Totems of Respect
The kids punch and kick each other constantly, having never known anything but violence at home or on the street. Their behavior is only reinforced by the staff, who punish them for hitting other kids by giving them a smack! I created a project to introduce them to the idea that violence is not benefical to anyone. I helped the kids create a cardboard totem pole with cut-out totemic tribe animals to glue on. Each animal had an inscription: “I respect myself,” “I respect others,” “I keep my hands to myself,” etc. This project also introduced them to the culture of the Ifugao, a mountain people of the Phillipines. Strangely, the staff had never even heard of the Ifugao. It’d be like growing up in Florida and having never heard of the Seminole indians. The ignorance here continues to astound me.
