An Abstract of the Thesis Of

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Jessica Anderson for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology presented on October 28, 2016. Title: What Says Your Heart: Community, Learning, and Education in a Nahua Indigenous Village. Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Fina Carpena-Mendez The purpose of this thesis is to understand the experiences that Nahua children, in rural Mexico, have as they attend schools that are primarily influenced by formal Western education in relation to their own ways of learning and knowing. This research took place over the course of three months within a Nahua indigenous community. I completed fieldwork in both the local elementary school and within the community through participant observation and semi- structured interviews with children, parents, and teachers. What I found was that the ways in which the community constructed childhood, knowledge, and learning differed significantly in what they experienced within the classroom. This in turn effected the relationships that were built between the school and the community and the student’s ability to succeed and have meaningful and supportive educational experiences. The experiences that they have are in turn effected by global, national, and local political and economic trends such as the implementation of neoliberalism, and it subsequent effect on educational policies for rural communities in Mexico. This ultimately leads to an education that is colonial in nature, despite efforts of including bilingual intercultural education programs, as the system seeks to colonize the bodies and minds of these students. Thus, it is my conclusion that both community and school must work together in order to create education programs that decolonize this process through the inclusion of programs that re-center their local language, culture, and learning practices. ©Copyright by Jessica Anderson October 28, 2016 All Rights Reserved What Says Your Heart: Community, Learning, and Education in a Nahua Indigenous Village by Jessica Anderson A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented October 28, 2016 Commencement June 2017 Master of Arts thesis of Jessica Anderson presented on October 28, 2016 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Applied Anthropology Head of the School of Language, Culture, and Society Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Jessica Anderson, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author expresses sincere appreciation for the community that helped in the production of this research, for without them none of this would have been possible. Additionally, to the advisers who have provided their expertise throughout this process, and to the author’s husband for his constant support and love throughout this endeavor. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Working with Nahua Children: Methodological and Ethical Considerations .............. 15 Methods for Home and Community ........................................................................................ 20 Methods within the Classroom ................................................................................................ 27 Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................. 28 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 2: A Nahua Learning Process and the Construction of Childhood .................................. 36 Knowledge Transmission.......................................................................................................... 40 Legitimate Peripheral Participation.......................................................................................... 45 Observation.............................................................................................................................. 49 Play and Imitation .................................................................................................................... 53 Participation ............................................................................................................................. 54 The Altering of Livelihoods and Knowledge ............................................................................. 59 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 61 Chapter 3: Searching For Respect: Community and Non-Nahua Teacher Relationships within a Neoliberal School System............................................................................................................. 62 Historical Background and Influence........................................................................................ 67 Neoliberal Education Reform ................................................................................................... 72 Intercultural Education and the Effects on Teacher/Community Relationships....................... 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 85 Chapter 4: Limiting Power and Finding Balance: Resistance to Neoliberal Education Polices in Rural Mexico ................................................................................................................................ 87 Colonizing Bodies and Minds ................................................................................................... 90 Finding Balance through Decolonizing Education .................................................................... 99 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 106 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................. 108 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 113 1 Introduction My day is just beginning; it is around 7:00 am. My husband, Ian, who accompanied me in the field, is outside at the back of the house cooking our breakfast over an open flame. I am inside getting ready for school, a sheet of fabric covers the open door, and a morning breeze rustles it. I go out to the back to see how Ian is progressing with breakfast, cooking over an open flame has been a difficult to accomplish. I look out into the lush green jungle behind the house, banana, mamey, and allspice trees tower over us, laden with ripening fruit. Hens and their chicks rustle through the underbrush, scratching and pecking at the thickly covered ground. We are surrounded by trees, vines, and tropical plants. Vines creep out the sides of the house, clinging to the stones, finding their way into the cracks and into the doorways, as the jungle tries to reclaim the land. A dog wanders to the back of our house, drawn by the smell of cooking food, and it darts away as soon as it sees us. I see people through the trees, as they walk to and from their homes on the small dirt paths that wind past our house. The community is sprawled out throughout the jungle, these small paths connecting all of the homes. I can see some of the houses through the trees; some are made of concrete blocks and stones, like ours, while others are made of bamboo slats or wood. Many of them have packed dirt floors while some have concrete. As I head back inside I hear a child calling my name my name, “Yessi!” they say. I go to the door and peer out, Sabrina1, a young girl from down the street, is walking past carrying a small pail of corn. “Que haces?” I ask as she walks by. “What are you doing?” She pauses momentary and raises the pail of corn. She is going to the Santiago’s house up the street to use their electric corn grinder. The community is able to use it for a small fee, a peso for every kilo of masa. She waves and continues on her way. Other children, on similar errands run past me, they also yell my name as they pass. The home we are staying in is in El Centro, on one of the main roads in the town. The streets of El Centro are wide, paved, and steep with large rivets in them to give traction during the heavy rainstorms that flood the streets. They are heavy with foot traffic as the smaller paths feed onto the main roads. Men, young and old, walk in groups down the road as they head to the rancho to work in the fields, cutting wood or planting and maintaining crops. The young men are dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and sandals and some wear baseball hats. The older men, los abuelos, wear the 1 All names and identifying details of the people mentioned within this thesis have been changed, to the best of my ability, to maintain the confidentiality of those that I worked with. 2 local style of clothing, bright white pants and shirts made of thin cotton, sandals, and large cowboy hats. They all carry small satchels made of twine over their shoulders and machetes around their waists. As they pass, they say “neo”, “I go”, and I

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