ELT in Brazil

I was in class the other day when the coordinator knocked on the door. She comes in. Students go mute, out of respect or fear. I can’t tell. She tells students that the global assessment exams are around the corner. FYI, these are exams that attempt to assess students’ skills and knowledge across all subjects in the curriculum. She says that the students with the highest scores will receive a scholarship to study at the best preparatory course for Vestibular, the Brazilian entrance exam for the best universities in the country.
– That’s not fair! – shouts one of my students
– How come? – I reply, knowing quite well where this is headed.
– It’s not fair for the best student to get the scholarship to study in the best prep course.
– Why not?
– Because this will only widen their advantage.
– But don’t you think they deserve it because of their merit?
– What do you mean?
– Well, if these three students who get the scholarship are the ones with more talent and skill, wouldn’t we be rewarding them for their brilliance?
– We would.
– And, wouldn’t this bring about a more just society?
– How so?
– Well, imagine this classroom is our city and that we are the ones who decide who does what in this city.
– Carry on.
– Wouldn’t it be wise to choose the wisest of us to lead the city?
– Yes.
– Wouldn’t it be wise to choose the strongest and most courageous of us to be soldiers?
– I guess.
– And wouldn’t it be wise to give the best instruments to the best musicians, the best tools for the best artisans, the best ingredients to the best chef, and so on and so forth?
– I see what you mean. In light of that, it would then be wise to give the brightest students to the best teachers, in your opinion?
– Oh no, that’s not my opinion, no. This is what some Greek philosophers believed. The best to the best so they can play to their strengths and be more aligned with the plans that the gods had for them.
– However, wouldn’t this widen the gap between the best and brightest and the not-so-best and bright?
– It most certainly would.
– Is this fair, then?
– Well, it depends on your point of view. What is, by the way, your point of view?
– I see justice as an equalizer.
– How so?
– Well, in the case of our exam and scholarship, I believe the students with the lowest grades should get the scholarship for the prep course.
– Why? Wouldn’t this be unfair?
– Not in my perspective. If justice is a means to equalize differences and, instead of widening the gaps shorten them, the students with the poorest performance are the ones who are really in need of an excellent prep course.
– I see.
– Moreover, I am curious as to how this prep course got this label.
– What label?
– “Best” prep course.
– What do you mean?
– Well, did they get the label because most students who take their course get accepted into a prestigious university?
– That’s likely.
– Is this fair, though?
– Elaborate.
– If this course only accepts the best and brightest students, how can we assess the course and the teachers? Wouldn’t it make sense to assess a course on its impact on the learners rather than the university acceptance percentage?
– What do you mean by ‘impact on learners’?
– Say a student is one of the best and brightest and always scores around 95% percent on their tests. Say this student gets the prep course and, after six months they are scoring around 98% percent on their tests. What is the result of the prep course? How did the prep course improve this student? Perhaps by a 2%, 3% here or there? Less than that, maybe?
– I see.
– Imagine a different situation. The prep course gets a student who has long been facing extreme difficulties in learning and developing, scoring really low on their tests. Then, after six months, this student is now scoring around 60 to 70 percent on their tests. The impact is immense!
– Absolutely.
– My point is, how much merit does a prep course have when they only accept students who are already bright and scoring high marks? What work is being done with these students? Asserting they maintain their advantage over the other students? Widening the gap between the ones who are certain to pass and those who are losing hope? What a disservice this prep course is doing to our city and our learners!
– I see. What do you suggest then?
– I suggest we end with this nonsense.
– And do what instead?
– Well, I suggest we be fair and just, under the lens that justice is an equalizer, not an instrument of furthering existing inequalities. Let us take this global exam but forget about the rewards for now. After we take the exam and these results are added to our portfolios, the students who are struggling the most will get the scholarships for the prep course. Also, the students with the highest grades will get teacher support to mentor the learners in between. This way, everybody gets the help they need.
– Elaborate, please. I like where this is going.
– The students who are struggling the most will get expert help from the prep course – which will help us see if they really are all that or just taking advantage of the brightest students for their advertising. The brightest students will learn how to help and mentor other students, an invaluable skill that might even grow to become a profession in the future. Also, the students in between, the, say, average students, will be mentored by the brightest students so they can improve their results.
– It’s a win-win situation.
– Or rather a win-win-win situation, as a wise man would say.

[This text is one of the chapters in Thus Spoke an English Teacher Volume 2, coming later this year. If you have read thus far, consider purchasing the first volume for more reflections like this one. Click here to get your copy.]