Another school visit & A Visit to Instituto Paulo Friere
As I entered the second day of visiting different schools, I am learning more and more of how different schools function. After visiting Escola concept the day before, we went to a public school that was tied to the University of São Paulo (A public university in Sao Paulo). First, we sat with high school students and had a short lecture about the school, the standards used to develop curriculum–Base Nacional Comum Curricular (like the Common Core in the US). Then, we got into small groups and toured the school with the students who attend there. Finally, we sat in the courtyard and had the chance to talk with the students and ask them questions about their school and lives.
Unlike in the U.S Where student teachers have to go to a separate school, this school specifically was a training ground for the student teachers from the university; the building is right across from the college of education. So, this is a public school, but has more resources than a traditional public school. The school teaches different languages, and they also teach subjects like gender and sexuality (which is not common for it to be taught in middle school in the U.S). When asked about how students get in, we were informed that students were picked through a raffle and the students who were children of the faculty have a higher chance of getting in.
After visiting the school, we went on visiting the institute of Paulo Freire (https://www.paulofreire.org/ ) where we were greeted with the director of the institute, Angela, and Paulo Freire’s son, Lutgardes Costa Friere. Some of us were really amazed that we had the opportunity to meet him! If you don’t know, Paulo Friere was a Brazilian educator and philosopher, and the father of critical pedagogy. His most influential book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, is an important book read by educators all around the world. We read excerpts from the book for class before coming to Brazil. We were given a tour of the institute to see some of Freire’s work and two separate libraries focused on different times in his life. We discussed some major events of his life and how some of his work was translated for people to read it.
Though I have been very emotional throughout this amazing experience, one of the things that got me into my feelings was how passionate he spoke about his father. He stated that one quality that he loved about his father was his courage and that he always did what he thought was right. We also talked about how in the current political environment, his father’s work was under attack, and that the institute has recently been threatened to be burnt down because people don’t agree with Friere’s work. I wasn’t the only emotional one–Lutgardes at points in the conversation needed to pause and compose himself. When I looked around the room, it was clear that we were all feeling very emotional. Friere’s work is so influential, and hearing Lutgardes speak about his father was very moving.
