Mood Indigo

Yesterday we participated in a Festa Junina at the middle school and high school. Festa Junina is an annual event, related to St. Anthony, John the Baptist, St. Peter, the European midsummer and the Braziian winter! It includes costumes, food, skits, music and dance. The costumes reminded me very much of Sadie Hawkins. All the students wore “hill billy” type clothing and there was a little wedding skit by the older students with a pregnant girl trying to steal the groom from the bride at the altar. It was hysterical!
The most amazing part of the Festa Junina was the dancing. Each grade had their own dance, or quadrilha, that lasted perhaps 15 minutes. It reminded me of square dancing as the steps were all called out in the song, but much more fun! I was impressed that so many of the students knew the dances.

Vicki, Ivanete and I spent the morning visiting several local schools and the city Department of Education.

Preschool class practicing their song for the Festa Junina.

Elementary school children lining up to sing “Here Comes the Sun” for us

Ivanete and some of her friends from the Department of Education.

First year(ninth grade) students give us a Samba demonstration.

We gave a presentation to the high school teachers tonight at Ivanete’s school. The longer we are here, the more I feel we are challenging their stereotypes of Americans. Vicki and I spent time after the meeting explaining that just like them, we do not always condone our government’s actions, and they should not judge the American people based upon that.

The news is filled with scenes of the protests. It is surely an interesting time to be here in Brazil!

The hospitality of the children of Nova Campina is humbling. Two more huge parties today. The children are full of questions, from “What is your school like?” to “Do you miss your family?” to “What is God to you?”
There are no computers in the classrooms.
Only a few in the school.
Few textbooks.
Only a very small number will continue their education.

Some interesting facts I learned today:
In Brazil, the students can vote at age 16.
They can drink at 18.
They cannot drive until 18.
Many students have American names like Carol, John, Jennifer, Grace Kelly, and Victor.
They like Queen, Guns and Roses, and Justin Bieber.
They have never seen The Hunger Games, but love Harry Potter, Walking Dead, and Twilight.
Many students have cell phones, no iPhones, and they LOVE to take pictures. I have never had my picture taken so many times. I feel like a celebrity; they all want a picture with me.

At the presentation last night

Some students playing and singing for us today

Today we spent the day touring this amazing area. Here are just some of the sights from today.

Last night, we were treated to a barbecue at Ivanete’s brother’s home. It was truly one of the best barbeque’s I’ve ever attended! Everyone, young and old, danced the samba until past midnight.

A couple of observations:

Family and friends are highly valued here, more so than in the states I would venture to say. Vicki and I are constantly in awe at how warm and hospitable Ivanete’s friends have been towards us, picking us up, driving us around, making sure that we are comfortable.

The people are very politically engaged. They are aware of the burning social issues and demanding their voices be heard, hence the riots in São Paulo and Brazilia.

Better quality education is a priority for both the people and the
government. While the education budget has increased fivefold in five years, as in the states, the improvements don’t make it into the classroom. There are some highly successful initiatives, however, that I feel are making a difference, which I will discuss in a later blog(I am not sure how to spell them in Portuguese!)

Yesterday we spent the day at the school of our host teacher Ivanete Landim. Now I know what it feels like to be a celebrity. The entire school spent weeks preparing for our visit. There was a school assembly with student performances. They played the Star Spangled Banner and even had city officials present. We toured the school,and some of the classes even had parties for us. It was incredible. We felt honored and humbled by the hospitality we experienced.

Again, I was struck by the integration of music into the school as well as the miscegenation of the races.

Another point of interest is how the students are fed during the day.Student lunches are free and students eat outdoors and serve
themselves. The food is local cuisine, nothing processed and the students and teachers are all very proud of it and for good reason.

It was an amazing day. Vicki and I feel in love with the school, teachers and students. They are all amazingly gracious and warm.

On our way to São Paulo tomorrow. Definitely will be avoiding this!

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/12/world/americas/brazil-protests

Here are the students at the assembly in our honor.

We visited two schools today, representing opposite ends of the spectrum in the Brazilian education system. The first was a public school, Elefante Branco, White Elephants,strange name given the metaphorical significance.
What surprised me about Elefsnte Branco?
The students were so warm, friendly and happy. They were genuinely interested in us Americans, falling over one another to speak with us in a quite endearing manner. I also observed a spirit of collaboration among the students. In the classrooms we observed, they were all working together and getting along with one another, no one ostracized or left out of any activity. They all seemed so incredibly happy to be there and were present in the moment to one another. The boys greeted one another with handshakes, something I’ve rarely seen in the US.
I was taken aback at the lack of structure and supervision. As the students have three series, or sessions of school they can attend, there were always students hanging about, in the common areas and halls. There was some sort of science fair coming up and students were just wandering about the school working on their projects. There was also a dearth of resources, few computers, no projectors, smart boards, televisions, no art supplies in the art room, desks that looked like they were from the 1950s.
Both students and teachers wore jeans. One interesting fact is that the school principal is elected by the teachers, staff, parents and students for a three year term, after which he or she can run again.
Music is a huge part of the students’ lives. Many students carry guitars and were playing them in the halls and common areas and it was also in the classrooms we visited and the assembly. Oh yes, they had a school assembly for us!

Here the students are performing songs for us in Spanish as in Picture Perfect.

At the assembly.

Our afternoon was spent at Marista, a private Catholic school about 15-20 minutes away. The juxtaposition could not have been more pronounced. As far as facilities and resources, it was everything Elefante Branco was not. It had every possible technological and educational resource imaginable. There was even a coffee bar and a barista in the teacher’s lounge! Need I say more? Yet, our group was almost unanimous in noting how less friendly and preoccupied the students were and how sterile the environment.

Marista

Courtyard at Marista

Our guide Roberto’s son is a capoeira instructor, so tonight we attended a presentation. It was incredible, a combination of martial arts, music, dance, and acrobats. It’s roots are definitely African, and it remains a strong part of Brazilian culture.

We spent the last two days learning about Brazilian culture and educational system. Today we went to the US Embassy and Ministry of Education. In spite of the fact that I am not able to transfer pictures from my camera to my iPad to post on the blog, I have been improvising by taking photos from my iPad. This seemed like a good idea, until it was almost confiscated at the US Embassy. Who would have thought no photographing allowed? They just made me delete them all, which was a relief. It seemed at first as if they were going to make me turn over the entire iPad!
Some interesting facts about Brazil and the educational system here in no particular order:

-1/2 of Brazilians report being descendants of slaves who were brought here to work on the sugar cane plantations.
-Brazil was the last country to abolish slavery in 1888.
-However, there was never any segregation laws imposed by the government.
-Sao Paulo(where I am headed in a couple days) has the largest Japanese population of anywhere outside of Japan.
-70% of Brazilians are Roman Catholic.
-In Brazil, it is spelled BRASIL.
-Brazil was under a military dictatorship from 1964-1984.
-The current president, Dilma Rousseff was tortured by the former dictator. She is Brazil’s first female president.
-Brazil has 27 political parties, four of them are major parties.
-Brazil bas a compulsory voting law that EVERYONE between the ages of 18 and 70 vote.
-Everyone in Brazil gets a thirty day vacation and an extra thirteenth month pay.
-Electronics are outrageously expensive. An iPhone 5G costs $1200.
-Children’s toys are also outrageously expensive. A Star Wars Lego set that would cost around $100 in the US costs $600.
-Many Brazilians fly to Miami to purchase electronics and other items.
-Brazilian schools have three sessions:7-12, 12-5, and 5-10. Students must attend one.
-The school year is February to December, with a month off in July.
-The teachers are grossly underpaid. They make $725 per month.Some work all three sessions to earn more money.
-Many teachers don’t have college degrees.
-Class sizes are usually 40-50 children, even in the lower grades.
-The children stay in one classroom, while the teachers float from room to room.
-Brazil has been making Herculean efforts to improve its educational system. It is one of the top priorities of the government. In the last five years, the education budget has more than quadrupled.

Tomorrow, we visit a couple of schools, so I’ll get to see it all first hand.

Brazil’s White House
A 1960s version of the future