Aldeia Betania

        We visited another school this week. It’s a private Protestant school about 25 minutes away from our “home.” The idea of the school comes from Germany. They have different houses for each subject they teach. For example, they have a math building, an art building, and so on. So, students must walk from each building during transitions. These transitions are great because students get the opportunity to be outside and get their energy out, all while listening to music! If playing music during transitions pumps me up, I can’t imagine what it does for children! The students do a lot of hands-on learning here as well. There is a chicken coop and garden where students can learn by observing animals and plants. They take care of the garden and animals, from what I understand. Their teacher for this part of the school built a “house” out of milk cartons! They have class in here when it rains, and it’s also where they keep the chinchillas and guinea pigs! Another aspect of the school is that they call their teachers “Tia,” (pronounced “Chee-a”). Tia means Aunt in Portuguese! They believe that a family atmosphere is important in both home and school. I loved hearing the students say Tia Tia! They even started calling me Tia by the end of the first day! :)

When you walk into this school, you get a warm feeling inside. Everything is well decorated and fun. The staff greets you with smiles. You hear students laughing. You can see respect written on their faces. They may be allowed to run and be loud in line, but they know how to be safe and how to behave. You can tell they feel free. What an incredibly refreshing thing that is to see. Also, students here WANT to learn. Students raise their hands, collaborate with other students, shout out answers, ask questions, and participate. But, I don’t blame them, who wouldn’t want to learn in a setting like this! Now, don’t get me wrong, they do have to sit in a classroom setting and listen to lecture, but from what I’ve seen, it’s fun! Yesterday I sat in on a Philosophy class. They talked about the history of superheroes and then created their own superhero to present to the class!

This has been a really great experience. We have lots of ideas to take back with us to the US from here. Mainly we just want students to feel free and feel like they can take ownership in what they are learning. We all said after our first day that we would move to Curitiba just to send out kids here! However, the school isn’t perfect, just like any school. They could definitely use advancements in technology. There isn’t any in classrooms! Also, there could be more diversity. Most children are alike and from the same area from what I can tell, which doesn’t lend to diversity. We have learned about how important diversity is in the classroom, and I would like to see more here.