In Brazil, where football is very popular, kids are encouraged to do well in school by having classes that look like soccer fields and a virtual character based on star forward Vinicius Junior cheering for every right answer.
They sit on football-shaped cushions on classroom floors made of fake grass and use tablets and iPhones to learn using an app made by the Vini Jr Institute, which was started by the Real Madrid player to improve public schools in poor areas.
Ana Clara da Silva, 11, told AFP in Sao Goncalo, on the edges of Rio de Janeiro, “I learn better when I use the app. It’s easier, and it looks like a game.” Vinicius was born in Sao Goncalo.
Da Silva goes to the Visconde de Sepetiba local school, which is one of ten in four Brazilian states that got help from the institute to pay for school.
The project, which began in 2021, has helped about 4,500 kids and 500 teachers. It wants to have hit 30 schools by the end of this year.
The app wasn’t made to replace real teachers; it was just meant to help.
Each student has their own account where their progress is tracked as they answer questions about math, science, Portuguese, and other subjects in a fun way that is based on football.
Each subject is shown as a “match,” and each school year is shown as a “season.” The character “Vinizinho Jr.” celebrates each right answer as if it were a goal.
“The strength of football”
Victor Oliveira, general manager of the Vini Jr. Institute, told AFP, “We use the power of football and its playful nature” to get the kids to learn.
“We use the app to practice everything we learn.” “Being able to use our phones while still being able to focus on our work helps us learn,” said Yuri Rodrigues, 11.
The institute, which was first only backed by Vinicius but now has other backers, also wants to f𝔦ght racism in a country where more than half of the people are black or of mixed race.
It has put out a training handbook on how to f𝔦ght racism and has taught about 80 teachers about the topic in the past year.
This is something that’s important to the Brazilian attacker, who has been discriminated against several times in Spain.
“He is very important to all of us,” Ana Clara, 11, said.
“I’m glad he keeps going. “He can f𝔦ght for us because his voice is heard by many,” she said.
At the annual Ballon d’Or football awards in October, Vinicius won the Socrates Prize for his charity work.
The 23-year-old was also named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador last month. He is only the second Brazilian football player after Pele to receive this award.
