I’ve already written about how unprepared and unqualified many Brazilian teachers are. However, I haven’t yet spoken about how unprepared our own children are, when it comes to learning.
The 2009 June edition of the Brazilian magazine “ISTO E,” contained an article titled ““Profissão de risco: professor” (“Teachers: A Risky Profession.”)
The fact is that many teachers have suffered aggression from their students. Actually, 26 percent of teachers attest to having been threatened by their students, in a study conducted by “The Secretary of Education belonging to our Federal District.” I don’t believe that this number varies a great deal in other Brazilian cities.
But why does this happen?
First off, Brazilian education hasn’t evolved very much. Students still write in notebooks and carry binders. They must stay glued to their seat while the teacher talks nonstop. In rare cases, students get to work in groups, and do some “hands on” research.
Interestingly, these same students live their lives (outside of the classroom), without much capacity for concentration over an extended period of time. They are constantly doing many things at once.
I once saw a speaker who affirmed that classes had been broken down into 50 Minute segments, because of a study that proved this was the average length of a child’s concentration. Well, this study was recently conducted again. Guess what the average attention span was? Seven minutes! That’s why MTV as well as television channels geared towards kids have such short length shows. If things are too drawn out and lengthy, they lose their consumers!
Imagine an attention span of 7 minutes. What kind of teacher is going to be able to grasp these kids’ attention?
Also, there are other factors. Our kids (upper middle and upper class Brazilians) have maids, and some even have drivers. These domestic workers are the employees of the entire family, and I believe that this greatly affects children’s behavior in school. Certain students feel that they are in the same right when it comes to their education. I’ve even heard teachers complaining, that they couldn’t hold back certain students, because they would argue, “I pay you your salary.”
These are by no means easy problems to solve. If in the household, teenagers and preteens, question everything, then why can’t they question school? Why can’t they question teaching methods? Why can’t they argue against not being able to use a cell phone in class? If they have the capacity to concentrate on so many things at once, then why can’t they text, as they do in all other settings, except for school?
We must discuss new teaching styles and methods for our children. We must put ourselves in their shoes.
The movie “ET” relates to this idea. The little boy and ET get along very well, even though they come from completely different worlds. Other people just wanted to pick ET apart, dissecting this strange creature. But between ET and the boy, a mutual curiosity was born, as they openly accepted each other’s differences. So why can’t we remodel our education system, using the same ET attitude and soul?
I love studying the future. That’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.
