Troy student teaches Brazilian children

This summer Jess Teats and seven other Flathead Valley Community College students had the opportunity to take part in a once in a lifetime experience. Teats and his classmates spent part of the summer in Recife, Brazil teaching English to Brazilian students.

“It was a great international experience,” Teats said. “It was a life changing experience.”

Teats wants to become a teacher and he said he jumped on the opportunity when he heard about it.

“I’m going into education and social work,” he said. “I also want to do international work as well. This is exactly what I wanted to do. I jumped on this opportunity as soon as I heard about it. I’m going to Missoula to get my bachelors in education and social work.”

The program in which they participated is Conexa Mundo, which is sponsored by U.S.-Brasil Connect, a nonprofit organization that partners with FVCC. The program selects a limited number of students each year, based upon a specific list of criteria.

“It was a competitive process,” he said. “There was a substantial number of people that applied and only eight of us got picked. It was very gratifying to get selected. I was very excited when I got the news. It was a long interview process. They did background checks and everything. They were definitely looking for a specific type of person. It was a very detailed process.”

Teats said he didn’t know any of the other FVCC students before the trip, but they formed strong bonds of friendship through their shared experience.

“I didn’t know any of the students that I went over there with,” he said. “I saw them in passing, but I didn’t know them personally. We all became friends through this experience and I think they’ll all be lifelong friendships.”

Teats and his classmates each worked with a group of 10 to 11 students while in Brazil.

“We had been teaching them since April,” he said. “We did online chats and we each had 10 to 11 students. Before we got down there we had been working on the basics. When we got there we dove into carrying conversations in English. The progress was amazing. You can carry a normal conversation with them and you don’t have to slow down. The ‘want to’ was there and it made it easy on me that they all wanted to learn.”

Through teaching Teats developed a strong bond with his students.

“I was their teacher, but I was also their friend,” he said. “The conversations were meaningful. There was a sincere want to learn there. It was teaching because you genuinely cared for the wellbeing of the students. It didn’t feel like an obligation. I enjoyed every moment with them.”

Teats said the experience made him a better person.

“I was an investment in these students life’s,” he said. “I needed to be the best me possible for the kids. I felt like I was a different person. I didn’t think I could be that good. I saw a side of me that I’d very much like to emulate all the time. The program can be life changing if you let it be. I’ve become really invested in these kids. I’d do anything to help them. It’s definitely a teacher’s passion.”

Teats said he could tell he was doing something special simply by being in the same room as his students.

“There are certain people that you meet and you know they are special,” he said. “I was in a room full of people that you could tell they were going to do something special in life.”

The students Teats taught were anywhere from 13 to 17 years old.

“The oldest kids were about 17,” he said. “My youngest kid was 13. They do chemistry, medicine and astronomy. Some are going into international relations and some are going to be engineers. It was absolutely amazing being around them.”

The school was a safe haven for the children of the program.

“These kids come from poverty,” he said. “These students are living in the slums. There are drugs, gang violence and domestic abuse. They literally are worried about getting robbed going to school. Everyday they put on their uniforms and come to school. They treat their school as a sanctuary. It’s their safe place during the day.”

Before leaving for Brazil, Teats didn’t speak any Portuguese. Now he’s able to carry conversations with his students in their native language.

“I speak a little Portuguese now,” he said. It’s so great to be able to speak to my students in Portuguese.”

Teats said the hardest part of his experience in Brazil was not teaching students how to speak English; He said the hardest part was leaving his students.

“When I left those kids were sobbing,” he said. “They were all giving me hugs. It was a hard experience. I never felt more intensely. It was such an amazing experience and I’m thankful that I got to take part in the Conexa Mundo program.”

Teats said that the Conexao Mundo program is giving Brazilian students hope.

“I’m really impressed by this program,” he said. “This thing is a light in a dark place. They are giving these kids an opportunity. The students are extremely grateful. They see the beauty in the simplest of things.”

Teats said he hopes that people start to take notice of the work that Conexao Mundo is doing.

“The program is a shining beacon of light,” he said. “I will do what I can to help get the word out. It’s not just the Brazilian students that are benefiting; it’s the teachers too. I came out of this experience as a better person. It’s an amazing experience. As a person of faith I feel like this is something I was destined to do.”

 After completing his schooling Teats said he plans on returning to Brazil.

“I would like to return and work there,” he said. “I’m going to apply for my work visa as soon as I get my bachelor’s degree. I want to be doing something impactful and this is something I’m definitely making part of my future. I want to help people help themselves.