brazilian vs. american system of education
The Brazilian educational system differs from the American in several ways. While that could be due to the fact that a great part of the Brazilian population does not have access to education, I believe it also has a lot to do with how the educational system is structured in Brazil.
Students that attend Brazilian schools think the main goal of their education is to pass the Brazilian college entrance exam, or the "vestibular." A tough and tricky exam, it requires preparation and hard work. While American universities opt for a more holistic approach to determine a student’s admission, Brazilian universities rely solely on the "vestibular," known in Brazil as “Enem.” This exam stresses memorization and makes students miss the true purpose of education: learning. American universities take a lot into account when deciding whether or not to admit a student: GPA, recommendation letters, extracurricular activities, curriculum, SAT/ACT scores, essay, among others. This allows students to uniquely express themselves and develop strengths and weaknesses. The GPA component ensures that students will constantly study throughout high school, something many Brazilian students fail to do since their high school grades do no matter to Brazilian colleges. Many will simply start memorizing their way through books six months before the exam. In addition, a student’s personal essay allows him/her to develop his/her voice in writing. Perhaps the most important component of this holistic approach is extracurricular activities. Brazilian schools rarely offer extracurricular opportunities since they do not matter when it comes to admission into college. I believe this is one of the greatest flaws of the Brazilian system of education, since these activities give students a chance to discover more about possible career paths and allow students to develop leadership. Brazil’s education system is based on one exam. Students become nothing more than their score on the exam. It forces many to abandon the pursuit of critical thinking and analytical skills, since they simply attempt to memorize what they need to pass the exam. This approach teaches students what to think, and not how to think. |