A Warm Welcome from the American School of Brasilia!
The moment we stepped off the plane, we knew our next adventure was about to begin. We arrived in Brasilia around 8 AM, and even though we were extremely tired after a full day of traveling, we seemed more wide awake than ever. We were greeted at the airport, with so much love from the staff at the American School of Brasilia (EAB) and new teaching cohort, that we already felt at home. We also ventured over to the lower school principal’s home for breakfast and new staff gathering. The best part about being at EAB is that we are not separated from the new staff because we are student teachers; we are treated in a manner that makes us feel as though we are also true, new teachers.
Professional Opportunities!
The American School of Brasilia (EAB) is a school that hosts many different students who come from different backgrounds. Many of the students were born and raised in Brasilia. Others come from all over the world. One of our students has lived in a different city nearly every year of his life. The amount of diversity within the school is incredible. We have students from nearly everywhere such as Brazil, China, The United States, Germany, England, Spain, Kuwait and even Thailand. We have a high percentage of students at the school who do not speak English as their native language (aka ELL students), so we hear multiple languages being spoken on the playground, at recess, or at lunch. Having a high ELL percentage means that we must always be thinking of ways to scaffold student learning. We recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Dr. Virginia Rojas, who specializes in EAL learners (English as an Additional Language). She really helped place into our mind that scaffolding is necessary for some, but beneficial for all. At EAB, students are required to go to Portuguese class everyday. There is also a lot of co-planning between the ELL teachers and the classroom teachers. This is huge in benefitting ELL students, as well as everyone else. Co-planning is also a huge thing in each grade level. In the lower school, the walls between the classrooms can open, so that both sections of a class can learn together. Everyday, we have at least 2 hours of planning time (during the school day) to plan with the other grade level teacher. This planning time occurs when our students are at Portuguese class and their specials class (which rotate in an 8 day cycle).
EAB also offers so many professional development opportunities, as well as other opportunities, which are even open to the student teachers. As we said before, we recently went to a workshop with Dr. Virginia Rojas, and talked about scaffolding strategies for EAL learners. We also had an opportunity to attend a workshop with Erma Anderson and learn about strategies for developing proper math assessments and creating meaningful, rich questions. This workshop was extremely beneficial to us as new teachers. Not only that, but the school offers us free Portuguese classes twice a week and has offered us a class through the American Heart Association to become certified in CPR/First Aid. We only wish that we would be here for some of the other professional development opportunities, since quite a few of them occur in the spring. Luckily, we have had the opportunity to attend a few, and they have been well worth our time!
EAB also offers so many professional development opportunities, as well as other opportunities, which are even open to the student teachers. As we said before, we recently went to a workshop with Dr. Virginia Rojas, and talked about scaffolding strategies for EAL learners. We also had an opportunity to attend a workshop with Erma Anderson and learn about strategies for developing proper math assessments and creating meaningful, rich questions. This workshop was extremely beneficial to us as new teachers. Not only that, but the school offers us free Portuguese classes twice a week and has offered us a class through the American Heart Association to become certified in CPR/First Aid. We only wish that we would be here for some of the other professional development opportunities, since quite a few of them occur in the spring. Luckily, we have had the opportunity to attend a few, and they have been well worth our time!
Work Hard, Play Hard!
The city of Brasilia is one of the most interesting cities either of us has ever been to. The city itself is set up like an airplane and is split into four parts, Asa Sul (South Wing), Asa Norte (North Wing), Lago Sul (South Lake), and Lago Norte (North Wing). We live in the south wing and on the wing the buildings are set up into quadras. Each quadra is made up of blocos, which are basically apartment buildings. Each quadra also has its own commercio local street (commerce street) so that everybody has easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, retail stores, bakeries, etc. It is an extremely unique design for a city. Brasilia also has a huge manmade lake, Paranoa Lake. It is extremely beautiful and we love to visit the lake just to relax, practice our stand up paddle boarding, or to go to some of the local restaurants.
Although we have not yet had an opportunity to travel, we have planned trips to the Amazon and to Rio De Janeiro. We have a week long vacation, in October, between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter, and plan to go to the Amazon at this time. We also are planning a trip to Rio over Thanksgiving Break! We also have a three day weekend coming up, where we plan to travel a couple hours outside of Brasilia and visit Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, which is an area that has numerous waterfalls! We could not be more excited for these opportunities to explore the rest of Brazil! Luckily, we are not leaving Brazil until December 22nd, as we are staying the whole semester at EAB. Going over the required 16 weeks of student teaching, gives us more opportunities to work in the school, as well as travel during breaks!
Overall, our experience in Brasilia has been a tremendous adventure; one we will remember for the rest of lives. We have grown both personally and professionally, have made a lifetime of connections with people from all over the world, and have learned more about education than ever before. We cannot express how thankful we are for this opportunity to student teach at EAB, and look forward to what the rest of the semester will bring us! We encourage everyone to step outside of their comfort zone, expand their horizons, and consider student teaching abroad! It will be an experience you will treasure and look back on for the rest of your life!
Although we have not yet had an opportunity to travel, we have planned trips to the Amazon and to Rio De Janeiro. We have a week long vacation, in October, between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter, and plan to go to the Amazon at this time. We also are planning a trip to Rio over Thanksgiving Break! We also have a three day weekend coming up, where we plan to travel a couple hours outside of Brasilia and visit Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, which is an area that has numerous waterfalls! We could not be more excited for these opportunities to explore the rest of Brazil! Luckily, we are not leaving Brazil until December 22nd, as we are staying the whole semester at EAB. Going over the required 16 weeks of student teaching, gives us more opportunities to work in the school, as well as travel during breaks!
Overall, our experience in Brasilia has been a tremendous adventure; one we will remember for the rest of lives. We have grown both personally and professionally, have made a lifetime of connections with people from all over the world, and have learned more about education than ever before. We cannot express how thankful we are for this opportunity to student teach at EAB, and look forward to what the rest of the semester will bring us! We encourage everyone to step outside of their comfort zone, expand their horizons, and consider student teaching abroad! It will be an experience you will treasure and look back on for the rest of your life!