I've taught English there for three weeks now. It would've been four if Montezuma hadn't found us down here in Morretes and launched a full scale war on our bodies for the past 8 days. I've enjoyed it, it's not what I ever expected to be doing, but it's started opening doors for us in the community. It's fun to ride my bike to the store and have a trail of followers shouting "Hey, what's up!" Then when I shout, "nothing, what's up with you", they shout "nothing" and ride away laughing talking about how awesome it is that they know some English. We've been approached by many parents thanking us and telling us what an encouragement it is that their kids are learning english from a real live gringo. haha! Shannon has also been able to get a group of a couple ladies meeting in our home who also want to learn and building a relationship with them.
However, I've also been deeply challenged and frustrated. I would estimate that 30-40% of the 5th graders can't even read. Naomi's class is one of the worst because they put two pre-schools into one first year class and the teacher is overwhelmed. We're going to have to do a lot of supplementing at home, basically having our kids in school to gain social skills (and because homeschooling is illegal here) and educating them at home.
My first week, I broke up five fights. Most of them were boy on girl, but in most cases the girl won. The most brutal was a larger girl named Beatrice stabbing a boy named Aslan with her pencil. Third-graders, I tell ya!
So here are two things we've had to face. The first, what potential lies within this challenging environment?
In Brazil, prayer and religion still exist within the schools. It's pluralistic so that's not always an encouraging thing. However, it leaves Christian teachers working within the system huge opportunities. When kids fight and stab each other, we can send them to the principal (which is sometimes necessary) but we can also step in and talk about reconciliation and forgiveness and share our faith. I'm learning how to take advantage of these opportunities to fight my discouragement.
I had a couple of kids express frustration to me this past week. They cried injustice, because, unlike the other teachers, they said they noticed when two people come to me frustrated that I don't decide who did the worse thing and punish that one, but I always assume they both did something wrong and ask them to work it out together or with me. I asked them if it is usually just one persons fault with the other person having no fault? They said no, but usually one is worse. I explained to them my faith and how I view the world and began to explain that to me it wasn't important to find the most guilty person and punish that one, but to see them both own their part and work together to reconcile and be friends and love each other. They don't quite seem to get it, but they notice a difference.
The second thing is that we've had to wrestle with where education lies in our value system as it relates to God's Kingdom. We often take our education for granted in the States, for all of its issues, the system overall does a very good job. At the same time, if we're honest, a lot of the value of our education does not lie in the actual content of what we learn, but in the piece of paper we get if we make it to the end. The job market doesn't ask about our knowledge or skills, and too often just expects to have to train us practically after hiring us (if we have the said paper). In some situations this is necessary, the theory is important. However, too often, it's because the content of our education is just as lacking. This is my opinion, and I don't want to offend teacher friends, I actually want to enlist your help so that I can do this the best that I can. But I feel strongly about this, especially as it relates to high school and college.
As a Kingdom value, we've come face to face with the question of how important is this for us as a family? Some people have packed up and left the mission field because the value of their kids' education was more important than the sacrifice required. I don't judge them, it was their conviction. Others have sent their kids to boarding school. The reality is that most missionary kids end up back in their home country at some point, and should be prepared to reenter the school system upon returning.
We've already started and will continue working to make sure that our kids have a solid educational foundation. However, we've tempered our discouragement and fears with the realities that many of the apostles were likely illiterate. That our most important value for our kids is that they became faithful and true followers of Jesus Christ. A reminder that they are going to be bilingual, have a deeper understanding of the world because of their travels and learnings of other cultures, and have rich wisdom of nature because of their hippy mom :).
In addition, our value in ministry of being incarnational and identifying with the people we live among has opened huge doors for us in the community here. I think many parents viewed us with suspicion at first and we fielded many questions about when we were going to get our kids into private school. When they came to understand that we truly don't have the means and have entered here to live life among them, relationships have started to become genuine and deepen. When they express frustration with the education their kids are receiving, and their fears and concerns for the future of their kids. We can enter the conversation and share with them, not from a philosophical point of view, but from the genuine emotions of our heart. We're not simply trying to understand and identify, we are identified and connected within their struggle. Their struggle and concern is shared by us.
Due to the nature of our work, and the availability of teaching resources in English on the internet, our kids still have more opportunities and more of our time available to them (because we're not both working 60-70 hours a week like some of our friends here), and we've been honest about that. But we've still been able to identify and connect in deep ways, and share out of our wrestling the ways we're learning to overcome our concerns and prioritize our values as followers of Jesus.
