Brazil's education system is terrible.  It's been that way for years.  But it is improving, slowly but surely.  According to the NY Times, under the guidance of Brazil's president, Mr. da Silva, education has become the administration's focus.  Unfortunately, instead of support and encouragement there seems to be a lot of criticism among the educated elite in Brazil.  Mr. da Silva is accused of not starting education reform soon enough in his term and of piting the uneducated against the educated.

Mr. da Silva needs a break.  According to the article, his highest level of education was the fourth grade.  And the fourth grade in a country that is said to have the lowest performing grade schools in the world.  During his years of formal education, all four of them, I'm sure Mr. da Silva was able to make profound observations about the needs and issues that faces his country's schools.  Perhaps, Mr. da Silva didn't begin his work on the education system until later in his term so he could complete some research, observation, and be prepared to make sensible, efective changes.  

Clearly Mr. da Silva is educated enough to run a country successfully for a seven year term, does he still need to be identified as uneducated after that kind of self-establishment?  People are so quick to judge folks who haven't attained advanced degrees.  'They're uneducated', 'they're backwards', 'they're blue collar material only', people say.  But there is a lot to be learned about this world that you can't get in a classroom.  Obviously, Mr. da Silva learned enough taking the "uneducated" route to out-smart some the more qualified candidates for president.  It takes time, Brazil, to overhaul an entire system that has been dysfunctional for, well, forever.