The changes start now!

OBS: To better understand this text you might want to read the article “Firms open alternatives to weak Brazilian schools” from The Washington Post <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/firms-open-alternatives-to-weak-brazilian-schools/2011/04/16/AFHjbeKE_story.html>.

Many say that education is the key for success. I believe that improving education is the first of many steps that society needs to take in order to succeed. When society works in order to improve education, other factors such as politics and economics also tend to improve.

Knowing the importance of education, Brazilian's companies started to invest money into this field. They are running schools, meaning that those companies are creating schools for their employees' children and for other children that are interested in going into their schools (though these children have to pass in some tests in order to get in), also they are developing new teaching methodologies and improving school managements.

Those companies are investing on education because Brazil’s economy is becoming larger and larger everyday and the companies, are aiming an even better future for economy (hence, more profit for themselves). With that in mind, they started to invest money in the base because, by giving a good education to those who will takeover in the future (meaning, children and teenagers), companies are expecting that, the future adults they are giving good education to, will be more qualified for the changes that are happening and will be ready to keep the rates up, to receive more foreigners and keep on improving the economy and the country in technological and sociological matters.

One good example is the Tourino Foundation that, like EABH (the school I go to) is an international school, meaning that the main language spoken in the school is not Portuguese, in the Tourino Foundation the main language is Italian (classes are given in Italian) and, FIAT is one of its sponsors. The students take technical courses and in their 11th grade, they get the chance to go to FIAT's matrix in Italy to get to know the company and to see if they are really interested into becoming a FIAT employee. FIAT is a company that is growing in Brazil since the car industry is growing really fast so, by doing this, they are qualifying the people so that they won't have the need to bring qualified labor from Italy and instead, they will get people from Brazil with the same or even better qualification since these students are being qualified from the base.

The article Firms open alternatives to weak Brazilian schools talks about those companies, the work they have been doing in Brazil and their intentions. While reading I caught myself thinking about the goods those companies are doing to Brazil, to themselves and to us, members of the Brazilian society. Those companies, such as Bradesco, a Brazilian bank, are investing money in the creation of schools and also in the qualification of teachers so that then; students will have a better parameter, a better example, a better base. Also, they are providing students with better materials and better environments (with the improvement of the public schools). Do you want more? Well, those companies are providing students with opportunities that most of their parents didn’t have, with opportunities that many other students would go nuts to have, opportunities that will change their lives as it did to Flavia Witzel, one old student from the Bradesco’s school program that graduated from high school because of the opportunity that she was given by the bank, went to college and now is a teacher. She teaches the in the Bradesco's school and, as she said, now she is having the opportunity to help to transform the lives of the children that are in the program which transformed her life.

To change the future, the changes have to start now and, knowing it, companies (though looking for some self-benefit) are helping our country’s future because, for Brazil to be able to continue to grow and fight for a better spot in the “World’s Top Economies”, children have to be better educated so that they will be well-prepared young adults and then the country will be able to keep on rising in all aspects, such as socially and economically.

War breaking the limit of RESPECT

OBS: To better understand this text you might want to read the article “Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says” from The New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=Osama&st=cse>

Three weeks ago, May 11^th,I turned 18 and, as I happened to go to church that day for my aunt’s seventh day mass I started to reflect about events that happened over the past years. I started to think about the things I've done, the things I saw on TV and that I saw people doing, so I realized that our world and the people living in it (including me, you, the people we don't know, your parents and friends) are in a constant war. Whether we are in war with ourselves or fighting with other countries defending our beliefs, there has not being one single day of piece in all people’s mind in the entire world.

My aunt was struggling to accept her financial situation that, in the past 3 years was getting worse. She wasn’t able neither to take control of the situation nor to find a way to change it so, she committed suicide. I’m nobody to judge her and this is just how I see the whole situation but, maybe in her mind there was more to it, so once again not only me but no one can judge her. An action that show how she was in a war with herself and that now, keeps me and my family from being in peace with ourselves, wondering how she did this not only to herself but to us, even more because her problems were not problems impossible to solve, on the contrary, is just one more example that there are always people in war with themselves.

In addition, war tends to cause war, meaning that war is an ongoing process of showing disapproval, struggle or interest. Look at the 9/11 situation, Osama Bin Laden together with a crew of man that were fighting back from interferences made by the USA in their country, killed about 3,000 civilians. The people who were killed were working in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, were passing by the twin towers or were just trying to help the ones that were hurt and ended up dying. Many had nothing to do with what the government was doing and some even disagreed with it. As a response for that, the USA since then, has been tracking Osama and, as Obama took over the presidency, one of his promises was to kill him. As the article Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says from the New York Times states, “the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan” this past month (May, 2011).

Do you think that now the war is over? If you do, I’m really sorry to break the news but, it is not. Now Taliban and Al-Qaeda  are revolted against the US and will soon start a new fight. New? Well, for me this is just another prove of how a war is an ongoing process. The US should already expect this result, Osama was seen as a hero by some and, though they might not be enough people to defeat the U.S. army, they will continue the terrorism, they will continue to kill civilians, they will continue to show their disapproval (now even more) through attacks that shouldn't have started.

I'm far from being a terrorist but, if someone killed the one person which was a hero within my beliefs or, if someone attacked my country or my group because they disagree with the way I live my life or the God I pray to every morning, I wouldn't accept it. I would defend myself, I would defend my beliefs, I would fight for my rights. It is the right of all citizens to have their own beliefs and no one should criticize me for what I do or think. Hence, I'm not saying that I agree with the terrorism those groups are doing around the world, but I understand that they are mad because people are not respecting their rights, people are trying to intervene in the way they live their lives and this shouldn't be happening.

In history, there was not a war that ended until one of the sides won or gave up on fighting, which means that, war as it is, will never end unless one side becomes too weak and can’t take it anymore. As we have been studying, some wars were for good but most are not so, why not stop fighting? Why not accept that people are different, the environment we live are different and that we might have different beliefs? Why not stop seeing ourselves as superiors and stop trying to impose to others what we think it is right? In history, many times the limit of RESPECT was broken. It is now time to stop, or else we are walking in the road of the Third World War and I don’t think any of us want that.

Women’s Revolutionary Movement

In the late 1800s some changes in the United States were already starting. Women were starting to fight for their rights; people were less fanatical with the church; things such as industrialization, immigration, and urban growth started to happen rapidly and, there was also a drastic change in economy since south and north unified and, slavery was over. All those changes didn’t happen for free; many problems resulting from it spurred the creation of many reform movements during the next century.

The so called Progressive Era was the era where the consequences of the changes made in the 19^th century started to happen. For many, this was the time where reform groups (outgrowth of earlier groups) were reacting to the changes that happened so quickly in the years before.

Progressivism was not a single unified movement, people who called themselves as Progressives did not share the same beliefs. In fact, their goals fell into four categories: social, moral, economic, and political. Some of these goals overlapped; some in fact conflicted. Examples of it are Republicans and Democrats which called themselves Progressives have opposing ideas and beliefs.

Most of the reformers were people from the upper classes that held four basic beliefs such as that, government should be more accountable to its citizens, should curb the power and influence of wealthy interests, should be given expanded powers so that it could become more active in improving the lives of citizens and, it should become more efficient and less corrupt so that they could competently handle an expanded role.

Unfortunately because of public demand, local, state, and federal officials enacted major Progressive reforms in the early 1900s. Still, many changes such as the creation of social welfare programs, and the voters having the power to chose who were going to represent them, were still made by such movements.

In 1914 World War I starts and the USA was announced by president Wilson as neutral in the war, meaning it didn’t chose a side in the fight. That only happened until German send a submarine warfare which helped to push the US into the WWI because then, American troops helped the Allies defeat the Central Powers of the war. As the fighting ended in Europe, President Wilson pressed for a treaty (Peace Treaty) that would bring peace to the postwar world.

The 1920s were a time of rapid social change, in which many young people, particularly women (who had just earned the right to vote), adopted new lifestyles and attitudes. As its rural population decreased, the United States became an urban nation, and traditional values were increasingly challenged. Music, art and literature had a special creative period which was supported by the mass media that was providing information and entertainment to the population as it never did before.

As expected, all those changes started to cause conflicts among people with different beliefs and values. One well known trial, the Scopes trial, was one of the best examples of tradition vs. evolution (as in evolution of actions and people’s mind changing with time) and, how all the changes, though they might seem as good changes for the people, were contradicting traditions so much that it ended up confusing the population in what they really believed.

The trial happened because one teacher in Tennessee, John T. Scopes insisted in teach his students the theory of evolution which contradicted the history of creation as stated in the Bible and, was prohibited by law to be taught in public schools. Scopes trial’s real importance was the fact that it put the country’s modern beliefs and its traditional values in stake because it showed how contrasting they were and, how the population though accepting new/ modern beliefs was still attached to the old traditional beliefs.

In a time of changes, it is hard to keep up and accept all new ways of seeing things. I know that myself because, I live in an era where things are in a constant change. Everyday new technologies are created, concepts are changed due to an abroad system of technologies that enables more deep studies in some areas and, when facing the situation of accepting a new concept and applying it to a real life situation, I, though following the changes that are happening, still have difficulties. I understand and most of the time agree with the new concept I was being taught but, if I was to write an essay I know that, I would keep on going back to the old concept, not because I liked it better but, because that was what I was used and sometimes it is hard to let go of some traditions.

With time, the theory so called “offensive to the Bible” was accepted by society in a scientific way, meaning that both, the history of creation stated by the Bible and, the theory of evolution exist. In a world with wide acceptances and so many new oppositional concepts the least that can exist is two concepts/ histories for the same fact because if people are different, have different beliefs and values, why would they have to accept the same concept or history for something?

What to find in this blog and more information about Dani Torchia

“Hello world!!”

My name is Danielle Torchia and I’m a student at EABH. I’m currently a junior but in one month I will graduate in the Brazilian system.

Many people ask me how I decided what to study in college and I tell them that my life choices lead me to make this decision. When I was 8 I wanted to be a P.E. teacher, when I was 11 I wanted to be a veterinarian, when I was 13 I wanted to be a Lawyer but, it wasn’t until I was 14 and went to Spain that I decided that the field I wanted to work was the International Business and International Relations field. I wanted to deal with people and business but at the same time I wanted to be able to speak a different language than Portuguese and also be dealing with countries. I love traveling and getting to know new cultures so, why not the International Relations?!

Hence, I’m looking forward to go to college this fall and who knows, maybe in the future work in an international company or even be a member of the UN (one of my biggest dreams).

It is by looking forward to this future that I created this blog. It has the intention of showing some of my opinions about things that are happening around the world and also to help high school students to go through processes that I’ve been through.

Beijos, Dani