cultivate a willingness to subject established perceptions of reality to systematic and continuing scrutiny, and thirdly to enable one to grapple with the contradictions of human condition through the creative exercise of imagination and intellect; and by so doing be able to manage, control and direct fundamental change without irreparable disruption leading to personal and social disintegration (p. 36). Slide 14 WHAT BROTHER REX SAID An apt description of the typical Caribbean person, then, is that he/she is part-African, part-European, part-Asian, part-Native American but totally Caribbean. To perceive this is to understand the creative diversity which is at once cause and occasion, result and defining point of the Caribbean cultural life. (Nettleford, 2001, p. 1) Slide 15 BROTHER REX ON EDUCATION A process of learning which serves firstly to open the human mind to creative thinking and action, secondly to cultivate a willingness to subject established perceptions of reality to systematic and continuing scrutiny, and thirdly to enable one to grapple with the contradictions of human condition through the creative exercise of imagination and intellect; and by so doing be able to manage, control and direct fundamental change without irreparable disruption leading to personal and social disintegration (1993, p. 36). Slide 16 OPENING THE HUMAN MIND TO CREATIVE THINKING WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES FROM THE RE- SEARCH DONE IN THE MAS CAMP? HOW WAS THIS BEING DONE THERE? TO WHAT ENDS? BY WHOM AND WITH WHOM? Slide 17 A PROCESS OF LEARNING TO. enable one to grapple with the contradictions of human condition through the creative exercise of imagination and intellect Slide 18 END RESULTSINDIVIDUALS WHO WILL be able to manage, control and direct fundamental change without irreparable disruption leading to personal and social disintegration Slide 19 WHAT DID I FIND IN THE MAS CAMP THAT SEEMED TO MATCH BROTHER REXS VISION FOR EDUCATION No specific space but still considered a perfect school Although some had more knowledge than others all knowledge was valued and validated In spite of competition there was collaboration Individuals continually in the process of be-coming Persons striving for perfection and continually remaking themselves In spite of the informality there were customs, rules, and standards Slide 20 WHAT DID I/EYE SEE? There is no view from nowhere Mas making taking place in the strangest of places but with the same dedication and commitment that we oh so long for in our classrooms! Slide 21 Larry: Mas maker, tutor at the university, my teacher/ co-learner, and the one who opened many gates for me Slide 22 Bogart: Jack of all trades for whom I was Lady J Slide 23 Geraldo Vierra: Mas maker/mas player, Carnival King who showed me every thing I needed to see in his camp Slide 24 Slide 25 Geraldo Vierra Senior and Junior This is how you do it son Slide 26 Geraldo Senior and daughter Slide 27 Geraldos brother: Making of a Carnival queens costume Slide 28 The work never ends: Minutes before going on stage Slide 29 Keith Carrington: Concern for detail and neatness Slide 30 Lionel Jaggessars mas camp in South Trinidad Slide 31 This galvanized shed was the mas camp and the storage room Slide 32 GETTING THE MATERIAL READY TO MAKE THE BASE FOR THE COSTUME Slide 33 The Art Shop: McFarlanes mas camp 2005 Slide 34 Participation meant: Doing the thing! Slide 35 Senor Gomez: Wire bender/teacher/mas player Slide 36 TO UNDERSTAND IS TO UNDERSTAND DIFFERENTLY My intention: Explore mas makers perceptions of the learning teaching practices involved in mas making... Instead I found myself beginning to come to understanding and value ways of knowing via the exploration of narratives using performance theories and writing as analytical tools Slide 37 WHOSE WAYS OF KNOWING? The author/narrator/grio t/Trinidadian woman/anthropolog ist/becoming native ethnographer The mas makers/actors in the field Slide 38 TWO OF THE MANY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED . How can we develop our methods of teaching to allow for flexibility, fun, enjoyment, and collaboration while we teach and learn? If we were to try teaching in such a way that the students are allowed to use the stages of mas making in the development of their curriculum, how would this affect students and teachers practices in and out of the classroom? Slide 39 TO KNOW IS NOT ENOUGH..THE JOURNEY NOW START Doing Brother Rex proud: Sankofa