INTERVIEW                DATE: OCTOBER 05, 2012

INTEVIEWED:  JoEllen Simpson                   INTERVIEWER: Jefferson Caicedo

Place:  Colombo Americano North site                 Hour:  15: 17

 

Today we have DR. JoEllen Simpson who is a PhD in Linguistics and the General Director of the Centro Cultural Colombo Americano in here in Santiago de Cali.

Jefferson:  It’s been said that the new way of slavery is through no access to education or through no access to knowledge.  What’s your perception about this issue or is it possible to perceive this issue here in the Colombian context?

JoEllen: I agree, I don’t think it’s right but I agree that it happens.  I think that even at the universities the type of education that’s given at the public universities is different than the type of education that’s given in the private universities.  And I think that part of that is to keep people stupid so then they don’t ask for more things.  Fortunately though with internet more and more information is available, so the people who are self - motivated can find the information themselves and they can overcome some the limitations to the system.

Jefferson:  How can we perceive this non -access to education deeper, in which way or at what extent is it possible to perceive this like non-access to education?

JoEllen: Right, I think you can see it mostly at the public schools level in the schools.  If you look here in Cali the different between public schools and private schools… again just like with the private and public university.  Public schools have briefly resources, the professors don’t have books to work with, sometimes they don’t even have a board that can write on, the students have not enough chairs, students don’t have materials.  And if you go to private schools where people lot money to go< they have the latest technology, so that access to information, access to quality education is very different.

Jefferson: We were discussing with my peers at the university and they said that even if we access to that type of media, the information, They said that it-s like a distraction, an invasion (if we can say that) of a lot information just to get people distracted.  And I would to read a passage from the book, on page thirty-seven.  It says like this:

Being with people is nice.   But I don’t think it’s social to get a bunch of people together and then not let me talk, do you? An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports, but do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don’t< they just run the answers at you, bing , bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film –teacher.   That’s not social to me at all.

Jefferson: What your opinion about what the character said here?

JoEllen: This actually sounds like ideas… umm modern ideas.   It a virtual marking where the teacher is not even there.  I mean these ideas of film.  The... You’ve been watching a film of positives…There’s not interaction.  It was writing sixty years ago and he was talking almost about the way education is now where the teacher is no present.  I think it’s not happening in a lot of places.   Most education just go face to face from the teacher at the classroom and students are encouraged to speak, especially in Colombia.   Students are encouraged to show their ideas and to speak.  But there is a certain… where the teacher at the front of the classroom, expressing ideas and the students are just taking notes, and … (like automatized?) yes. 

Jefferson: There is another passage I want share with you to go to the end of this interview; on page sixty-eight, it says:

Better yes, give him one.  Let him forget there is such a thing as war.  If the government is inefficient, too top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it.  Peace, Mantag.  Give the people context they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how munch corn Iowa last year.  And it continues like that but I’ll stop here because of the time.   What your perception about this just read passage?

JoEllen: Yeah! Of course, you hear someone speaking about that; complains.  Ok, why may I score? Why score to memorize who much corn is produced in Iowa? Or am I here to learn how to do something? And then you so many kids today that are thinking about the literature … which is mentioned here, so is it popular culture? Is it memorizing facts? Is it… from my point of view education should be focused on giving students tools to do something.  Not just a brain full of facts but a brain that’s capable of reading information, collecting information, making decisions (4:15’)...   (Jefferson: Aha, I think something important here is like to give the students or the people the possibility to transform, to apply changes in their environment.  I don’t know if you… (JoEllen: I agree, I agree.  That’s all education should be for: to give students tools to do something at this. 

Jefferson:  Okay.  JoEllen,  ummm, I thanks to much to you for accepting this short interview and I hope that later on in the future time we are going to meet again.

JoEllen: That sounds good.  Thank you so much.