On our way to the airport to see the amazing city of São Paulo, Brazil, we talked about what expectations we had for our host families for each other; we discussed the expectations we had for our host teachers and host schools, hoping to be matched with individuals who were both inviting (which we already knew about Brazilians in general) and informative. We contemplated what the students would be like: whether they would be just as inviting, whether they would be much like our teenagers back home, and whether they struggled with similar educational issues like our students do.
Our wonderful host teacher, William Pincerno, greeted us at the airport with his wife Amanda, and his Uncle. Amanda had a gift for Shelley and I upon arrival (pictured left). The owl in Brazil is used to symbolize knowledge and wisdom, which is also representative of the role a teacher has in the classroom. Will debriefed us on the events for the next day and asked us what our expectations were for this trip. We were happy to tell him that above all else we wanted to meet his students and work with his students; we wanted an opportunity to hear teacher concerns and to exchange not just culture but lessons as well. Will was very receptive, and Amanda tried very hard to use what little English Will had taught her to communicate with us (unfortunately, Shelley and I both wished that we had studied more Portuguese). |
The staff organized a welcome breakfast for us with the local directors and leaders. They showered us with welcoming words and filled us with mouth watering Brazilian treats: pastels, coxinhas, pudim de leite, sanduiches. To water down these delectable foods, they brought us Brazilian coffee, tea blends, fresh orange juice, guava juice and caju juice (which comes from the fruit that gives cashews).
As teachers, we are not used to others treating us like celebrities; so you can imagine how much of a shock it is to be welcomed with hugs and kisses and with every person in the room wanting to know your name and know what you can do for their community. I would have liked to know the politics that came along with who everyone was and why they had those particular questions, but maybe I'll save that for a different trip. Some of the questions they asked us were:
Have you ever been to Brazil before?
What was your first impression of Brazil?
What have you learned so far about Brazil?
What do you hope to learn from the teachers here?
What are some of the struggles teachers face in the U.S.?
Have you ever been to Brazil before?
What was your first impression of Brazil?
What have you learned so far about Brazil?
What do you hope to learn from the teachers here?
What are some of the struggles teachers face in the U.S.?
We were fortunate enough to also sit in on a professional development meeting for Portuguese language teachers, discussing reading strategies and how to get their students to make connections to everyday life through poetry. Teacher discussed strategies they have used in the classes and came up with an overall plan to implement in all of their classes for how to teach student to interpret language in poetry.
The school system in Brazil are very interesting. We learned that there are three different sessions of school: 7am to 12pm, 1pm to 5pm and 6pm to 10pm. Usually, morning and evening sessions are meant for high school and the afternoon sessions are generally meant for junior high and elementary school. Thursdays there are P.D.s for about 4 hours (yikes!). There are schools working on the way our traditional system works in the U.S., but at Dom Jose there are quite a few things different. First of all, the teachers do not have their own classrooms, they share with other teachers. This means that instead of students rotating after every period, students stay "contained" within each classroom and teachers must move from classroom to classroom. This also means that classroom environments must remain plain because several subjects use the same classroom (from middle school to high school). Students do not have textbooks, so the teacher is the sole holder of knowledge and exercise; this also means that teachers must spend time making worksheets for students, and printing their own as well (since there are only two projectors in the entire school, it's not so easy to just be able to display the worksheet on the overhead).
Much like in the U.S., elective classes (such as foreign language) are given the fewest resources and the fewest time. During our welcome breakfast, many of the Brazilian foreign language teachers expressed to me their discontent with the way the system is currently in place because it is not formed in a way that is not conducive to student learning. They indicated that even foreign language teachers have difficulty with English mastery because although they may be able to write in English and translate written word, many are unable to speak English and thus only spend time learning how to conjugate verbs; these teachers are commonly called the "Professor 'to be'" because those are the teacher who spend time only using the verb "to be" in the classroom.
Much like in the U.S., elective classes (such as foreign language) are given the fewest resources and the fewest time. During our welcome breakfast, many of the Brazilian foreign language teachers expressed to me their discontent with the way the system is currently in place because it is not formed in a way that is not conducive to student learning. They indicated that even foreign language teachers have difficulty with English mastery because although they may be able to write in English and translate written word, many are unable to speak English and thus only spend time learning how to conjugate verbs; these teachers are commonly called the "Professor 'to be'" because those are the teacher who spend time only using the verb "to be" in the classroom.
You can imagine spending a morning jam packed with questions and introductions would be tiring! Fortunately for experienced travelers like Shelley and I, we were ready to keep moving!
Interesting video at the Mercadão. Just days before a white male was arrested for shooting 9 black people in Charleston, South Carolina, I see a band playing American Rock 'N Roll in Brazil, wearing the American Confederate flag on the mic stand. I'm not sure what Brazilians think the confederate flag means, but growing up as a person of color in the U.S. it represents hate, racism and repression.
As our day ended, we had lots to consider when planning our lesson for Will's students; about American culture, about Brazilian culture and about what perceptions we would like to break down so that we may connect more as humans on the same planet, rather than us and them.