THE NICARAGUAN LITERACY CRUSADE

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Education for Political Participation, or Indoctrination for Political Power?

SCOTT HEARRON

INTRODUCTION ACTIVITY

SOLDIERS OR TEACHERS?Instructions: Look at the image

on the right and answer the questions below as best you

can.

This is an image depicting a group of Nicaraguan Literacy Instructors, known as Brigadistas, as they mobilized to teach the rural poor basic reading and writing skills.  Brigadistas were trained to venture to far flung Peasant villages, to live and work with the people there while teaching them the basics of literacy and mathematics.  This

project was began by the Nicaraguan revolutionary government, the Sandinistas (FSLN), shortly after victory in a civil war.

1A. What can you tell about the Literacy Instructors from the image?  

1B. Do the instructor's fit your mental image of what a teacher should look like?  Why or why not? 

1C. What other images or pictures have you seen that remind you of this image?  Why do they remind you of it?

1D. Examine the words to the Literacy Campaign Anthem.  How does this seem different than usual school language?

Barndt, Deborah, and Mary Ann Kainola. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade: Second War of Liberation: A Collective Project. Canadian Action for Nicaragua. Toronto: Action, 1982. P. 2.

Challenge

ACTIVITY ONESOURCING AND CONTEXTUALIZING

PRIMARY SOURCES

These three images are the first pages of a report written in 1981 by Educational specialist Dr. Charles L. Stansifer on behalf of the American Universities Field Staff. This report outlines the basics of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade of 1980: when it happened, who organized it, what caused it, and what its’ goals and effects were.

GALLERY 1.1 The Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade by Charles Stansifer.

Instructions: Look over the source document images in the gallery to the left, read the text,

then answer the accompanying questions. Then, examine the excerpt below and answer

accompanying questions.

1A. Who wrote this document?  Is it a firsthand account?  What biases or limitations might come with this perspective?  

1B. When and why was this written?  Do you think it is a reliable source to use?  Why or why not?  

2The full report outline six goals for the Literacy Crusade.  Read

over the goals then answer the questions:

“THE CRUSADE LEADERS AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CRUSADE: 1. TO ERADICATE ILLITERACY IN NICARAGUA; 2. TO CONSCIENTIZE AND POLITICIZE THE ILLITERATE POPULATION; 3. TO CONSCIENTIZE NICARAGUA’S YOUTH TO THE LIFE AND PROBLEMS OF THE RURAL POPULATION; 4. TO PREPARE FOUNDATION OF THE VICE-MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FOR ADULTS TO FOLLOW UP THE CRUSADE; 5. TO STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MASSES; 6. TO DEEPEN NATIONAL INTEGRATION”

2A. Based on these goals, what was the purpose of Nicaragua's Literacy Crusade education? 

2B. What questions do you have after reading these goals?

2C. Where might you go to find answers? 

Stansifer, Charles L. The Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade. Report no. 6. 6th ed. South America. American Universities Field Staff, 1981. P. 3.

Challenge

SOURCE, CONTEXTUALIZE, AND CLOSE READ EXCERPTS

ACTIVITY TWOInstructions: Examine the following excerpts from

Sandinista (FSLN) political statements and writings, then answer the corresponding questions.  

1This excerpt outlines the state of Nicaraguan education under the old Somoza government, according to the new FSLN government:

“ONLY 1.1 PERCENT OF THE NICARAGUAN POPULATION HAS COMPLETED PRIMARY SCHOOL.  FIFTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION HAS HAD NO SCHOOLING WHATSOEVER.  THE PROPORTION OF STUDENTS THAT LEAVE SCHOOL IN THE FIRST GRADE OR REPEAT GRADES IS EXTREMELY HIGH (73 PERCENT).  ONLY 21 PERCENT OF THE STUDENT POPULATION COMES FROM THE SECTOR OF SOCIETY AT OR BELOW THE COUNTRY’S AVERAGE.  OUT OF 200,000 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM FOURTEEN TO NINETEEN YEARS OF AGE, BARELY 20,000 ARE ENROLLED IN HIGH SCHOOL OR COMMERCIAL, VOCATIONAL, OR AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION”

1A. Based on the source information, what problems do you think the author has with the old Nicaraguan education system? 

1B. Based on your previous readings and your own thinking, how likely are you to trust this document?  

1C. Speculate on what sorts of other documents might give another perspective different from this document.  Whose voice

2This excerpt comes from a book written by two planners of the Literacy

Crusade and gives FSLN-approved reasons that education was poor under the old government.  

"THE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSAL LITERACY OR ADULT EDUCATION WAS IRRELEVANT AND POTENTIALLY THREATENING. … ILLITERACY WAS BOTH A CONDITION AND PRODUCT OF THIS SYSTEM.  IN 1979 A SPECIAL CENSUS REVEALED THAT MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION WAS ILLITERATE, A FIGURE WHICH SOARED ABOVE 85 PERCENT IN SOME RURAL AREAS.  THIS PROBLEM WAS NEVER SERIOUSLY ADDRESSED DURING THE DICTATORSHIP BECAUSE THE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSAL LITERACY WAS NEITHER POLITICALLY ADVISABLE FOR

THE MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM NOR ECONOMICALLY NECESSARY FOR ITS FUNCTIONING.”

3This final excerpt is a record of a speech given by Tomas Borgé, a FSLN government leader, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in

October of 1980.  

 “YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE PEASANTS WHO HAD GREASE SPREAD ON THEIR GENITALS SO THAT DOGS WOULD EAT THEM.  YOU COULD NOT TALK TO THE MEN WHO WERE SCALPED ALIVE WITH RAZORS AND HAD SALT AND VINEGAR RUBBED INTO THEIR WOUNDS SO THEY WOULD SUFFER UNTIL THEY DIED.  YOU CERTAINLY NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE PEASANT WOMEN WHO WERE RAPED, AS ALMOST 100 PERCENT OF THEM WERE IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES.  PROBABLY YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE PEASANTS WHO WERE BURIED ALIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS.  YOU DON’T KNOW THE INCREDIBLY HORRIBLE STATISTICS ON THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS.  YOU HAVE SPOKEN OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF VICTIMS – WE KNOW THAT THEY NUMBERED IN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS.  MORE THAN 100,000 NICARAGUANS WERE KILLED."

2A. Compare this document to the previous excerpt.  Does this author disagree or agree with the previous author?  

2B. Based on the background information from the first document,

3A. Who is the audience in this speech?  How might who the speaker is talking to affect how they talk about the old government?  

3B.How might the author have been influenced by the new

Cardenal, S. Fernando, and Valerie Miller. "Nicaragua 1980: The Battle of the ABCs." Harvard Educational Review 51, no. 1 (1981): 1-26.  P. 4.  Borge, Tomás, Carlos Fonseca, Daniel Ortega, Humberto Ortega, and Jaime Wheelock. Sandinistas Speak. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1982.

Challenge

ACTIVITY THREEEXAMINING HOW THE FSLN VIEWED

EDUCATION.  The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade faced criticism when it was launched from both within the country and internationally for

being overly political.  Rather than make it less political, Crusade planners argued that politics needed to be included.  Read the

excerpts outlining their reasons, then answer the following questions.  

1This excerpt is a quote from Fernando Cardenal, the overall leader of the Literacy Crusade, explaining why the campaign

pedagogy (teaching method) had to be political.  

"IT IS A POLITICAL PROJECT WITH PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS, NOT A PEDAGOGICAL PROJECT WITH POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.  THERE ARE NO NEUTRAL PROJECTS, NOT IN NICARAGUA, NOT IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT ANYWHERE.  EVERY SOCIAL PROJECT CARRIES WITH IT AN IDEOLOGY – IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A SYSTEM, TO REPRODUCE A SYSTEM, OR TO SUSTAIN A PROCESS OF PROFOUND CHANGE."

1A. What is the author trying to convince you of?  

1B. What is the reasoning the author uses to support his claim?  

1C. Can you think of an example that supports the Cardenal's reasoning?  Can you think of an example that contradicts it?  

2This is an excerpt from a book written about the Literacy Crusade by Crusade planners, outlining how politics and education should come together in Fernando Cardenal's

philosophy.  

“EDUCATION, THEREFORE, MUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE CHARGE OF

THEIR LIVES, TO LEARN TO BECOME INFORMED AND EFFECTIVE DECISION

MAKERS, AND TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLES AS RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

POSSESSING RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS … EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION MEANS PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF AND CONTROL OVER SOCIETY’S ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL FORCES IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THEIR FULL PARTICIPATION IN THE CREATION OF THE NEW NATION.  LITERACY AND PERMANENT PROGRAMS OF ADULT LEARNING

ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO THESE GOALS.  WE BELIEVE THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE BUILDING OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IN WHICH PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE

CONSCIOUSLY AND CRITICALLY IN NATIONAL DECISION MAKING.”

2A. Does this document support the position Cardenal takes in the previous document?  Why or why not?  

2B.Compare the idea of "maintaining, reproducing, or profoundly changing" a system from Document 1 to the ideas about education and democracy in this document.  What would the Nicaraguan crusade be?

2C. Does the author believe in Cardenal's philosophy?  Should we trust this document more or less based on that? Why or why not?  

Hirshon, Sheryl L., and Judy Butler. And Also Teach Them to Read = Y, Tambien, Enséñeles a Leer. Westport, CT: L. Hill, 1983. Pg. 7Cardenal, S. Fernando, and Valerie Miller. "Nicaragua 1980: The Battle of the ABCs." Harvard Educational Review 51, no. 1 (1981). P. 6.

ACTIVITY FOURCLOSE READ PRIMARY SOURCES.

During the Literacy Crusade, volunteer instructors used a government-issued instructional workbook to help them

teach the basics of reading.  These workbooks were all based around a theme and were printed with pictures representing this theme.  Examine the following images of the workbook,

then use them to answer the following questions on the right. Images accompanied every Lesson in the workbook.  This is the

image for the Lesson 3.  Examine it, then answer the last questions.  

Republica De Nicaragua. Cruzada Nacional De Alfabetizacion. Ministerio De Educacion. El Amancer Del Pueblo. Republica De Nicaragua, 1980. 

Workbook Page 29

GALLERY 1.2 El Amancer del Pueblo (Sunrise of the People) Lesson 3

1A. Does the author of the workbook seem to agree with how Fernando Cardenal thought about education?  Explain your reasoning.  

1B. Does this workbook support a specific group or promote anyone in particular?  Do you see any issues with a government-made book supporting one group?  

2A. What do you see in the picture?  How does the picture relate to the lesson? 

2B. Does the picture send a political message of its own, different from the one in the written words of the workbook?  Why or why not?

ACTIVITY FIVEEXAMINING THE MULTIPLE

PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHERS.  

Most of the actual instructors in the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade were usually Brigadistas, volunteer teachers who primarily came from High

Schools and Colleges.  These youthful instructors, some as young as 13, did the bulk of actual teaching and spent 5 months living with poor rural families while teaching them.  They brought a variety of perspectives to the Crusade and did not always agree with the government leaders.  Read their accounts

and examine the differences in perspective.  

1This is an excerpt from a Brigadista talking about what they took away

from living for 5 months with a peasant (campesino) family.  

“THE EXPERIENCE I TREASURED THE MOST WAS LIVING WITH MY CAMPESINO FAMILY, ADAPTING TO THEIR WAY OF LIFE … IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EDUCATION – LIVING DIRECTLY WITH THEM, KNOWING EXACTLY HOW THEY LIVED – HOW THEY THOUGHT – HOW THEY SPOKE – HOW THEY EXPRESSED THEMSELVES.”

2This is an excerpt talking about why a pair of teachers decided to become

instructors in the campaign.  

“MANY OF THE TEACHERS FROM THE INSTITUTE WORKED IN THE NATIONAL LITERACY CRUSADE.  MY WIFE

AND I DECIDED TO JOIN THE CRUSADE ALSO. AS CHRISTIANS, WE FOLLOWED THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE TO

TEACH THOSE WHO DID NOT KNOW AND ALSO, AS FOLLOWERS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SANDINISTA

REVOLUTION, WE WANTED TO HELP CONVEY THESE PRINCIPLES TO THOSE WHO DID NOT KNOW THEM.”

3This is an excerpt where a Brigadista describes part of their "teaching"

duties in the poor rural villages.  

“THE ‘CAMPESINOS’ HAD ORGANIZED TO RECEIVE US AND PART OF OUR WORK WAS TO HELP THOSE FIRST COMMITTEES EXPAND INTO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, FARMWORKERS

ASSOCIATIONS, WOMEN’S GROUPS, AND PEOPLE’S MILITIA.  OR, AS THE MEMBERS OF THESE GROUPS NOW LIKE TO SAY, IT WAS DURING THE LITERACY CRUSADE THAT THEY “PUT IN THE

BATTERIES” AND GOT GOING.”

4This is an excerpt detailing what one Brigadista thought about peasants and

teaching them.

“AMONG THE PEASANTS, THE TRUTH IS THAT LIFE IS DISORGANIZED; IN THE HOUSE EVERYTHING IS STREWN ABOUT.  THE HOUSE IS FAR FROM WHERE ONE BATHES; BY THE TIME YOU GET BACK TO THE HOUSE YOU ARE DIRTY AGAIN.  THE PEASANT IS HARD TO DEAL WITH; YOU TRY TO TEACH HIM BUT HE WON’T LISTEN TO YOU AND GETS ANGRY ...  THE EXPERIENCES OF BEING A TEACHER IS NEAT, BUT SOMETIMES IT CEASES TO BE SO

NICE BECAUSE THERE ARE PEASANTS WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND – THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.  YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT CALMLY AND REPEAT AGAIN AND AGAIN.  TEACHING REQUIRES A LOT OF PATIENCE AND I

DON’T HAVE MUCH PATIENCE”

Barndt, Deborah, and Mary Ann Kainola. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade: Second War of Liberation: A Collective Project. Canadian Action for Nicaragua. Toronto: Action, 1982. 

Flora, Jan L., John Mcfadden, and Ruth Warner. "The Growth of Class Struggle: The Impact of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade on the Political Consciousness of Young Literacy

1A. What does the author probably believe about the Literacy Crusade? 

1B. What evidence does the author use to support what they

2A. What is the author saying motivated them to teach in the Literacy Crusade?  

2B. Does the author disagree with or agree with the government?  Does

3A. Based on the source information, what was this Brigadista doing when they came to villages?  

3B. Was this sort of political activity really related to teaching?

4A. What about this excerpt seems different from the others?  

4B. Do you trust this account more or less than the others based on the ways it is different?  

ACTIVITY SIXEXAMINE VIDEO SOURCES FOR

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.  During the Literacy Crusade, peasants who were taught to reading and writing skills wrote songs,

poems, and letters to express thanks for their new literacy skills.  Watch the following video, listen to

the music, and read the translated lyrics, then answer the following questions about the content of

the song.  

INTERACTIVE 1.1 Mecate - New Song of the Sandinistas

Songs like these, written during and after the Literacy Crusade, celebrate the efforts by the FSLN to teach peasants reading and writing skills.

1A. Who is singing in the video?  

1B. Who does it sound like wrote the song?  

1C. What historical events were influencing the writing of the song?  

1D. What problems do you see using this as a source to understand the perspective of the people being taught to read? Can we trust it as an accurate representation of their feelings?  

1E. Based on the background information from previous lessons, which group does this video seem to be supporting?  

1F. Why might looking at a single video not give you the whole picture about how people felt about the Literacy Campaign?  

1G. What sort of language is used in the song?  What is the singer asking the listener to do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTfk_wzSPaQ

CLOSURE ACTIVITYFINAL THINKING AND QUESTIONS 

You have read documents, listened to music, looked at images, and examined different perspectives.  These all focused on one narrow slice of education, the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade.  Discuss and

answer the final questions and think about how your understanding of the education in Nicaragua in 1980 can be applied to your thinking

about schools and learning today.  

1A. What was the purpose of education in the Literacy Crusade.  Was there a single purpose, or did groups disagree?  Explain

your thinking and argue whether the Literacy Crusade had an educational purpose.  

1B. What is the purpose of your education?  What are the goals? Is your education

political, like Fernando Cardenal argued?  

1C. Is your education fundamentally different from that of the learners in the Literacy

Crusade?  Why or why not?  

1D. Is education the same thing everywhere?  In the end, what do you think the purpose of

education is?  Explain your reasoning.

Exploring History Vol IV

University of Portland StudentsPeter Pappas, Editor

!

! When I began designing my chapter for our shared iBook, I considered only a handful of ideas before settling on the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade.  Having spent the better part of the last year researching the campaign, becoming intensively familiar with the historiography of the topic, and looking for sources, I had constructed an excellent library of documents and evidence to draw from.  The iBook design process offered an opportunity to showcase some of these findings, and choosing such a familiar topic meant that much of the grunt work had already been done.  I could focus, almost entirely, on selecting my absolute favorite documents and creating an educational experience built from those sources.

! Working within the iBook design process offered another opportunity, however.  For months, I have played the role of historian, looking into this topic to discover new understandings, and form new conclusions.  The nature of the Document Based Lesson format, which puts students into much of the same role, meant that with some careful planning, I could provide a lesson that would mirror my own experience, and offer students a chance at a history project more closely aligned with how academic historians operate.  I sequenced documents in a way that mirrored, in general execution if not in exact similarity, my own research process, and my own journey of discovery.  In my lesson, students examine some of the same secondary sources I did to gather context, come to understand the historical event through the same quotes and excerpts I used, and are given a chance to carefully examine the same primary materials I did, with a different but no less meaningful focus.

! One of the aspects of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade that drew me to the topic when selecting it for a Thesis, and again when beginning this project, was it’s relevance to both myself and to a degree, all students.  The

Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade is a story of how a nation came together — albeit in sometimes controversial ways — to better their society.  It is a story of relying on the youth to make this vision happen.  As an educator, a historical event centered around teaching and instruction naturally appeal to me.  ! But I hope that for students, the emphasis on education can bring some relevance as well.  Students spend the lion’s share of their day at school, immersed in an educational system they’ve known in some form almost as far back as they can remember.  School is a fixture in student’s lives, and a fixed one at that — a system that changes slowly, is defined by the past, and presents one narrative of what education is and what it should look like.  Creating a lesson about a project where middle- and high-school aged students not only played a vital role in a national endeavor, but also served as teachers themselves, opens up an opportunity for students to step outside this system and reflect on the differences between different ways we educate.  Perhaps, in the process, they can begin to think critically about their own education, and the structures that facilitate that education.

! Designing a book like this could be challenging at times, from a mundane technical standpoint, but that challenge never seemed so big as to obstruct the overall goal.  iBooks Author proved to be intuitive enough, for me at least, to make the real difficulty of this assignment the challenge of sequencing interesting content and providing meaningful questions to accompany that content.  Finishing the chapter was extremely rewarding, both due to the sharp professional look of the book, and the satisfaction of being able to incorporate an event I find fascinating into a new and fresh format.  This was a fresh look on a topic I have spent much time looking at already, and the new perspective was valuable and refreshing.  Knowing that I already had most of the documents I needed due to prior research additionally reinforced to me the value of the skills I have acquired to find sources in the future, for future, similar projects as this.

Scott Hearron Class of 2017

University of Portland

FINAL THOUGHTSREFLECTIONS FROM THE AUTHOR 

This eBook is a collaborative project of Peter Pappas and his Fall 2016 Social Studies Methods Class School of Education ~ University of Portland, Portland Ore.

Graduate and undergraduate level pre-service teachers were assigned the task of developing an engaging research question, researching supportive documents and curating them into a DBQ suitable for middle or high school students.

For more on this class, visit the course blog EdMethods For more on this book project and work flow tap here.

Chapters in chronological order

1. Mysterious Bronze Age Collapse by Sam Hicks

2. From Revolution to Government by Valerie Schiller

3. Imagination, Innovation & Space Exploration by Molly Pettit

4. The Real Romanovs by Kelly Marx

5. World War I: The Human Cost of Total War by Anna Harrington

6. Collectivization and Propaganda in Stalin’s Soviet Union by Clarice Terry

7. Holy Propaganda Batman! by Karina Ramirez Velazquez

8. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade by Scott Hearron

EXPLORING HISTORY: VOL IV

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Engaging questions and historic documents empower students to be the historian in the classroom.

Peter Pappas, editor School of Education ~ University of Portland

His popular blog, Copy/Paste features downloads of his instructional resources, projects and publications. Follow him at Twitter @edteck. His other multi-touch eBooks are available at here.

© Peter Pappas and his students, 2016

The authors take copyright infringement seriously. If any copyright holder has been inadvertently or unintentionally overlooked, the publisher will be pleased to remove the said material from this book at the very first opportunity.

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Cover design by Anna Harrington

Cover image: Timeless BooksBy Lin Kristensen from New Jersey, USA [CC BY 2.] via Wikimedia Commons