1. Technology in the Classrooms: In the USA, even as an elementary student in a small Texas town, we had overhead projectors and a computer in the classroom. Here, they have some TVs and a computer lab. But the ability to create class content to show to students seems really limited – I’ve been teaching all of my classes with whiteboards, paper printouts, and crayons.
2. Athletics Programs: There don’t seem to be any. At all. Whatsoever. Kids here play soccer in the streets, but there is no middle school football team, no cheerleaders, no track and field, no swim team, no volleyball team – nothing. At CEU Butatã they’ve got a swimming pool, but there are no swim lanes, no kick boards, no lap clocks. It doesn’t seem to be a lack of funds, but merely a lack of tradition.
3. Teacher strikes: They happen here. Apparently pretty frequently. Class at Brasil-Japão was cancelled last week due to a teacher strike. My French classes at USP, the university, were cancelled yesterday due to a cleaning personnel strike. Teacher unions in the US, although they exist, don’t seem to be nearly as proactive as the unions here. I asked Rosana, a CEU teacher, if strikes get results – she said yes. Which could explain why they strike so often.
4. Parent Support: I’m still looking for the Brazilian version of PTA. Unconfirmed, but Open House is just a thing for us. In my class yesterday at CEU, we talked about stakeholders. One of the stakeholders that I suggested was their parents. Some students agreed but one of the student vocally disagreed with me – his parents don’t give a damn. Not to say that every American parent is invested in their child’s education – lack of parent support is definitely an issue in inner city American public schools. But it’s clear that parent’s attitudes and support of the school go a long way towards shaping a student’s attitude toward schoolwork itself.
Lisa
Austin, Texas
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