God's Mercy

Vincent Van Gogh - The Starry Night

Paul Gauguin - Yellow Christ

Vincent Van Gogh would often wait for his friend
Paul Gaughin, they would converse with each other.

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As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, joy, peace, and blessings, I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to think abou​t the work of teaching and learning. The beauty of learning is that we are able to learn new ways of knowing and seeing, when we are exposed to different pieces of knowledge. I wanted to share an example of these thoughts when I watched the movie Entre Les Murs. This movie was very interesting as it showed a side of France that I was not familiar with.

This film is based on a novel, it is fictional, it is a portrait of a school. The class room shows how the outside world, is brought into the inside world of the class room. The students are multi - racial, poor immigrants, often individuals that are in the country without documentation. We can relate this classroom to any urban area. After watching this film, I was able to learn about the many issues that France is also faced with. 

Examples of these issues are:
Race
Language
Shame
Refugees
Multi - Racial Students
Homogeneity of teachers
Social  / Systemic structures
Discipline 
Relationships
Social worlds
Clashes
Cultures

Entre Les Murs

Teaching and Learning
For the purposes of teaching and learning this material to students, I decided to ask students the issues that were raised in the film. Then in groups students took the time to discuss the issue, and think how certain issues contributed to the overall outcome of the film (characters). The students then had a chance to discuss how the structures that were in place also contributed to end. 

This film was a great source of learning for me, and for the students. It shifted my perspectives to see how diverse this nation actually is. These thoughts are also related to my visit to Houston, Texas. Although on the news we hear about the crashes, crime, missing people, fires, or people who have been shot, when I visited this city I was able to walk through neighborhoods, and my interactions were very positive. The beauty, diversity and welcoming warmth of this city shows that how news media can distort our views of cities, and countries. With this thought I would like to say, that I was grateful to have the chance to watch this film. 

Dedication: The words of this being are dedicated to all beings, they are also dedicated to my children who were all born in Canada, and to those in Europe. I have been blessed with the love of American mentor-ship, I always wanted to see that these two nations would somehow become united for the purposes of a common vision. As I write these words it is my hope that we begin to realize that the humanitarian crisis is a global crisis. My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

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