Our days were filled with so much love from the students. Over the course of our 7 day stay in São Paulo, we met every single student and observed and participated in every classroom. The majority of the students were very happy to receive us, and some of the students were reluctant to interact with us. On the whole, I have to say that when young people see love modeled by adults the way Brazilians model love, they are prone to being just as loving at a young age.
The students were so eager to be out of their normal routine (as are my students when there is a substitute). Shelley and I made up a matching vocabulary activity where we wrote several words in English and a word in Portuguese; each students was then given a card and asked to find the English word that best matching the Portuguese word; students then had to read their cards aloud to the rest of the class and then explain the connection between the two cards (in English of course). Students were very reluctant to speak, but many of the students who did participate were so happy to finally use their English skills with a native speaker!
After the matching activity, we got the students in a circle and played a game of "I've Never" where a statement starting with "I've never..." is given to the group determining whether a person will change positions in the circle or stay put; if you have also done it, you switch to a new part of the circle, if you have no done it then you stay put. This activity gave us an opportunity to learn more about the kids and hear some of their stories. It also gave the students an opportunity to see that even though we are in a different country, we still have similar experiences. Some of the statements we read were:
- I've never broken a bone.
- I've neer been outside of São Paulo.
- I've never been outside of Brazil.
- I've never owned a pet.
- I've never lied to a person
- I've never regretted anything before.
Once we posed each statement, students told us their experiences about each one of those. Giving students a voice was the best part of the conversations we were having with them. They recounted stories of what it's like being at school in Brazil, the rising bullying problems in schools with no one to help them, and how they felt the educational system in Brazil did not help them prepare for the job market. They were also given opportunities to ask us questions; some of which were interesting and others comical:
- What is your first impression of Brazil?
- What Brazilian foods have you tried?
- What is the difference between the students in the U.S. and the students in Brazil?
- What do students in the U.S. do for fun?
- What is your favorite part about Brazil?
- Do you think you'll ever come back to Brazil?
- Have you ever seen rain before?
- Why did you become a teacher?
All of which were valid questions to ask, and we enjoyed answering all of them! It was too bad Will had to spend the time translating for us because if we would have spoken Portuguese or they English, our words would have been more impacting to them.
The students were so eager to be out of their normal routine (as are my students when there is a substitute). Shelley and I made up a matching vocabulary activity where we wrote several words in English and a word in Portuguese; each students was then given a card and asked to find the English word that best matching the Portuguese word; students then had to read their cards aloud to the rest of the class and then explain the connection between the two cards (in English of course). Students were very reluctant to speak, but many of the students who did participate were so happy to finally use their English skills with a native speaker!
After the matching activity, we got the students in a circle and played a game of "I've Never" where a statement starting with "I've never..." is given to the group determining whether a person will change positions in the circle or stay put; if you have also done it, you switch to a new part of the circle, if you have no done it then you stay put. This activity gave us an opportunity to learn more about the kids and hear some of their stories. It also gave the students an opportunity to see that even though we are in a different country, we still have similar experiences. Some of the statements we read were:
- I've never broken a bone.
- I've neer been outside of São Paulo.
- I've never been outside of Brazil.
- I've never owned a pet.
- I've never lied to a person
- I've never regretted anything before.
Once we posed each statement, students told us their experiences about each one of those. Giving students a voice was the best part of the conversations we were having with them. They recounted stories of what it's like being at school in Brazil, the rising bullying problems in schools with no one to help them, and how they felt the educational system in Brazil did not help them prepare for the job market. They were also given opportunities to ask us questions; some of which were interesting and others comical:
- What is your first impression of Brazil?
- What Brazilian foods have you tried?
- What is the difference between the students in the U.S. and the students in Brazil?
- What do students in the U.S. do for fun?
- What is your favorite part about Brazil?
- Do you think you'll ever come back to Brazil?
- Have you ever seen rain before?
- Why did you become a teacher?
All of which were valid questions to ask, and we enjoyed answering all of them! It was too bad Will had to spend the time translating for us because if we would have spoken Portuguese or they English, our words would have been more impacting to them.
While observing teachers, we were blessed to see such wonderful teachers in action!
Because of the many wonderful experiences Shelley and I were having, it was very difficult to say goodbye to everyone. It was emotional, it was loving and it was uplifting. To see a school with such little resources thrive in an environment where your profession is not as respected as it should be, it is truly inspiring and humbling. I thank all the teachers and Dom Jose for making our stay in Riberão Pires, São Paulo wonderful, memorable and delicious.