We are the ones thal don'l understand: seeking to comprehend what the poor are saying

Abstract

Perhaps one of the most difficult questions that professionals/mediators face with respect to their contacts with working-cJass populations is that of
understanding that popular culture is, in fact, an immediate theory, that is, an accumulated and systematized knowledge that interprets and explains reality. In this sense, even though some professionals/mediators may be respectful and attentive with the poor, the role of "tutor" is still predorninánt in the relationships with these groups. Paying careful attention to what the poor are saying is not just a question of good manners. It is also a question of completing an equation which is lopsided because it includes only the contribution of the professionaJlmediator.