Newsletter # 4 • Daytona, Florida, USA • July/14/2015
Carta do Phil
Dear Students,
Here is a quote Magdal likes a lot:
“Se você quiser construir um navio, não convoque homens para juntar madeira, dar ordens e dividir o
trabalho. Antes, ensine-os a se apaixonar e desejar o eterno e distante mar". (Antoine Saint-Exupéry)
What does this have to do with anything?
This… Once I read a book on education called Learning to Be, published by UNESCO, the cultural
arm of the United Nations. Its main premise was that the principal goal of education is “to learn how to be”. To be what? To
be what we are. To become what we are, instead of what so many other influences “want us to be”, or, as Shakespeare said,
“or not to be”. Yeah, to be able to see what we see and not what someone tells us is there.
The book told a story about Mr. Hotchner, who had been sent by his publisher to Cuba to interview Hemingway. He went
with a list of 20 questions to get answers to. Hemingway answered them all…except one. Every day Hotchner, who had
already established a true friendship with Hemingway (he would later become his main biographer.), would ask Ernest again
to answer the question, and would get no answer, hearing instead that the question was “stupid”.
On Hotchner’s last day with Hemingway, while fishing for marlin on his boat, Hotchner asked again, re-iterating that he
really needed the answer. The question was, “What is the main ingredient that a person needs to have in order to be a great
writer?” This is what Hemingway said, to help his new and close friend…
“To be a great writer, the main ingredient that one must have is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”
One might be surprised to read this in a book about education, published by one of the most serious cultural organizations in
the world. The explanation was that “shit detector” is synonymous with “critical sense”, or in other words, the ability to
“separar o joio do trigo”.
The authors went on to say that we human beings are always surrounded by some trigo and a lot of joio, and that most people
don’t know the difference, and that they therefore end up paying dearly for joio, or in Hemingway’s words “shit”, and not
even realizing it. Joio in many schools, organizations, newspapers, magazines, radio and tv, etc. To be able to get the trigo,
we must be able to detect the joio. And that, to UNESCO, is the main goal of education.
It isn’t an easy thing to do, to learn how to detect joio. It’s sort of a cultural or psycho-social “desmamar”. At some point,
we have to go from mother’s milk to pizza, steak, beans, rice, muqueca, vegetables…food that adults need. Our society and
parents are good at helping us make this nutritional transformation, but in many cases they are ineffective at helping us make
a cultural and intellectual “desmamar”. Very unfortunately, most people continue buying and eating cultural papinha the rest
of their lives.
So what? I’ll tell you “so what”. Solid food gives more health and pleasure than papinha, after a certain age. After a certain
age, a steak, salad and some good bread give more pleasure than papinha. And if we continue eating baby food, we grow up
weak. The same thing happens with intellectual food. If we consume the solid kind, the “trigo” kind, we grow up healthy of
mind, and we get more PLEASURE.
It’s really weird; we have to gradually stop giving mother’s milk to babies and at the same time start introducing little pieces
of delicious solid food. Once the babies chew it and taste it, they make the transition, and start wanting the “trigo”, but they
have to chew it, or a least “gum it”.
In terms of Hemingway, we parents and teachers have to try to cut you off of cultural papinha and trick you into trying
cultural solid food, because we know that you will get more health and PLEASURE out of it. We know, for example, that
you will get more intellectual stimulus and pleasure out of U2 than out of Spice Girls.
The same is true of some movies. Everyone, almost, who went to see the three movies we have shown during the course got
a lot of pleasure out of them, and also learned some things (it’s a pleasure to learn that way). To bring the point home, I am
going to betray myself and admit to years of cultural seduction, by copying to you part of a letter from me to Alessandro
Calderari, our coordinator at Phil Young’s Cabral, who was preparing to go to Canada with us. Here it is…
“Hey Ale,
I remember the first time that I successfully “culturally seduced” a group of students into going to a movie of substance. It
was in Daytona and I fooled them into going to a great movie by Oliver Stone, starring Tom Cruise, Born on the fourth of
July. I fooled them by saying: let's go see the new Tom Cruise movie? They all said yes, since all of Cruises' previous movies
had been shallow romantic comedies. Well, they all went, and loved it. And this even led to spontaneous class discussions
about the Vietnam war and even about just and un-just wars, even a comparison of wars in which Brazil and the United
States had participated. Yep, that was a real cultural seduction.
Some months after that class in Daytona, my student, Marcelo Harger, a great guy and a very successful lawyer in Joinville
today, told me that the course had opened up to him a taste for great movies, plays, newspapers, magazines… good stuff, in
general, and had made a significant contribution to his life.
Not all attempts will be so dramatically broad and deep in their results. But, if we get the students to enjoy a "real" movie
(vamos dizer) instead of the usual Hollywood bullshit (cinematic “papinha”), it will be a big contribution to some of our
students' lives.
Tchau folks,
Phil
Carta de mãe de ex-aluno
“Olá Phil,
Obrigada por nos trazer sempre informações e fotos de nossos "pimpolhos". Sim, eles serão sempre pimpolhos, filhotes,
coisinha fofa, tuca da mãe.....mas é tão bom !! Para nossas crianças que voltarão como jovens com tantas experiências, tudo
isso " é um mico"..... Que nada, isso é apenas o amor de mãe e de pai também. É nosso amor incondicional que perdoamos
por esquecerem de ligar o celular, o Nextel ou postar fotos no face.
"Face", viu como nós também entramos neste mundo novo? não fomos criados neste mundo da informática mas necessitamos
e agradecemos tanto....assim como muitos de nós não tivemos a oportunidade que conseguimos viabilizar para nossos filhos a experiência de viajar sozinhos e ainda mais para o exterior, num curso intensivo de inglês e extensivo para a vida!
Somente o tempo, a maturidade e novas experiências é que farão eles perceberem o quão importante e inesquecível será este
curso em Daytona, na companhia de velhos amigos e outros que se firmaram lá mas em especial com a equipe da escola Phil.
Digo como mãe, que só deixei minha "tuca" ir devido a seriedade e comprometimento de toda a equipe. Nós aqui ficamos
fazendo alguma ideia de todo o esforço e atuação direta, pois devem existir tantas histórias.....aliás, eu queria ser uma
mosquinha para assistir do alto da luminária, as reuniões na hora do almoço ( almoço...welll....lanches - é só o que tenho
visto...rsrssr), café, aulas, lavar roupa....kkk....cuidar dos gastos e tentar, apenas tentar registrar num diário ( caderno) que
pelo jeitão, vai voltar vazio. Mas, vazio apenas de letras pois as recordações, aahhhh estas serão centenas, milhares e durarão
dias e dias para contar e assim mesmo vez ou outra virá uma nova lembrança.....
E tem uma vovó que disse: "puxa vida, eles ficaram sem férias...estudaram tanto....". Só a vovó para pensar isso....Estudaram
sim, com toda a certeza, mas a diversão está sendo tanta, que chegam exaustos no alojamento e nada de ligar para
casa......ai,ai, ai....
Phil, obrigada por fazer parte deste crescimento das nossas crianças e também da gente, pois está sendo incrível: a casa está
arrumada, estou ouvindo as músicas que mais gosto, a estação de rádio no carro: sou eu que escolho !! Para o próximo final
de semana as compras de mercado: bala de goma, bolacha calipso, coca-cola, chocolate e cama arrumada ! Mas não pensem
que será o tempo todo assim: é só para festejar o retorno ok?
Obrigada professores e professoras que diariamente as 23h00 faziam a "revista" nos alojamentos mas eu tenho a leve
impressão que deve rolar alguma "festa do pijama" sem vcs saberem..........rsrsrsr. Aliás, acho que tem algumas aventuras que
só saberemos daqui a algum tempo , naquele almoço de domingo regado a muito macarrão, frango e maionese....
Um forte e fraterno abraço de uma mãe muito, muito feliz e realizada através da filhota !”
Gladys Florença - Mother of Yanna Haluch Strambi, a former student in the 2012 program.
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Lower Advanced I students – Teacher Karina
The things we liked the most at Embry-Riddle are, the monument of the airplane, the path ways that are good for
skateboarding and the variety of animals. We like this monument because it is a beautiful piece and represents the university.
The skateboarding experience allows you to move faster. And we enjoyed the animals because some animals at the university
are difficult to find.
Rodrigo Perillo
Anna Luna
Lucas Pacífico
Isabela Holanda
It's so nice to study in the biggest aeronautical university in Daytona Beach, because we have the opportunity to see
interesting things like cute squirrels, cool planes and so many strange animals.
Nicole Molinari
Sofia Calixto
Caroline Massuchin
Barbara Finimundo
The Eagle: The symbol of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is an eagle. Which can be a representation of the
specializing in aviation and the development and skills of the students.
Observatory: The Embry Riddle Prescott Observatory Complex is a resource for space Physics students and analysis of
astronomical data they will use in research projects for degree requirements.
International Doorway: The academic scholarship Program was created in 1997 and from time International Doorway has
helped thousand of international students from Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The average participant receives a
minimum of 7 scholarships options from different U.S. institutions, which greatly increases your chances of being recruited
and accepted by prominent American colleges. According to the Institute the number of International students attending
American colleges is over 690,00. They know that the American education will provide them with the best preparation for
their future.
Ana Paula Weber
Eduarda Baciqueti Dani
Júlia Munaretto Zonin
Millena Louise
Pictures
Free writing activity with Teacher Camila – Middle Advanced
I
That’s all for today, Folks. Phil News.