Education - a fundamental instrument for every nation Its public knowledge that without education there is no future for a nation to grow and develop. However, Brazilian government does not seems to care about it. Despite its campaign saying they are prioritizing education, the population can't see any changes. Even when a kid is getting poor grades on school, the teacher can't reprobate him. The school has to have certain number of students approval. Some mothers pleads for reprobate their children because they know their kids aren't learning well enough to pass. But, the school says it can't do anything. They have to pass them to the next year. In consequence of the non-reprobation, kids are leaving the schools without understanding what they read and without knowing maths, physics. These are the adolescents who enter college. They can't even know how to interpret a text, how will they write a essay for graduation? And moreover, how can these young people be prepared to enter the labor market? They are not. Brazil has a lack of specialized workers because the schools can't prepare people whom does not have the most basic knoledges. This is one of the reasons why Brazil is receiving so many immigrants and so many older workers are still in the market. They can't retire. There is no one to substitute them. So, how the Brazilian government are pretending to increase and grow its economy? With what workers? The youth are not prepared. The elders are getting retired. The future is getting dark for Brazilian people...

Kids in jail, parents fail Watching the News these days with all the violence and juvenile crime rates increasing, people wonder if the TV programs and videogames are the majority guilty for it. Although, despite its influences, the role of the parents are almost took aside. Why is that? People in general seems to forget the influence of the parents acts (or its lack) and their behavior in front their kids. A couple of months ago, a marketing video showed some adults followed by little kids copping their vicious habits. It was a shocking video, but also a true warning. Our toddlers are seeing what we do, even when we think they are not. Moreover, the bad habits are what they copy the most. Educating a child is essentially being a living example for him, showing the rights and wrongs, compassion, words of encouragement and (why not?) joy under any circumstances. On the other hand, the demonstration of affection has a great ascendancy on child behavior. Even when both parents work out, leaving their kids in a kindergarten all day, if they prove their kids are important to them, and have quality time together, it all seems to matter more than having a parent at home full time, though no bothering at all with their children actions. The parents’ emotional presence have a huge impact on their kids’ school performance. And later in life, at their adult choices and decisions. An adolescent who never had told by his parents that violent games and movies aren’t the real life, and vengeance is not the solution for his daily problems, will not have a second thought on shooting people in disagreement with him.

Humans aren’t worthy of its Planet Since the beginning of human civilization, we think we are superior from the others living beings. Although, we are not. How could we be so pretentious? The only thing we care about is humans’ survivor without thinking we’re connected with all the planet. Could you imagine yourself became a crucial part of the ecosystem, and not only a predator? Well, I can’t because actually we are predators and almost like viruses. We only take from Mother Nature all that it offers to return back with pollution, diseases and animals’ extinctions not acknowledging we’re committing suicide. We are linked with our surroundings even when we can’t stand it. Example given: why would we kill bugs, birds, rats, ants and all those animals we just attracted with our waste of food and abundance of fresh water? We are the ones who is calling them with our waste! Like others beings, we are dependent of every resource in this world. We should know better than poisoning everything we touch. This place is unique like no other. Even though we could find another planet billions light years far away with the same conditions we have here, nobody could really prove that it has (or had) the explosion of life we have here. Therefore, even if we try hard knowing it may be too late to reverse our self-destruction, we must bear in mind that we have to stop being hypocrites. We can’t waste time pretending to be “tree huggers”, still smoking cigarettes, throwing garbage on streets, printing with noxious inks the banners for our said “green” protests. Let’s face it: the human race needs to wake up for reconciliation with its Mother Nature.

How I decided to be an architect Since my earlier childhood I had a crush with houses, and I loved to see those magazine's advertising of apartments and houses. I could imagine I was living in those drawings, walking from room to room... And for an 9 years old it was pretty awesome, to see in a 2 dimensions so many possibilities! And when my parents gave me some Lego bricks... Oh! That was the real start of my projects! But the word "architecture" and its meaning just came to me when I was at the high school. Until them, I thought I wanted to be a civil engineer. For you abroad Brazil, here we have specific functions for architects and civil engineers: the first only designs buildings, houses, object designs, master plans, constructions managements; and the second bridges, highways, industries, structure calculations... When I realized that what I wanted to do was only design of buildings and houses, I was presented to the Architecture world!