| There are several reasons why students are | | | | I would NEVER worry about my students learning! |
| approved in without deserving. The first and most | | | | The problem is that it is more comfortable to the |
| obvious reason is financial. Language courses need | | | | teacher to approve everyone than to make |
| the money students pay to study there. I believe | | | | graphics of grades and establish a goal of success |
| that, although, most of Language courses are | | | | to the class. |
| ruled by ex-teachers whom usually feel so | | | | It is important to remember that, in DLLE/DRH |
| frustrated with teaching (because it does not | | | | case the students do not pay to study there. It |
| guarantee a successful financial life) that they | | | | influences a lot in the way the teacher will deal |
| forget about teaching principles and start thinking | | | | with her students. At Projeto CEL, another |
| only as an entrepreneur. Coordinators sometimes | | | | example that I take from my own experience, I |
| force, slightly, teachers to approve some | | | | do not remember exactly how many students I |
| students who do not deserve be approved | | | | have flunked but I keep an average of eight or |
| because they fear the students transfer to other | | | | ten students approved per class. Considering that |
| language course. It happens, and it is quite often | | | | a class has about twenty students, one might |
| specially in Manaus, a place where every corner | | | | think that I am such a perverse teacher. Well, I |
| there is an English course. | | | | am a teacher, who does not approve students |
| A possible reason besides money is still related to | | | | that do not deserve, but the ones who are |
| numbers. The average of approval in language | | | | approved have the highest grades in the next |
| courses might increase or decrease the image of | | | | level. What happens in CEL is completely different |
| the institution. At "Projeto DLLE/DRH", for | | | | of what happens in DLLE/DRH because of the |
| instance, there is an image of never reproving a | | | | level that are provided by the institution every |
| student, everybody is always approved. When I | | | | semester, so, I do not have to worry so much in |
| first saw the results of the tests from my | | | | making them reach a good level of knowledge. I |
| students in DRH, I really understood why some | | | | simply flunk them. |
| teachers approve many students without | | | | Another good reason for me to believe that |
| deserving. I faced a situation never experienced | | | | teachers approve students without deserving is |
| before. I had under my responsibility a group of | | | | pure compassion. I saw, with these ethical eyes, a |
| students that apparently fit level 5, but effectively | | | | student of mine crying after the class, because |
| belong to level 3 most of them. Why did it | | | | she got 3.4 in a test and told her "you must |
| happen? It is a special case in which not all the | | | | study hard". It is simple, teachers are not |
| levels of study are offered, they HAVE to be | | | | machines, I know, but we have to understand |
| pass because there is no level 5 again next | | | | that if a student did not study hard this semester, |
| semester. It is very uncomfortable to listen to | | | | the he will not study more next semester. |
| your students saying, "Teacher, I HAVE to pass | | | | These are only examples of language courses, |
| because if I don't I will wait until the class level 3 | | | | there is also the case of public institutions in which |
| get in level 5, I will lose two years of study." My | | | | students are approved in mass in order to |
| students of level 5 suffered a great impact when | | | | increase government number of educated people. |
| I got in the classroom speaking in English, asking | | | | This case is very special. First because it has no |
| them to write at least fifteen lines in their writings | | | | solution, and second because it comes along |
| and not allowing them to use the dictionaries in | | | | Brazilian history for a long time. This is due to a |
| their tests. It was a completely different and hard | | | | policy of covering the truth. If people, the mass, |
| situation to them. I had three students that gave | | | | do not know the truth nor the way to find it, |
| up after the first test. | | | | then, a person or a group of persons that have |
| I decided to keep on doing all these things, I do | | | | the truth can overpower the mass. Knowledge is |
| believe in education and especially in approving | | | | a dangerous power that some governments, |
| reproving system. As I said before, their grades | | | | mainly undeveloped countries' governments, use |
| were a completely disaster, also, I found out that | | | | to control its people. In our case, it is clear that |
| the texts they were writing to me as a | | | | many governments we elected were not |
| homework (which I rewarded them with 0.1 point | | | | preoccupied with education at all. It is like a |
| in the test) were made using the Babel Fish | | | | snowball. Once it rolls, it keeps growing more and |
| Translator. I realized I was facing a giant | | | | more. Teachers who try to go against this policy |
| pedagogical trouble. After the first test, some | | | | face big troubles with not only the authorities, but |
| students gave up and I noticed it was not bad, | | | | also the students, who are used with this process |
| because the ones who persisted got better | | | | of 'foolishment'. They are not able to see the |
| grades in the second test. Then I collected all the | | | | truth because, in fact, they were never taught to |
| bizarre mistakes they made in their writings and | | | | see through the government booklets. |
| prepared a power point presentation to show | | | | Unfortunately, there is nothing a teacher can do in |
| them what was wrong in the texts. It was a | | | | public schools to overcome the current situation. |
| success, they loved, really. I thought they were | | | | When the subject is teaching to high school, we |
| going to get upset but when the presentation | | | | face another problem. The continuous entrance |
| ended up they said "thank you" because I worried | | | | exam to Universities, students have a continuous |
| about them and nobody never did that so. I do | | | | evaluation in the end of each year. If a student |
| expect them to get over the bad grades they | | | | flunks in the middle of the process, he cannot |
| had in the beginning because they are nice people. | | | | recover the previous result. Some schools have |
| But I already warned them not to expect be | | | | interest in have their students approved in |
| approved if they don't get the average grade, | | | | 'Vestibular' or 'PSC' because it promotes the |
| which is 6.0. | | | | image of the schools. It is a matter of Marketing. |
| What I wanted to show is that it is possible to | | | | Besides, English is a very important subject to |
| have a group of students that are on the verge | | | | appear in the schedule but not so important to |
| of flunking transformed into a group of hard | | | | flunk students in the school. When they are not |
| students. This way, we avoid the dilemma of | | | | approved in Mathematics, Portuguese or |
| approving or not approving the student that does | | | | Chemistry, then the student deserved to repeat |
| not deserve be approved. The main problem is | | | | the whole year of study, but when he flunks in |
| that the teacher has to work in double and most | | | | English, it simply is discarded and the student goes |
| of us do not want our students to really learn. If I | | | | to the next year as nothing had happened. |
| looked only to the income I get from DLLE/DRH, | | | | |