| Maria Luisa Borghi: | |
| Name: | Maria Luisa Borghi |
| Academic Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo |
| email: | malub.sp@uol.com.br |
| Country: | |
| Paper Title | On the Magic carpet: Teaching culture with Arabian Tales at the Elementary School in São Paulo, Brazil. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the application of the Stories of Arabian Nights for 9 and 10 year old Brazilian students in the classroom. The mythical and magical elements of the tales favor the engagement and the dialogue with the other, which promotes self-understanding and understanding of the Other. During the school year, the teacher would share Arabian tales during the "story time" in her class. The students were offered ample variety of images and stories, shortening the cultural and geographical distance between the Brazilian and the Arabian realities. It was possible to describe the pathways taken by the symbolical imagery wich became an instrument of understanding. The application of arabian stories in the classroom broadens the tolerance and importance of the Other within the development of the self. |