Team Six's First Day

With wide open eyes we observed the white washed buildings, the mosaic like cobblestones and the blue tiles on the walls. We settled into our various rooms in the immaculate Residencial Bejense. The afternoon was filled with organizational meetings. Bonding has begun! Several of us went to a catholic church for a real local experience. The day ended with a family style dinner at the Tem Averdios. An evening walk for some of us helped to digest the food and the newness of our locale.

Due to a high dropout rate and relative low achievement of students, Portugal has revised the way teacher are evaluated. In addition, they are required to be more competitive to earn higher ratings and promotions—and one teacher called it the end of cooperation and the beginnings of “cannibalism”. Paula, the representative of our host, said there were many teachers who retired early due to the changes and that out of 150,000 teachers, 120,000 attended an anti government demonstration. More observations, more committee work, more time at school equal a great deal of tension at our schools.