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"We know that we are not alone in this journey. How many compañeras and compañeros have come to these lands of ours to share their knowledge, to teach us and for us to teach them, how much they have dedicated their whole lives to share our word, our thinking, to look for ways to support us in this struggle that belongs to all of us" Manuel shares, the emotion so visible on his young face.
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"The purpose of our Zapatista education is to teach generations in the practice of autonomy and self-government to preserve our indigenous dignity. Those who come to visit our schools say that our experience is not a model nor does it fit into other pedagogical currents. Because here - literacy means to read the world and transform it..."
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He goes on. "Unlike the global trends in schools that promote the entrepreneurial mentality, merit and self-employment, our education aspires for students and young people to serve their people, and show solidarity - that knowledge does not imply social hierarchy."
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To All of You with Your Huge Hearts and Your Commitment to a Better World,
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Whether or not we, or our little ones, are going "back to school" in these end-of-summer days, the words from this Zapatista education promoter remind us that education happens not only in schools, but everywhere, and urge us to remember its true purpose. In order to weave worlds, build understanding, show up for one another, and organize ourselves, we build on the (often painful) knowledge of our histories in order to do better, through listening and asking questions, we develop our literacy for the transformation of our communities, and in service to the great, diverse community of our planet.
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We, as Schools for Chiapas, take these lessons from the communities in resistance as an ongoing inspiration for our work with them, but also the work that is ours to do to make those transformations in our own geographies as well. However distant our struggles may seem, we believe that are many lessons to be learned in the path charted by the Zapatistas. We encourage you to check out our lesson plans, follow our blog, and be in touch with us.
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