Year 1 -- Final Thoughts
Autor: Buster Hale | Publicado: 2011-11-30T10:17:00-03:00

Final thoughts on wrapping up the school year.


Students.

I am almost to the end of the school year and want to share some school experiences. The students have been great, but at times it has been difficult to motivate them to study, especially the teenagers. I realize that this is a worldwide problem, but I have been seeking all types of solutions ranging from ice cream to erasers. (Erasers are a big deal here and the students are constantly borrowing each others' erasers in class.) One of my projects for my break in the US is to research methods to get the students more engaged.


Parents.

On the other hand, some of the parents have been unbelievable. Here are two examples. The school had an end of year party on the Friday night after Thanksgiving. Of course, as is typical in Brazil, the program started almost an hour late. A drama group from First Baptist Church, Corumbá opened the program. Several of the students performed skits, sang, and even acted in a drama; these students volunteered and were not forced to perform. At the end the students' names were called and those students who were passing before the final exams were given little certificates.





My Colleagues



During the party one mother objected to the Christian theme of the first drama and said that she did could come to go to church. (From her later actions she definitely needed to hear the message in the drama.) She also complained that her son did not participate in the performances and insisted that the school should have "forced" him to participate. The next morning she came to the school with her son and husband in tow to cancel next semester. The poor teenager who is a great student looked mortified at the conduct of his mother; he is not one of my students but I taught his class one time. The mother finally left and the student went to class, but later came to apologize at the break. He said he hoped we were not mad at him. I wanted to say that you cannot help the fact that your mother is acting louca (crazy). We just said it was fine and wished him good luck in his studies. Maybe the mother will change her mind over the long break.


On Monday another mother and father came to complain that their daughter's name was not read. Apparently her name was on the list and the person reading the names just skipped her by mistake. She is one of my best students and works very hard. But her parents were furious and I got to talk to them although I had nothing to do with it and had left by the time it happened. Her parents own a small business and I am sure it is a sacrifice for them to pay for her to study at the school. As I listened to the mother carry on in gory detail and repeat everything three times, I thought of my days when I was in IT at Ole Miss and had to listen to professors complaining. As at Ole Miss, I waited for her to have her say and "spin down." (In Portuguese it takes a long time to have your say.) I then said that I was very sorry and asked what we could we do to right this regrettable situation. At this point Renata offered to provide her books free next semester, which was a big and generous gesture. (I was thinking more along the lines of a letter from the school.) I could see that the mother and father understood the value of the gesture. But the mother said that it would be completely up to her daughter if she wanted to continue. The girl was in class that day and I am sure will continue next semester.


Final Observations. 

Living and teaching English in Brazil has been a wonderful experience. I have certainly improved my teaching techniques and my Portuguese. I am no longer nervous about teaching a class and can understand my students most of the time when they ask me something in Portuguese. I can even watch Brazilian television without being completely lost and frustrated. More importantly I can understand my pastor in church and can even participate in the Sunday School lessons. So I feel a great sense of accomplishment.


  Who knows what the new year of 2012 holds for me? Other opportunities may arise that were not planned. If I have learned anything during my 60 years on this earth, it is that we are not in control of our lives. New challenges and opportunities arise to make life very interesting.


Thanks for following my blog this year. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.