Student Teaching in Brasilia, Brazil
Student Teaching in Brazil has truly been the highlight of my college experience! I am currently teaching 2nd grade at the American School of Brasilia. Not only have I learned so many great tools about the profession of being an educator, but I have also learned so much about myself. This experience has taught me to gain the confidence and the skills I need to be a successful classroom teacher. Having this experience of student teaching internationally has been very eye-opening to me and has been worth every moment of my time here. I highly recommend that if you have any desire to go abroad, teach internationally, or want to have an amazing cultural experience, jump at the opportunity! This is a once in a lifetime chance, that will help you grow professionally and personally. Now what are you waiting for? Apply today!
Student Teaching in Brazil has truly been the highlight of my college experience! I am currently teaching 2nd grade at the American School of Brasilia. Not only have I learned so many great tools about the profession of being an educator, but I have also learned so much about myself. This experience has taught me to gain the confidence and the skills I need to be a successful classroom teacher. Having this experience of student teaching internationally has been very eye-opening to me and has been worth every moment of my time here. I highly recommend that if you have any desire to go abroad, teach internationally, or want to have an amazing cultural experience, jump at the opportunity! This is a once in a lifetime chance, that will help you grow professionally and personally. Now what are you waiting for? Apply today!
One of the best things about being here is how friendly everyone is. Not once have I felt home sick, because of how amazingly kind everyone is. The EAB staff has become my family away from home. There is a huge sense of community here. We try to do social gatherings usually at least once a week by going out to dinner together. Another one of my favorite parts of EAB is the dress up days we have almost every Friday! This helps the students get excited about their learning.The school is a K3 - grade 12 school, so it is relatively small. The amount of diversity in the school is amazing. In my class alone, I have students from eight different countries including: Brazil, England, Sweden, Finland, United States, Nigeria, Spain, and the Netherlands. All of the instruction is taught in English at EAB. Many of the students are bi-lingual or even tri- lingual, which means we have a high level of ELL learners, but all of the students are at different levels in their learning. The school requires Portuguese classes to be taken by the students every other day and even PLL (Portuguese Language Learners) teachers are offered free classes twice a week by the school to help the them learn Portuguese. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to take advantage of.
The school also has one of the BEST custodial, maintenance, and security staff I've ever met! Not only do they do their job at the school, but they also help us out at our apartment if we ever have a problem and they will always come take care of the problem within 24 hours. They are truly amazing and I appreciate everything they do! Some people have misconceptions about coming to a foreign country and wondering if it is safe or not. I'll admit I had the same thoughts before coming to Brazil and was a little nervous when I first got here, but overtime, I have realized how safe it is here. Never once have I felt unsafe walking around the neighborhood or to and from school. Plus, when I am at the school, there is an around the clock, 24 hours a day security staff, so it is completely
Having the opportunity to travel while being here has been a wonderful learning opportunity. Brazilian culture is full of Samba music and Basa Nova jazz bands. For Carnival break, we had the opportunity to travel to Rio De Janeiro for the week, along with other teachers from EAB. This trip was such a culture experience for me. Our first day there, we went to the Sambadrome to watch the overnight Carnival parade with some of the best samba schools. The Sambadrome was full of bright colors, singing, and dancing. Throughout the week, we got to see the Cristo (Christ the Redeemer) Statue. We also got to experience sunset on top of sugar loaf mountain, which has one of the best views of the entire city. We went to the famous Copacobana and Impanema beaches. One of the most eye opening experiences was when we went on a Favela tour. This was a tour of the Slums in Rio. It was very informational and I learn a lot about poverty in Brazil.
We have also gotten the experience to travel to Itiquira Falls, which is a beautiful waterfall located about a half hour away from Brasilia. This was a fun day trip for us.
Overall, my experience here in Brazil has been a once in a life time opportunity and one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life. If you have any desire to go abroad, broaden your horizons, explore new things, go on adventures, try new foods, go out of your comfort zone, make new friends, learn new teaching styles, and embrace diversity, then I highly urge you to take the step and apply to student teach aboard. It has open doors to a whole new world for me and I am incredibly grateful for this experience! In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." Now it's your turn! Internationally student teach!
Overall, my experience here in Brazil has been a once in a life time opportunity and one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life. If you have any desire to go abroad, broaden your horizons, explore new things, go on adventures, try new foods, go out of your comfort zone, make new friends, learn new teaching styles, and embrace diversity, then I highly urge you to take the step and apply to student teach aboard. It has open doors to a whole new world for me and I am incredibly grateful for this experience! In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." Now it's your turn! Internationally student teach!