Making Global Connections: United States & Brasil

ISTE Presentation a Success

2011-06-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

As in prior years, Dr. Parks and Cathy talked to over a hundred educators from around the world. Many thanks to the Brooklyn board members who were in Philadelphia helped put together the display and provided support during the presentation hours.

Most visitors were impressed and had many questions about how this project has continued for three years. The answer, of course, is the commitment of the collaborating teachers to making it happen.

2011-06-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Pictures from ISTE

2011-06-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

2011-06-27T05:25:00.000-07:00

ISTE - 2011 - Day One

2011-06-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

Arrived in beautiful Philadelphia. Putting finishing touches on poster presentation. Global Connections: The third year... Great year of projects, interactions, and new friendships among students. As we are on summer break, it is important to remember that it is winter in Brasil and school is in session.

US General Consulate's Invitation to a Mural Painting Unveiling

2011-06-04T15:39:00.001-07:00

Salvador, Bahia June 1st, 2011

Invited by Mr. Mark Pannel, US Consul for Press and Culture - General Consulate Rio de Janeiro - I went to ACBEU (Brazil - United States Association) to take part of the 70th ACBEU's anniversary celebration whose one of the activities was the unveiling of a mural painting. This mural had been painted by young African-American artist Chanel Compton in collaboration with Bahian public school students. The painting was great and it presented clear Bahian cultural references. This event was also meaningful because students involved in the painting belong to a program sponsored by the US Embassy via ACBEU. This program called ACCESS gives lower class students the opportunity to study English as a second language.

Africa Day - May 25, 2011 Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

2011-06-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

May 25, 2011: Africa Day – In order to celebrate this date, we had the 4th Africa Day event at Escola Parque. I was one of the speakers invited as I have a Specialization on African-Brazilian Social and Cultural History. My lecture was based on the essay “Black Religion: Core Emphasis and Orientations", by Gayraud Wilmore. I had the access to this essay through the excellent book you have donated, among many others, to the Escola Parque: “Essays on African-American History, Culture and Society", by William SCOTT & William SHADE. There were about 200 teachers at Escola Parque auditorium and I could talk about the African American history from the Africans’ arrival in the British colonies in 1619 to the 21st century, but, of course, I had to guide and delimitate my lecture and time, focusing on the principles of the black religion, accordingly to Mr. Wilmore: survival, elevation and liberation. It was fantastic and the audience reaction was grateful!!! This event was very meaningful as we had the presence of the well-known linguistics professor Ms. Yêda Pessoa de Castro, Doctor in African Languages – Zaire National University, who gave us a wonderful lecture on African languages influence in our Portuguese.

English Teachers' Workshop at Escola Parque

2011-06-04T14:30:00.001-07:00

May 12, 2011: English Teachers’ workshop at Escola Parque
I have attended the Public School Teachers’ Development Program (PSTDP) sponsored by the US Embassy in partnership with ACBEU and Secretaria de Educação do Estado da Bahia, reason why I had the chance to multiply what I have seen at ACBEU with English teachers that work for Escola Parque Center. But I was not the only facilitator involved in the event: I invited two PSTDP colleagues that work at Escola Parque to present the event with me as well. The discussion was completely made in English which is something not so common for us public school English teachers and the themes of the meeting were "Language Teachers as Language Learners" and "Learning Styles", both themes were selected from the first chapters of the book "From Language Learner to Language Teacher – An Introduction to Teaching English as Foreign Language", by Don Snow – PSTDP book we have used at ACBEU. Teachers loved the meeting and certainly it served to increase our self-esteem as public school English teachers: we talked about the important role teachers of English as a foreign language play during students’ learning process, due to the fact that we know a lot about our students’ strengths and weaknesses, being able to help them efficiently in this regard.

Social Networking Sites Event - Escola Parque - April 28, 2011

2011-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Cathy,

The event on Social Networking sites was a success!! The first moment was used to talk about the change in young behavior towards technology, regarding the usage of social networks, such as Twitter, Orkut, Facebook and others. Firstly we used videos to do so. At the end of the first moment, I could talk about our exchange and the sites we have used (Orkut, Blogger, Skype and Edmodo). I finished my part by asking the teachers' audience: If I can use social networking sites to establish an intercontinental exchange, why can't you use such sites to give your students the opportunity to learn through something they love so much: internet and technology?

Your collegue,
Tyrone

American Embassy visits Professor Tyrone Santiago at Escola Parque

2010-11-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

On October 10, 2010, Escola Parque, through Professor Tyrone-Santiago, had the honor to receive representatives of the American Embassy for an official visit. Being in Salvador to participate in professional appointments, the committee decided to visit the CECR- Escola Parque for more information about how it has been the work of Professor. Tyrone regarding the divulgation of his experiences in the U.S. trip.
Ms Tara Rougles, Cultural Affairs Officer of U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, Mr. Mark Pannell, Consul and Head of Press Section, Education and Culture in Rio de Janeiro were some members of the American delegation. Once in Escola Parque, they could know its nuclei; the Global Connections Project, in partnership with the Lovejoy School (USA) and get feedback from Prof. Tyrone about issues involving the U.S. educational system and about volunteering as an important potential contribution of that country for culture and education in Brazil.
After this visit, Escola Parque aims to closer ties with Brazil and USA in the fields of education and culture, by using Global Connections Project to be always at the service of such a goal.

On my trip to the US...

2010-10-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

After two years of virtual exchange with Lovejoy School, 4 conferences on education and technology and a book published, it was time to a real meeting between Lovejoy staff and me. We just used to wish being together one day, as going to the US would be expensive for me. God was there to solve this problem, though. At the beginning of this year, the American Embassy decided to select some Brazilian professionals in Education in order to promote an exchange, through which such professionals could see how the US Educational system worked and then shared this experience in Brazil, after the return. So, I was chosen by the American consulate in Rio de Janeiro to represent the state of Bahia. Of course, used the project Global Connections as my tool to be selected by the US consulate in Rio!!
The trip was marvelous, as I could go to four American States and to its capital, Washington DC. In such places, I could visit several schools, colleges and nonprofit organizations. I also had the chance to see the American way of life by visiting and having dinner with three American families. The most special moment would happen, though…
During the visit to Dallas, Texas, I could face the most beautiful and touching moment of the trip: when I entered the lobby of the hotel in Dallas, coming from Vermont, I had the surprise to see Lovejoy staff there: Professor Cathy McDonald, Dr. Raelynn Parks and four Lovejoy students (Maya, Derrick, Kathryn and Dominic) They handled a banner with my picture and our logo .; other materials had the same printing (mouse pad, water bottle, and T-shirts!!) It was very touching for me to see that. Of course that moment was magic and unforgettable!!!
I thank God for having had this partnership with Lovejoy School; for having a real and professionally fruitful friendship with Ms. Cathy McDonald and for being able to establish a contact between American and Brazilian Students!!!
I hope God go on blessing us!

A time to bond...

2010-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

in a new way, between colleagues, between students and teacher.

The rodeo, Riscky's Barbecue at the Ft. Worth Stockyard, the Texas State Fair, and yes it does seem that everything is bigger in Texas. Sunday culminated in a quiet dinner with students, Tyrone, my superintendent, and me. We discussed future plans, we discussed the students futures, we discussed language. The students eagerly participated. What an awesome time...

In the picture you see Tyrone sharing final thoughts with the students before we went our separate ways.

Not every global connection will result in a person to person meeting like we were fortunate to have. However, every one has the potential to be as rewarding and enlightening to the students and teachers involved.

A Dream Come True... by Cathy

2010-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tyrone was selected to be the only public school teacher in a delegation of Brasilian educators to the United States. It was totally unacceptable to me for him to come to our country and the two of us not meet. I requested permission to take a day to go and that was granted...until...I told my students. Kathryn immediately wanted to know why the seniors could not go too. After all, he is their teacher too. So we went back to the drawing board. Thanks to some generous donors, the superintendent and I took 4 seniors with us to Dallas.

The time that we spent there was a culturally enriching experience for the students as well as Tyrone. We surprised him at his hotel when he arrived. In the picture is Derrick, Cathy, Tyrone, Dominic, Maya, Kathryn, and superintendent, Rae Parks.

Many internet problems

2010-09-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

on both the EP and LTA campuses...

And on an exciting note, Tyrone has been chosen to come to the US as part of a delegation of teachers to look at English as a Second Language in DC, Dallas, Miami...
Our current dream is to be able to get together while he is here...

Brazil, Germany & USA: For a Three Flag Project

2010-07-10T10:00:00.001-07:00

With the arrival of young German student Laura Gispert to Salvador, Brasil in order to estabilish a partership with Escola Parque, more specifically with the Global Connections project, Cathy McDonald suggested a possible three flag project, comprising German, Brasilian and American Students. Thinking about Cathy’s suggestion, ideas of a possible 3-flag project were given to Laura and Cathy thru e-mail by Tyrone Santiago:

Cathy & Laura,

Laura, Cathy McDonald, my American colleague, made a suggestion of a possible 3-flag project among us. I started thinking about it. See whether it is possible or not a publishing of our Indian State Project on your German newspaper. This way we would have a German collaboration in the process. What do you think? As you have not been teaching yet... We could consider this newspaper article as one of the final parts of the project... What do you think?
If we had a subject that could be researched by our students in Brazilian, German and American culture... maybe the educational systems of the 3 countries.... Questions such as: Is an 18-year-old person mature enough to make their professional decisions? How do Brasilians, Americans and Germen deal with this? We could ask our students to describe this educational matter in the 3 countries and give their own opinions on this subject. If possible, Laura could make an interview,virtual or not, with 18 to 20 young Germen about it in order to add this information to our project.... What do you, Laura & Cathy, think about this?

PS: Laura could use her colleagues or ex-colleagues as the source of information.

See Laura how we are all the time thinking about things and projects... lol.

E-mail sent on July 10th, 2010 to both Cathy McDonald and Laura Gispert.

A New Project from Tyrone - Native Indians & States of Brasil and USA

2010-06-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have a new school Project: I will make my students reflect a bit about both Brazilian and American Indians. They will make researches on this subject. More specifically, they will see the number of states in Brazil and in US whose names are Indian. For instance, the states of Pará, Paraná, Goiás in Brasil; Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa in US. After such researches, they will use Microsoft Publisher to illustrate the learning they acquire. (See the example that is attached). After having used Publisher to illustrate Brasilian and American “Indian” states, I will use a banner to put their work together. In fact, two banners will be used: one for Brasilian states; other, for American ones. I think this activity will be very nice and interesting. It will make students know more about our Indians and the history of names of our 26 states. They will also compare our history with the American’s. They do not know anything about American history and states. So, they will be able to know how many states you have, the states whose names have an Indian background and, of course, they will learn a bit both Brazilian and American ethnic groups. I hope you can also work with this Project because half of the American States have Indian names and in general Indians are forgotten by our schools...

PS: Microsoft Publisher activity:

1. flag of the state;

2. The etymology of the state name;

3. An image to illustrate such definition or etymological meaning.

On videos and school relationships

2010-05-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Cathy: To solve my problem with sending the video, I joined the free Microsoft video site and tried again. This time, it told me that it could not handle my video (too big). Talk about frustrated!!! But then, it saved the wmv version to my computer. Then I could upload to FaceBook and YouTube -- so I was finally happy and went to bed. I have not used the Movie Maker before, but we like so much what your students do... I have to try these things and understand them myself... This year I do not have experts at all things technology in my class -- last year it was Maurio... so I muddled through and now I can teach my students to do it.

In reference to the beautiful video which Tyrone's students made as a farewell to the Lovejoy seniors, Cathy responded: "As for including you and Escola Parque, how could I not? The students said to me that it had to be there. I have watched them move from being a little reluctant to looking forward to talking to all of you. (Down South, we say y'all as the plural for you) Melanie is also including you guys in her valedictorian speech where she runs down a list of important accomplishments.

Melanie was their spokesperson at the appreciation dinner -- and she mentioned how special learning to communicate with you and your students was, and how not many students in the US have that opportunity.

Comments from Tyrone

2010-05-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

These remarks are in response to the Appreciation Dinner that the Lovejoy seniors gave last night for their moms, their teachers and administrators, and the school board members. Students raised money themselves to pay for the buffet dinner.

I got really touched with your Orkut pictures!!! Congratulations on your effort to be a good teacher and become unforgettable to your students: that´s the greatest award you can have! God bless you!! Everything is so beautiful and serious!!!... Brasil has become more and more important in international scenery, due to our government and our oil, but we need to improve our educational system so that the majority of your boys and girls have a better future. In this sense, you Americans have great lessons to teach us!!!!!

On Celebrations...

2010-05-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

This project has not been as effective as the Facing the Future project. I think it is more impersonal than the other. There are submissions but they are so varied in length. We may have to carry this project over into the new school year.

And speaking of celebrations, it is time for prom and graduation activities for the Lovejoy seniors. We have many activities planned. Pictures will be shared with Escola Parque using Orkut. We may even try to use Windows Moviemaker to share some of these pictures with Escola Parque.

On the selection - Tyrone

2010-04-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

As soon as I know about the places I am going in the US in September, I will let Cathy and Rae know. Three more Brazilian State English teachers will go with me on this trip. Ms. Santos, U.S. Consulate General Cultural Affairs Specialist and the one from IAT, Bahian institution were responsible for teachers´ registration.

I was selected by Ms. Santos who works in Rio de Janeiro. She called me and made an interview both in Portuguese and in English. I used our project Global Connections as a tool to convince her of the importance of my going to the US. There I will visit schools and universities. When I come back, I will be supposed to present what I have learned and seen thru workshops.

Tyrone coming to the U.S.

2010-04-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

Tyrone will be coming to the United States in September. He has been chosen to represent English language teachers from Bahia. He will visit colleges and universities in the US -- which ones have not yet been determined. It will be an awesome opportunity; and then he will go back to Brasil to share with other teachers in Bahia.

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

2010-03-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

Escola Parque is back in session for the new year. A new group of students will have to be trained. New relationships between students will be formed. This is one of the ongoing minor complications. In the USA, our summer is from June to August. In Brasil, the summer is from Christmas until March. Also, there will be more adult students at Escola Parque. It will be interesting for the students to hear an adult perspective other than their teachers'.

We have exchanged questions on the movie, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. After viewing the movie and working on questions separately, we will upload some to TappedIn for the students to share perspectives.

Getting Ready for the New Year

2010-02-20T05:29:00.000-08:00

We are through Christmas. Escola Parque students are still on summer break. Lovejoy juniors are prepping for state assessment. Seniors are reading a novel.

Tyrone and I have begun to plan for our next project. He has sent some of the Celebrations papers. I will begin to check them. Lovejoy students will be writing summaries from their research papers.

It is time to view and discuss a new movie. We want to talk about self respect and pride. We want to talk about responsibility to our communities. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit will be the movie we use as a starting point. We will continue to use Tapped In, our student and professional blogs, and Orkut to chronicle our activities. And of course, we will SKYPE hoping that our web cams will be able to connect as well.

Research Papers Complete

2009-12-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

Lovejoy seniors have completed research papers on the origin of numerous US holidays comparing them to similar holidays in Brasil. One of the areas in which there was no comparison was Civil Liberties holidays. The United States has many such holidays, but Brasil does not. Other titles of the research papers include Celebrations of Love (Valentine's Day, weddings, anniversaries), Christmas, Thanksgiving (which is not a Brasilian holiday) and New Years, and Patriotic Holidays.

In Brasil students are out of school for Christmas. Their holiday will extend into late February because it is summer there. In addition to "Language Arts" at Lovejoy and "English" as a foreign language in Brasil, we have learned much about geography, history, and culture.

Work on the book will continue after the holidays.

A setback...

2009-11-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

With the end of daylight savings time, came the end of our SKYPE chats. If you remember, cutbacks due to problems in the economy shortened the school day in Bahia. Now that the time difference is 3 hours instead of 2, our students will not be in school at the same time.

We will continue to blog, work on our book, use TappedIn, and e-mail.

Speaking of e-mail, my students have run into problems figuring out what holiday in Brasil would be closest to some of our celebrations. So I told them to e-mail their other teacher and ask. Their delight at receiving e-mail directly to them from Tyrone was surprising. I don't believe they thought he would really write to just one person. They couldn't wait to share with their classmates.

SKYPE visits going well...

2009-10-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

We have had several successful SKYPE visits to the delight of students in both countries. One of my students called to me for help. Another admonished that student saying, "She isn't going to help us. We can figure it out ourselves. Move over." The "we can do it" attitude is what I am looking for.

A new project...

2009-10-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

The students will be studying Celebrations. Lovejoy seniors will be writing short research papers on a selected holiday and researching how it is celebrated in both countries. They will submit a synopsis describing the American (USA) holiday of choice. Escola Parque students will research information on their own holidays and celebrations. Then they will translate their work into English.

A book will be printed with the student work. The students are already excited.

Sharing the project with other educators...

2009-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Tyrone:

Today’s Principals’ meeting was a success!!! Bahia State Board of Education Secretary was there, among other education staff. Professor Eni Ribeiro was also there. She is responsible for State padagogic matters. I could present Global Connections to about 144 principals of Salvador. At the end of the presentation, our Project received lots of congratulations.

Our work together has taught the following lesson to everybody there: When teachers have a minimum condition of work, they can dream and such dreams can even make them cross barriers like we have done during this year of exchange.

The collaborating classes...

2009-09-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

On Escola Parque's assembly...

2009-09-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

Tyrone: Needless to say that our assembly was a real success. I could explain the whole process of the Project Global Connections, since its beginning, a year ago. So, our school community now has a clear idea of who we are and how we have worked. I told the audience about the sites and the themes we have worked with during this period of a year. They could notice that our classes demand creativity, as we have to find solutions to talk about this or that theme with a suitable site. Of course, finding a suitable site to a certain activity is a process that requires willingness of both of us. In this sense, you and I have been open-minded teachers always willing to reach our goals and to improve the interaction between our students.

The special guests were a Board of Education lady, to whom I gave my monograph on Global Connections and Our “Facing the Future” book; and a colleague that works in our library to whom I gave my monograph and copies of our books, in order to allow students and interested people to have an access to our Project. Our principal was also a special guest, and he received the same referred material. People got excited with Global Connections and the book. And today I myself had the most important day of my professional career until now.

I know our partnership will last for a long period of time!!

Lovejoy students to post flags of both countries...

2009-09-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Students wait prior to assembly to post the flags.
Both national anthems were played.

VoiceThread brings students together...

2009-09-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Lovejoy plays a Voice Thread of Susane reading her poem frmo the book. Melanie then reads the English translation of the poem.

On the assembly - outstanding success in both countries...

2009-09-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Cathy: The kids did such a good job with the assembly. Our guests were impressed. I was even impressed. Our special guests were the superintendent, a representative from the St. Clair Regional Office of Education, a pastor from a local church, a technology contractor who has given us much encouragement. All were presented copies of the book.

Everyone loved the VoiceThreads – not just the juniors and seniors, but everyone. Our kids tend to misbehave at assemblies, especially if they are bored. They were so well behaved today. They realize that we have something very special, and not every school has this kind of opportunity.

The reception was orderly and beautiful. The kids were proud of themselves, and the younger ones were proud of their friends who were involved in writing the book. Ready for the next book? Let's do it...

A few pictures are up on Orkut.

I feel relieved that it turned out so well. Again thanks to you and your students – you have made a difference in the United States.

An anniversary...

2009-09-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Tyrone:

Have you realized that we are completing this month a year together? So, I had to prepare a PPT covering what we have done. You could use mine during your assembly, in case you haven't prepared anything yet, just adding or substituting some information about Lovejoy activities during this period. Please remember: We started Global Connections in September 2008 and the book is a good gift for both of us!!! (It is our anniversary cake.)

Congratulations!!!

Cathy:

I am thinking it is time to get a reception going here at Lovejoy, too. So I call Sam's to see if they can do the logo on the cake. It does not surprise me when they want a letter of permission from Microsoft. I am ready for this. They will accept a printout of their online policy allowing it to be used for school projects. I learned well in June how to do this right!

Coming together...

2009-09-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

The assembly is coming together nicely. We are e-mailing several times a day. Our students are recording their poetry to be used in the other school's assembly. Cathy has recorded congratulations to Escola Parque students, and Tyrone has recorded congratulations to the Lovejoy students.

The students will read in their native tongue, and someone will read an interpretation of the poem after it is heard on Voice Thread.

We have exchanged programs. It promises to be an exciting event at each school.

Planning the assembly...

2009-09-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

It is getting close to time for the assembly. Much planning is done to make them very similar. We will both use the banner used in D.C. at NECC 2009. We will follow a similar program. The following are e-mail exchanges.

Sept 11

Tyrone:

Our assembly will be very beautiful! We are going to...

1- Listen to the Brasilian and American anthems;

2. Greet the audience and guests;

3- Read a welcoming message of yours and mine. (Yours can be via Voice Thread);

4- Call the principal, the coordinator and the superintendent of the State board to take their copies of the book;

5- Call students to read their poems and then take their own books.

6. Have a possible hello meeting with you about 10:30 am (our time), just for you to greet the students and see them with the books;

7. Students will have their names written in sheets of paper. They will be put inside a box; then, 4 sheets will be taken out of the box. Each one of the finding names will get a pen drive. (It was a way we found to guarantee that students will attend the assembly!)

8. End of the event.

PS: Folders on our project will be displayed during the event; there will also be a coffee break at a certain moment of the assembly. I think I will also exihibit your ISTE PPT on our project at the beggining of the event.

Cathy: 9/10

Awesome about the assembly! Yes, I will try to be there for the end with a VoiceThread to use in case the connection doesn't work. I will have Philip and Melanie record their poems on Voice Thread as well -- maybe a couple of others. What an awesome idea for the t-shirts! I will have to check into that too. This next week is so crazy that I am not sure what I will be able to make happen. But I will get Jaye to help and Sydney is trying to get more webcams by the end of next week. Time is getting away and I am excited and a little overwhelmed.

A whole year! Wow! Isn't this the most awesome project ever?

I will get busy. Good job on the invitation! Guess I need to get mine ready today. I think I may use the same picture.

September 9

Tyrone:

Today my principal, the coordinator and I went to the State Board of Education. There we talked to the superintendent of supplies, who we invited to our book assembly. Of course, we took the opportunity to show her everything we have done during the period of a year. (Do you remember that we have been together for a year? Virtual contact between us really started in September of 2008!! And nothing will be better than celebrating such an anniversary with our book assembly. I hope you can accept the last suggestion I have made. Although we won’t be able to be online at the same time, at least we could see each other during a short period of time on September 23 as I have suggested to you...

Anyway, I am happy!!! Please see the invitation card we have prepared to send to the guests. I think we will have a beautiful celebration as the principal wants us to have a coffee break during the event; my coordinator wants to have some T-shirts printed on the event and so on and so forth... As you can see, I have lots of reasons to be happy....

A touchy situation...

2009-08-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

As teachers we were ready to discuss the film, Meninas (Teen Mothers), a documentary made in Brasil. Tyrone and I had exchanged much information about attitudes and lifestyles of teen mothers in our countries. As the SKYPE call proceeded, my students were very much offended by some of the questions. This came as a surprise to both Tyrone and me.

Today at Lovejoy was a lesson in sociology and statistics. They soon realized that there was simply a misunderstanding. When you have teen mother among a small group, the percentages shoot upward. I think we are ready to re-engage in discussion.

In the teachers' lounge...

2009-08-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Cathy: Obviously, Tyrone and I can not sit in the lounge and talk about where the kids are -- college, jobs, etc. But the bond is there. We each care about the students at both Lovejoy and Escola Parque. It was important to share their successes... and we do. It is time for Fall Semester to start, and together we rejoiced that some of our Lovejoy students were going to Southwestern Illinois College, Mizzou, Harris Stowe, Lincoln, ... something that we both played a role in helping them to achieve.

We also share thoughts about education and teen pregnancy so that we as teachers understand what is happening in each country. Tyrone is shocked by the number of students that have babies. He has many questions to ask about our education system and our culture. I also have many questions to ask. This is truly a professional collaboration that exceeds any expectations either of us ever had.

Tyrone is planning an assembly to celebrate the book. I think it is an awesome idea, and I would like to do one too. What's more, why not the same day? His administrators would like September 23 or 24. If only the same time would work, but time zones prohibit that...

Can we make this work? We will keep you posted...

Planning the next movie and collaboration...

2009-08-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Cathy: Tyrone and I continued to share information throughout the summer. Some was personal, getting know each others' families We also started planning for the next movie. Remember that my students are not back from summer break, but it is winter in Brasil and their students are in school. The following e-mails were exchanged before my students returned to school. Notice how the timing has to be coordinated to make up for language barriers. You will also notice that sometimes things just don't go as planned.

8/8/09 I have also started a list of questions on Meninas. I will send them to you this weekend. Then you can add or delete questions. My students will need to use some research skills to locate statistics. Many of the questions are opinions and could be addressed in Tapped In. Others may be projects – PPTs, posters, charts, perhaps video where the girls (at least those here) can comment on how they feel.

Tyrone: (8/10/09)

Have you printed Menina's poster the way you wanted? I hope so. I think I will start working with Meninas tomorrow and on Wednesday. We didn't have classes today because today is Students' day. I am going to use part of your questions before and after their viewing of the movie. Don't worry about the time your students will watch it. If they watch the movie at the beggining of September it will be ok. I want to have my students watching the movie now, because there are several questions to be answered; in addition, they will have to make surveys in the net to do so. Afterward, they will have to translate what they wrote. So, I will need to have time to do everything. Tomorrow We will watch the movie and anwer about 12 questions in Portuguese. Part of the next week class will be used to go on answering questions on the movie. And then, they will translate what they wrote into English. I will think about a way through which my students can show their surveys; maybe we use PPT or a movie maker to do so. After your students having watched it, mine will be already able to discuss about Meninas. As I have already seen Meninas several times, I know the Meninas girls'. I think I will print their pictures so that my students can't forget their images, histories and names. As it is a true story, the girls of the movies won't be forgotten so easily and they will be able to talk about them via Skype, blog, Tapped In when it is the occasion, ok?

Cathy: There was some anxiety as to whether the connection with the new class would be as effective as that of the old group of Lovejoy seniors. Not just on my side, already knowing the next classes had a very different personality, but from Brasil as well... What if they don't click?

Tyrone: 8/12/09 I hope your new students and the juniors can interact with us, as Fetemma, Maurio, Paris, Brandi, Freddie, Damion, Latosha and other ones did. In fact, I miss your ex-seniors and I would love hearing from them in case you know about them, regarding his professional life, college etc.... I think I had to postpone the viewing of Meninas as I didn't find the copy I have. Anyway, tomorrow I will ask a colleague to lend me hers so that I can make a copy. In last case, I can go to a video shop, take the movie and make a copy for me....You see, it is so stressing when you are ready to do something and you realize that an important detail has been forgotten or not found, mainly when you are tired and want to go to bed!!!

Brasilian students' PPT

2009-08-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Tyrone: Brasilian students at Parque School were asked to take pictures of their colleagues, more precisely of their hair style. The intention was both to see how many black hair styles students are used to wearing and to increase their self esteem as they would have the chance to "look themselves at the mirror" - opportunity not so frequently given to them at our schools.
Their job was beyond this, however. They took those pictures and then created their own Power Points with the different African descendant hair styles they had seen. In order to give a more critical approach to the activity, students were asked to talk about those black hair styles they liked most and those ones they don't like so much. Regarding the Labour market, they were invited to talk about how employers are used to behaving here in Brasil when they are to hire black people. The aim was to discuss whether there were black hair styles more accepted or not by the employers. Students gave their opinions critical opinion about it and they were included in their PPTs. Afterward, their PPTs were sent to Teacher Cathy that kindly saw each one of them and wrote a 9 page interesting comment on my students' activity. Her interesting and perceptive comments were discussed at Escola Parque. And finally, my students gave her a final feedback.
Cathy's students are supposed to see such PPTs and create their own so that we can share our cultural experience in this field.
A simple activity like this one shows us that a creative idea can lead us to a rich discussion about serious problems, being this process conducted with happiness and satisfaction by the students as they use TICS to do so.

Cathy: (Cathys’ comments on Parque School students’ PPTs - August 2nd, 2009)

Alan Sena
Alan, when I opened your PowerPoint, my reaction to the first slide was, “This is so awesome.” I have not seen 3-D used. Your color choices are exciting. As I reach the end where your comments are, I know that what I am seeing is more than excitement; it is passion. It is a love for your roots, for your heritage.
I do find it interesting that you do not wear one of the hairstyles that is discriminated against. I wonder if your family makes that decision for you at this point. Unfortunately, people do judge by hair style.
Comment on Labor Market: In some professions, it does not matter. My husband works with and IT professional who wears dreadlocks on a military base. He is brilliant in his field, and that seems to be all that matters. However, if it had reached the point where he was competing with another African American man with the exact same qualifications and similar personality, the hairstyle might have been the determining factor as to who was hired. I asked my husband if he had that hairstyle when he was hired, but he does not know.

Alessandro and Aline
I loved your color scheme. It was very attractive. The pictures were well chosen. Are all of them of people at your school? Were some of famous people? I am just curious.
You learned to add sound to your PowerPoint. That is good. I liked the clapping. I have one question. Do you clap for something you like or something you do not like? The clapping was for the tribal design. You said that your favorites were the Mohican and the braided hair. Would it be more effective to clap for those two styles instead? It is something to think about.
Your comment on the labor market: You said they are “biased against one’s personal appearance.” My answer to that is this: When you work for someone, you do not just represent yourself. You represent the company who employs you. So that is why what you wear and how you fix your hair is important. If they are paying, they make that decision.

Diego Rodrigues
Why do I think that you chose fonts that you thought were expressive of the hairstyle you were illustrating? If not, perhaps you did so subconsciously. That really added interest to your presentation. Very creative!
I think you are very perceptive in your comments. You are right that some people do not like any new style. I remember when I was young and the rock and roll stars were wearing long hair. You would have thought the world was coming to an end to hear the older people talk. Yet we all survived and we have been through many different styles – regardless of skin color. I like what you say about wearing a style with which you are comfortable.
On the Labor Market: Then you went on to qualify that it needed to be something that would not cause problems. Part of becoming an adult is being aware that some things are necessary whether they are fair or not. Hairstyles tell much about our personalities, particularly our willingness to conform. As a young teenager, I was fortunate that the “in” style was acceptable in the workplace – long, straight, and parted in the middle. At that time, African Americans were discriminated against for any or no reason. The United States has come a long way. It will be interesting to hear what my neighbor, who hires people for a very large law firm, has to say about the hairstyles you and your classmates have presented.

Elen
Your PowerPoint uses a conservative background and a bold font. This tells me that you know what you want to do and then you do it! Am I right?
Concerning the Labor Market, I think that you have made several good points. There are hairstyles that you would not want to see in a restaurant such as Black Power. You might be afraid that hair would fall into your food. Then no one would want to eat there, and it would hurt business.
I think that is an important point for many businesses in the Labor Market. The employer perceives that people will respond a certain way to the way the employees look. They do not want someone to dress, show tattoos, or to wear hairstyles that might hurt business. It is very much about making money, and they will not hire someone regardless of color or hairstyle that might affect that badly. An example with the tattoos: The US Air Force will not allow its members to have tattoos that show while they are in uniform. They do not care if they show when out of uniform, but there is an image of being a professional that they want to project.
You are very perceptive, and you have a good understand of societal issues.

Iasmine
Your PowerPoint is very trendy and fun. I see that you are creative and “have a good eye” for what goes together. You will do well in the world of fashion.
I see that you struggle with the idea that certain styles are best for different occasions. That is true. Then you say that one should not be discriminated against for their hairstyle. You are right about it being what makes us different. I love to see the different styles of my students. When they dress for our dance, the Prom, they wear their hair different than for school.
On the labor market: I think it is the same for a job. You want to be practical. You must represent your employer and his or her business. In the field of fashion, you will have much more freedom with your hairstyle than someone who is a doctor or a lawyer in a courtroom.

Marcia Costa
Marcia, you are a very pretty young lady. My guess is that you are very feminine, judging by your choice of background. I like the way you experimented with fonts, sounds, and animation of the slides.
I thought that the clapping might work better with the smooth hair since that is your favorite. Then I wondered if it was fireworks going off on the smooth hair. What do you think?
Labor Market: Why do you think the “coqueirinho” is discriminated against the most? I have not seen that style in the United States, at least not here where we live. I wonder if it is considered too informal. If so, it would be like wearing shorts to be a receptionist for a nice office. It is different, and that sometimes makes people not accept a style. Is this very common in Salvador? I like the name of it.

Raffaella
I like the stark contrast of color in your design. Your use of the same font throughout the presentation of hairstyles is neat and uniform. It works very well with the design. Then you change for the comments and that personalizes what you have to say. Good job!
On the Labor Market: I find it interesting that you and many of your classmates of differing opinions as to which are the most accepted and which are the most discriminated against hairstyles. Your preference seems to be for the more dramatic styles. You are the first to list the Mohican as an accepted style.
What might be an interesting topic of discussion would be where in the labor market the different styles would be more accepted. If you are working with food, one style might not be accepted yet another would. If you are in a government office, that might be completely different.
Tatiane & Cristiane
I like the way you broke from the traditional words that are straight across. I need to follow your example. I sometimes slant the pictures, but slanting the words is a nice touch. Your colors were a nice contrast that was pleasant to see.
Labor Market: It is interesting to see the differences in your opinions about which suffers from discrimination. It is a good example of what actually happens in the work place. Different employers may accept different styles.
Cristiane, you thought that a hairstyle like the Mohican might be discriminated against because it is different. I agree. Tatiane also makes a good point. I wonder why the dreadlocks are considered as having a lack of hygiene. The people whom I see with dreadlocks are extremely clean and neat.

General Comments from Cathy about hairstyle, jobs, prejudice…
Hairstyle does not make as much difference if you do not meet the public. For example, if you are a cashier, it is different than if you are stocking shelves. However, if it comes down to two people with equal qualifications, the willingness to conform will give the one with the traditional hairstyle an advantage over the other. Another factor will be the language you use – proper grammar indicates good communication skills. The person who uses will be accepted over one who speaks using slang.
To show how a prejudice might work, the Mohican and the tribal design would make me wonder if the wearer’s were gang related. And if I as an employer wonder that, then will my clients or customers also wonder that? What came into play here is that I am not familiar with those hair styles. Iasmine said that is “old-fashioned” and she is right. However, I am a lot more accepting of different African American hairstyles than many people who are white, who are business owners, and who are my age. It is not an intentional prejudice – it comes from lack of understanding.
I shared this with Elen. Please think about it: An employer perceives how people will respond to the way the employees look. They do not want someone to dress, show tattoos, or to wear hairstyles that might hurt business. It is very much about making money, and they will not hire someone regardless of color or hairstyle that might affect that badly. An example with the tattoos: The US Air Force will not allow its members to have tattoos that show while they are in uniform. They do not care if they show when out of uniform, but there is an image of being a professional that they want to project.
When you go to a job interview, remember this. Hairstyle says, “I care what you think.” It says “I can meet your expectations on a job.”
About your Comments: All of you have done an excellent job of presenting the hairstyles. You have also done great analyses of employer reactions to the different hairstyles.

Presentation Comments:
I can see from your PowerPoint’s that you are getting more comfortable with technology as you experiment with design, fonts, animation, and sound. Keep up the good work. I am very proud of you.

Students' final feedback (August 6th, 2009)

Tyrone: Cathy, students loved your comments. Thank you for having spent your time to write a 9 page comment on their PPTs. Please have a look at their feedback.

Tatiane’s PPTs
I talked to my students about Tatiane’s opinion on dreadlocks and lack of hygiene. They didn’t agree with her. In fact, we noticed there are some people whose megahair doesn’t smell that good, but this occurs when the person doesn’t wash her hair so frequently. Thus, the problem is not the megahair or dreadlocks themselves but the way people care about their hair. Nobody agreed that dreadlocks had any problems with hygiene. As a matter of fact, this has nothing to do with a specific ethnical group, but the way people care of his/her body.

Allan’s
Alan is a simple guy whose ideas seem to be stronger than his attitudes, reason why he doesn’t wear any of those hairstyles. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come to class these last weeks. So, he hasn’t had the chance to see your comments on his job.

Raffaella’s

Regarding the discussion on “where in the labor market the different styles would be more accepted” we got to a conclusion that fashion shops are to accept more easily people that wear Black Power, piercing and tattos whereas the majority of the places don’t accept such people as their staff.

Alessandro and Aline’s

They said they had chosen the clapping to illustrate their powerpoint with no specific intention, I mean, they chose the clapping because they liked it, but not because they wanted to mean that this or that hairstyle was the ones they had liked most.
We know that discussion is very delicate. Although, employers have the right to choose their staff, as we live in country whose number of unemployed people is enormous, employers are to behave with more racism and have snobbish attitudes when they choose their employees. In fact, although Salvador has the biggest black population in Brasil, if you go to the chic malls we have here, you won’t find black people working for the most expensive shops. We are aware of that and this fact has been cause of black complaints.

Diego and Marcia’s

Diego is (or was) a new student. I mean, He just had attended to 2 classes. The last two weeks he and his girlfriend Marcia haven’t attended the classes, so they didn’t have the chance to give you a feedback on your comments.
Again, I would say to you that they chose the clapping with no specific intention.

Elen and Leilane’s

In fact, Leilane was the one who wrote the comment on the PPT. She told me she really knew what she wanted to do.
Regarding tattoos, the army in Brasil behaves the same way: they don’t allow soldiers to show tattoos when they wear uniforms.

Iasmine’s

She loved your comments. I could notice that she was proud of what she had done. She liked to know you knew about her intention to go to a fashion college. I think your opinion was good to increase her self esteem. (I realize now that you must have remembered her from the video I sent you, am I right?)

On recognition in Brasil...

2009-07-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Tyrone: I spent the afternoon yesterday making a "merchandising" or propaganda of our project during a small conference on education we had in Lauro de Freitas town, a place where I also work. I showed our project to the Secretário de Educação, or the Director of the Education Department of Lauro de Freitas and to Lauro de Freitas Teachers' union: all of them loved the project and I am to see them afterward in order to see how we can use this project or my experience in the fields of technology/education in Lauro de Freitas. I was also invited to present a workshop at a conference that will occur next September or October.

Cathy: That's so awesome!!! I am happy to see you getting to present in Brasil. I know you will do a terrific job. Have you noticed that there is very little media interest in our project here? Brooklyn is very small (700 people); and because of the adult entertainment and high crime rate, everyone thinks it is a terrible place. Well, it can be pretty bad at times, but the people who live here love their town, and they are proud of their heritage. The media is always eager to report killings and drug busts -- but not something good in education. It is disappointing. But we are not here for the publicity (although we enjoy it); we are here for the kids and I think making a difference.

Tyrone: The magazine that will be published belongs to the Department of Education, but the article they will publish about our project will be a result of my direct calling to the magazine staff people. As a colleague of mine that works for the teachers' union told me yesterday, funding projects here in Brasil has to do with political matters. If I belonged to this or that party things would be easier for me. Unfortunately, things here are this way. You do seem to have a more serious country in the field of education. See how many grants and conferences you have the chance to go to in your country... I can't compare it to Brasil. Anyway, nothing is perfect and we will survive and succeed!!!

Voicethread has real possibilities...

2009-07-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Tyrone: Let's see whether is going to be possible or not having two ceremonies at the same time. If not, we could also have a presentation of this Voice Thread during the ceremony. You could ask your students to record their poems via Voice Thread and e-mail me. then, I would use this during the event. In last case, you yourself could record the whole poems. I loved hearing your voice!!! I am so excited about what we have done!!! I think Voice Thread has still lots of things for us to use!!!!

Books mailed...

2009-07-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

Cathy: I signed my picture in the back of each book. I delivered them to the Post Office. The guy said they will arrive at customs in Brasil in 7-10 days. Then the delivery is in their hands. So if things go well, you may have them in two weeks.

Tyrone: It'll be marvelous when I have the books in my hands! Students will love seeing your signature!!! Of course, I will also sign my name!!! ( I am so proud of the book!) Parque School will prepare an event to give them to the students. We will invite Education Department people to attend the ceremony. It'll be an important moment for me!!! Can you imagine if you were here beside me to give them their books? I think I will suggest them to read their poems as soon as they receive their copies.

Cathy: How awesome!! Take lots of pictures!!! I think it is an excellent idea. I wish we had finished before my kids got out of school. Then we could have both had a presentation ceremony at the same time. I still may do it with the juniors -- at the same time as yours -- if we are back in school.

Why don't you have your students read the poems that they wrote -- or a select few that are not afraid to be on stage -- or do this -- have them record them in the safety of your room using voicethread. Then they don't have to be afraid to stand up in front of a crowd. You could pick poems of some of their favorite students that they conversed with -- or just some of their favorite poems -- and record them (in Portuguese, of course, unless your audience also speaks English.

I did a sample of what I mean. If school has started back, I could get one or two students with short poems to read them in English and then you or one of the students could read the Portuguese translation. Just ideas -- if none of them work, that is okay. But take a look if you don't mind.

PowerPoints on hairstyles...

2009-07-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

Tyrone: I could not help waiting for sending Cathy my students' PPTs on Black hairstyles. I know you will love their jobs!!! They did more than just upload people's hairstyle to the PPTs and write the name of the hairstyles: they wrote a text about Black hairstyles they like most and the ones they knew society and Labor market are used to discriminating. After having read their comments, I notice the high level of black consciousness they have. Their self-esteems are nice, and they do not accept or agree with the discrimination in Labor markets due to ones' hair style. I hope Lovejoy students can see these PPTs and discuss them, doing their own afterward. I think this is a simple activity that is very meaningful. I could not help waiting for your students' reaction when they see my students job...

Cathy: The kids did an awesome job. I will send my comments on each one. I am learning about their personalities as I look at these -- the design they choose, the discussion of discrimination -- some seem more accepting, some (like A---) seem almost angry. I hope the students understand that we are all teaching each other -- students teaching students, teachers teaching students (and each other), and students teaching teachers.

I will ask my neighbor who is Human Resources manager at a major law firm to respond to their comments about hairstyles in the labor market.

I love what they are doing and I am saving their work to share -- school will be back in session soon. My Lovejoy students will also do PPT's to share with Escola Parque.

I want to figure out how we can use voicethread.com to record voices and attach it to the PPT's -- I think that would be cool. They will soon have a way we can upload these kinds of things into our classroom in TappedIn. It may be easier than trying to e-mail it all -- we will see.

It doesn't hurt to ask

2009-07-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

So the excitement increases. We were unable to connect for the book opening, so I decided to record it with my web cam talking about it. The sound was horrible, and I need to learn what to do to improve that. So I uploaded it to YouTube anyway and made it private to anyone except us.

And...
You won't believe this, but I received a call from the Brasilian consulate in Chicago. The ambassador wants to know more about what we are doing. He wants a writeup of our project and how when we would like to get you here. The lady who called said that he has to submit a budget by November for the following year. Then they would have to approve it in Brasil, of course. But the good news. They would like a proposal. They might provide air fare.

How did I make this correspondence happen. I went online and googled Brazilian Embassy and used the contact e-mail address. I told them a little about the project and of course about the book. I asked if they could help pay to mail it to Brasil. So while I was at it, I decided to shoot for the stars. I asked if they had any funding to bring educators from Brasil to the U.S.