Oh, the joy of high school. Wake up early, see the same people every morning and afternoon, eat less-than-tasty lunch, and memorize all sorts of information teachers deem important. On the day before a major test, most, if not all, students push themselves through the process of memorizing key names, dates, formulas, you name it, to do well. Then, when these students proceed … [Read more...] about The Book Is on the Table: Memorizing Education
The Book Is on the Table: Lessons from Finland
When I was 15 years old, I moved from Brazil to the United States and studied 11th and 12th grades at a New York public high school. I remember that the amount of time spent at school, pressure to succeed in standardized tests and available resources were some of the aspects of the system that struck me the most, for better and for worse. These same aspects strike Finnish … [Read more...] about The Book Is on the Table: Lessons from Finland
The Book Is on the Table: World Cup vs. Education
A wave of protests took over Brazil in June this year. It all began because of an increase in transportation fares in Sao Paulo, which Brazilians interpreted as the last straw of governmental injustice. The protests gained voice and strength as the population broadened their complaints to encompass political corruption, lack of investment in infrastructure, transportation, … [Read more...] about The Book Is on the Table: World Cup vs. Education
The Book Is on the Table: What Book?
In Brazil, every student of English as a second language hears the phrase “The book is on the table” at some point during their studies. The sentence has been so overly used during English classes, especially when teaching prepositions, that it has become a nation-wide joke. The belief is that if one knows how to say “The book is on the table,” then one knows how to speak … [Read more...] about The Book Is on the Table: What Book?