Kacy B is a 2010 TEFL Professional Online graduate teaching in Brazil.
"It was in 2008 when I first met Prof. Manoel Andrade and the PRECE educational movement in the rural country-side of Ceará, Brazil. It only took 15 minutes before I was hooked. PRECE, which stands for the Educational Program in Cooperative Cells, is by far the most impressive and most exhilarating educational movement I have ever met and had the privilege of working with.
In 2008 I was working as the Director of Children and Family Education in a large church in Atlanta, GA, finishing my master's degree in theological studies and studying the work of Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire. At the same time PRECE was completing 14 years of changing lives, improving communities and bringing about a better and brighter reality for the people of the rural poor communities outside of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
PRECE began in 1994 with a group of 7 students under the leadership of Prof. Andrade. These students were well aware that they were some of the "forgotten children" of Brazil. Their local government was unable to provide running water, electricity, paved roads, and schools. Most of the children would leave elementary school around the age of 10 to help their parents in the fields or at home. And, even those who stayed in school were confined to multi-age/grade classes with inferior resources. These 7 students and Prof. Andrade believed that there had to be a better way to educate students than what was being offered so they started the PRECE methodology, a cooperative learning approach to education where students study together in groups sharing in the learning process and multiplying their knowledge. In 1996 the first student entered the university. Now 18 years later, PRECE has helped 500 students enter the university, and more than 50 go on to graduate degrees.
The most beautiful thing about PRECE is that the movement is collective and everything is done in community. Each weekend 3 buses full of university students return to their home communities to teach children and adolescents courses in the discipline they are studying at the university. They are helping hundreds of youth prepare for the ENEM (university entrance exam) so that in the future they too might enter the university, teach others in their local community, and change their reality for the better.
My journey teaching English in Brasil with PRECE has been a journey different than most English speakers who are looking to teach abroad. My purpose for studying with the TEFL institute was purely so that I would be prepared to teach English with PRECE and this objective guided all my lesson plans and projects. I didn't have the typical struggles of looking for a teaching placement that most TEFL graduates face because I already knew exactly where I was called to teach. And, I wasn't concerned about housing or travel or "finding my way" because I knew I would be surrounded by the security net of the PRECE community.
But, of course, I have had some of the same struggles that many EFL teachers experience when living abroad - how to speak the native language, learning the cultural differences, changing my dietary routine, building lasting relationships, struggling through homesickness, finding places to exercise in the middle of the dessert, etc.
And, of course, I have had some of the same struggles in the classroom that all EFL and ESL teachers experience- lack of resources, frustration when students are "getting it", not enough time to plan and teach, questions about the best approaches and lack of creative ideas, a network of other EFL teachers, etc.
But, teaching in Brazil I have learned 2 life changing lessons:
I am extremely lucky to have been born in a developed country where my government provided for my basic needs and I had access to good public education, social services and a strong infrastructure.
I am more than blessed to walk alongside the people of the PRECE communities learning their stories and living in solidarity and equal respect. They have taught me the meaning of community, patience and solidarity.
If you are prepared to step out of your comfort zone and in to a life changing experience then teaching English abroad is the right choice for you. If you are looking for a welcoming culture, beautiful people, incredible beaches and phenomenal music then Brazil might be the right choice for you. And, if you are looking to volunteer with the most incredible educational movement built upon cooperation, solidarity and faith in a brighter tomorrow than PRECE could be the right choice for you!"
