Canada–Brazil Connections: O Coração da Educação Bilíngue

00:00 Speaker: Hello and welcome everyone! I am Miss Julie, I'm a teacher here at Maple Bear Marília and I'm super excited about today's episode. I'm a student who has been here since the starting years, now in middle years. Today we are welcoming two amazing Canadian trainers who work closely with our teachers here at school. We have Miss Lee who specializes in elementary and...
00:26 Speaker: early childhood and we also have Miss Joan who focuses on middle years and today we will explore how they work with our teachers and help us in our day-to-day life here at school So let's
00:52 Speaker: let's start let's start by getting to know a little bit about our amazing professionals behind the scenes of our teachers development well my name is lee howard and i have had a wonderful career in canada teaching for about 30 years everything from babies right through to adults i've enjoyed
01:16 Speaker: every minute and i've learned so much from being a teacher so i was thrilled to get to work with maple bear and come to brazil it's been just the amount i learned from coming to the maple bear schools is nothing i don't think compared to what i give to them so
01:38 Speaker: I live in Vancouver, which is in the west of Canada. It's warmer there. We don't get quite as much snow, and it's not quite as cold. I have two children and a grandbaby who live in Australia, and I'm just really happy to be here. And my name is Joan.
02:00 Speaker: I've enjoyed almost 32 years as an educator in Canada. Similar to Lee, I've done everything from a teacher to a math consultant to a principal and a system principal. And the areas I've really focused on have been special education and math and science. Those are the parts of education I'm very passionate about.
02:21 Speaker: And when I discovered Maple Bear, it was an opportunity for me to really showcase some of the best parts of the Canadian methodology, which is why I love Maple Bear. I live in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa, and it's very cold in the winter, and we get a lot of snow, which is why I like to visit Vancouver when I get a chance, because it's not uncommon to get...
02:42 Speaker: a metre of snow in one day and it to be minus 20, minus 25. But we have a lot of fun in the snow. We ski, we snowshoe, we skate, and we have great summers too. So it's a fantastic place to live. Something I particularly love about Maple Bear is the opportunity to explore all of the different parts of Brazil and all the different regions. It reminds me a lot of Canada, the way that...
03:07 Speaker: The Brazilian culture celebrates family and music and festivals and people getting together. It reminds me a lot of Canada, but the weather here is definitely nicer than in Ottawa. And if I could just add that part of the curriculum of Maple Bear that most attracts me is the fact that they really put a big emphasis on play all through the years. I think that play is something that we all need.
03:34 Speaker: Right from childhood through to adulthood, it helps our brains to develop and grow and keep developing and grow as we age. We learn from play. And most of all, it's a way to have fun and really enjoy life. So I think Maple Bear really got it right by having such an emphasis on play. Absolutely. And if I can add on to that, Lee.
03:58 Speaker: i think the student-centered education particularly at middle years and beyond really focuses on student voice i mean what we're doing now is a perfect representation of honoring student voice where students are leading a podcast we were at a beautiful assembly this morning that the students had led the entire assembly it's so important for students to have a voice and to listen to the opinions and for the students to think critically about the information that they get because
04:26 Speaker: They're living in a world that's very different from when I was at school, and they're being inundated with information from social media, from the internet, from now AI. It's not enough just to know information. They really need to think critically about it and to understand the information that they're consuming to make them global thinkers.
04:47 Speaker: Yeah, actually I was thinking about this, about asking you, how does the Canadian methodology and curriculum come to life here in Brazil? And if you could walk us through maybe a project or something about the way teachers plan that it would be different from Brazil or from what traditional schools do in Brazil, could you walk us through some of these examples that really spark this Canadian methodology and we actually use it here in Brazil as well.
05:17 Speaker: Well, I think one of the things I think is difficult for Brazilian children to understand is our seasons. because it's so different from brazil we have such distinct weather in our winter from our fall in our spring in our summer so i think that that's tricky and i was in a grade one classroom and they were talking about winter and the teacher was reading a book called thomas's snow suit and in thomas's snow suit little thomas doesn't want to put his snow suit on and go outside
05:53 Speaker: And so the teacher, who was very creative, had actually brought in a snowsuit that would fit the children who were in the class. So every child got to try on what it was like to put on this snowsuit because it's not always easy to put them on. They're from head to toe, and you put your legs in, and then you kind of squeeze into the arms and then zip it right up.
06:22 Speaker: And they're not the most comfortable things, but they do keep you warm. So I was really impressed that these children got the experience of putting that on and feeling what it would be like to be outside in one of these. But it was about 30 degrees the day they were trying it on, so we had air conditioning on full blast.
06:44 Speaker: And that's actually something that surprised me today or even yesterday, that where I'm from, you wear your winter coat and your hat when it's minus 20. And yesterday, the students were wearing winter coats and hats, and it was 10. So that's a little bit different than in Canada. But in Vancouver, we do too. Absolutely. We're the tough ones in Ottawa.
07:04 Speaker: And, you know, adding on to what Lee said, when we think about student-centered education, we really want to start where the students are at in their understanding. And I think that's something that is unique to Maple Bear. and it really represents the Canadian methodology, is that we start with what the students' interests are and what their understandings are, and it starts with where the students are at, and that's where the teacher starts the planning, not the other way around. It doesn't start with the teacher planning and then providing it. It starts with where the students are at. We call that asset-based learning. So we start with where the students' understandings, we want to engage them, we want to find things that are interesting to you, motivating to you, and it becomes particularly...
07:46 Speaker: important in middle years as the students move through because again it honors the student voice when we're really understanding what motivates the students to learn and it brings a local and global context to everything as well. Well thinking about classroom culture and differences in classroom culture even how students learn and how society as a whole view education what do you think are some of the biggest challenges when
08:14 Speaker: Bringing a Canadian curriculum to a Brazilian context, like has there ever been a moment where you've seen a group of students or teachers trying to make something work out and you've stopped and thought, let's take a step back, how can we make this work here? Because it's so different, our context from Canadian culture, right? Well, I just see teachers working so hard to make...
08:42 Speaker: it work in the classrooms and to adapt the materials to the understanding of the students. I think that the Maple Bear teachers just have this desire and aspiration to make make the curriculum real to the children and so there's lots of experiments and there's lots of hands-on activities and you know just so many things but I think one of the things that I see that is is most is difficult is when in math working with money because the the books are in Canadian money but
09:24 Speaker: The students really need to know about EIs, right? And so I think that a lot of teachers have really gone out of their way to make Canadian money real, but also making sure that the students really understand the Brazilian money. And it is nice because it's both a decimal system. So there is commonalities between them. But I think that that is a tricky part.
09:50 Speaker: Yeah, I observed that as well this week with a year seven teacher when you were learning about the metric system and the, actually it was year six, with place value and the way that the Canadian system. separates all of the different units is with spaces and in the brazil imperial system there's commas and so the teacher did a really good job of explaining well in canada they do it this way in brazil they do it this way because although it is a canadian methodology these schools are brazilian schools and so this isn't an international school i mean it it's it's again another example how to honor the local
10:30 Speaker: traditions and culture because we want the students to be exposed to the Canadian money system but we all but they live in Brazil so I mean so to make those connections very real for the students and to use them in really meaningful ways you know and something else I also really love is the focus on all the different festivals. And I know Festa Janina is coming up. I've had the privilege of being at a couple of schools for that with the great food and the music. And I think it's really important to understand that, you know, the students are curious about Canada, but they're Brazilian students and they're so proud of their culture and heritage.
11:06 Speaker: And the one thing I really appreciate is that in so many schools, and I know yours is one of them, is the appreciation that you show for the Terry Fox run and the money raising that goes along with that. I think Terry Fox is one of our Canadian heroes, and he deserves to be celebrated throughout the world. And I'm really happy that Maple Bear in Brazil has taken that on.
11:30 Speaker: Yeah, I agree. Here, everyone loves Terry Fox. Yes. He was just added to the $5 bill in Canada, actually. And it's 50 years this year. Yes, and there's a picture of him in our passport now, too. Yes, there is. Everyone needs to know. Yes. Who knew when he started that? Because, I mean, we were around when he was alive and when he was doing his Marathon of Hope. I'm sure he had no idea when he did that the long-lasting legacy globally and the impact that it would have.
12:00 Speaker: It's just so beautiful to see the students in Brazil inspired by him. That's really something. Well, now we're going to do something very fun. We're going to do a quick lightning round with our guests. So, Julia, I will ask. So, what was your first Portuguese word that you learned and how did you learn it? Well, I learned two fairly quickly. One was tudo bem. And then I had to figure out how to answer it.
12:28 Speaker: But the other word was gustoso, gustoso. Delicious, tasty. So those on my first trip in 2019, those were my favorite words. And for me, also food themed. My first word was bon dia, because everyone kept saying that to me. So I thought I should learn that and find out what it means. And brigadeiro was the second word. Because one of the TAs at the very first school I worked at, her grandmother had made some and brought them in. And I thought, I'm in the right country. These are delicious. E brigadeiro é gostoso. I love my grandmother's brigadeiro.
13:13 Speaker: It's very good. So delicious. I love that. Actually, Miss Vivi brought us brigadeiro that she made today. Oh, it's very good. So good. It was delicious. And already adding, what Brazilian food do you love? Except from brigadeiro. Yes. Pau de queijo. Delicious. Romeo and Juliet is another favorite. Oh, I don't think of that. Cheese with... Cheese with...
13:39 Speaker: Guava paste. Oh, I haven't had that. Very nice. When I was in Minas Gerais, I learned to love pastels. Every kind of cheese, meat, beef, artichoke, like all of them. I love them all. In Minas Gerais, doce de leite is good. How can I say it? Have you tried it? We usually say dulce de leite. Dulce de leite, yes. It's very good for the Minas Gerais. The best one. There's a lot of cheese there, too. Here in Marília, we have a very traditional pastel.
14:09 Speaker: that is made with egg. It's a fried egg, so it's a circle. Oh, I haven't heard that. I don't really like egg, but my sister loves that. It's different from other parts of the country. Okay, good to know. Could you share a funny or unexpected moment you've had at the school? At one of the first schools I went to, there was a little girl in bear care who was having a hard time.
14:35 Speaker: coming into school and crying and crying and crying and then she saw me and she said AVO and she thought I was her grandmother and so I took her from the mom and brought her into the classroom and we played and she was happy so for a couple of days I met them on the way in and
15:00 Speaker: So I have a grandchild in Brazil. Who knew? One more reason to come back. For me, there's two, actually. One of the schools I was at, when the principal, we were on our way out for lunch, and when she went to open the gate to leave, the gate was covered in monkeys. And I thought...
15:24 Speaker: And I thought that you would never see that in Canada. So I was taking pictures. And she said that, you know, when we came back from lunch, she said, make sure you roll up the window of the car because I don't want to come out to a car full of monkeys. And I thought that's definitely a Brazil problem. And then on that theme, another school I was at.
15:44 Speaker: It was during science class and they were learning about habitats. And a little gecko, a little mini lizard crawled in through the window and was running along the floor. And so this teacher, being a teacher, started talking about, oh, I wonder what habitat, is the classroom a good habitat for this little lizard? And teacher made a teaching moment out of it. But again, that's definitely not something that we would ever find in Canada. No. Amazing. And something you've learned from Brazilian students.
16:10 Speaker: The most important thing that I have learned from Brazilian students is that the best soccer players come from Brazil. Yes, very important. Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, right? Yes. But most important, Marta. Yes. The female soccer champion of Brazil. So I love to talk to you all. I learned so much about you and what goes on on the behind the scenes of the curriculum.
16:40 Speaker: Thank you so much. Well done. This has been a pleasure. Absolutely. I congratulate you on your English. This is my first podcast in Brazil. It's my first podcast ever. I hope everyone listening really appreciated our podcast today. It was a very special episode and have learned as much as we have from these amazing Canadian trainers that we have.
17:09 Speaker: here today thank you everyone and goodbye see you next time bye bye