diagrama

When I first arrived in Minas, I met with Tão, the director of CPCD at the office in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas. He drew this diagram for me.

Tão calls himself an educator. He studied Anthropology and taught history for many years. It is clear that his interests in folklore and folk art have had a profound effect on his organization. Tão has a slightly mischievous smile and clear, sharp eyes. He always wears a cowboy hat.

Tão explained the origin of CPCD and the proliferation of its projects. He spoke slowly and clearly in Portuguese. I understood as much as I could….

The methodology of CPCD is based on learning through play, involving the community in each child’s education, and allowing children to contribute to decisions concerning their own learning.

The basis of CPCD’s methodology is the roda, the wheel. Everyday, children and community educators sit in a circle and share stories, play games, voice concerns, sing songs, and decide what the schedule will be for the day.

A few years ago CPCD identified Araçuaí and the surrounding rural communities as a region that had an intolerable rate of illiteracy and was in need of a revolution in its education system.

CPCD created a number of projects and set up an office here in Araçuaí

Statistics show that CPCD’s intervention has been helpful.