The Reading Lesson

Generations of Dutch children learned to read by means of a board featuring an illustrated series of words. In 1973, an elementary school in Amsterdam combined this traditional method with information about the modern world, such as the coup d’état in Chile in which Salvador Allende was killed, and the human rights violations highlighted by Amnesty International. In a rhythmic montage, which is set by the tempo of the music, Johan van der Keuken captures children at this school chanting the words. We see images depicting these, but also beautiful words painted on the facades of buildings in Amsterdam – love, hope, peace. Piles are being driven for the umpteenth new building, cows gambol in the meadows, the chimneys of industrial buildings spew out smoke, and children at the school watch a large building in the city burning. The cute pictures on the reading board contrast with the ominous images of smoke, and shots of children’s faces are interspersed with shocked reactions to the death of Allende. Van Der Keuken achieves a strange balance between innocence and misery, just like the drawings the pupils have made for Amnesty, which are displayed in the corridors of the school: children’s drawings of tortured people.