American Folklife Center, Library Of Congress Ethnic .

Pen.tiJoe s Superette)and other businesses,Portuguese parish.Village,"which wasthethe city center."WeirThe Taunton Sports Clubthe building wasThere arearea such as Andrade's Market.including Main Street in the city center,are located.is visibleto the casual observer,Astheit servesThrough-Portugueseasan indicationThe .instituthns servesupport certain Portuguese traditiona.it can bealsoPortuguese presence in the cityof Portuguese strength in the city.an example,located in thein the early 1940sbusinessesasparticularlyAnother Por -"South Side Portuguese Club."Portuguese markets in thisout the city,isthe mainanother traditional area of Portugueseis located in this section;constructed asattend this church.Our Lady of Lourdes,settlement south ofAnthony,Portuguese throughout the city,those not fluent in English,tuguese church,and St.6/3 0/82If food isto betotakenseen that traditional elements ofthePortuguese diet are easily found in a variety of local Portuguesestores aswell as in standard "American" chains.products manufactured in the United Statesa myriad of bakery productshomeland which includeat least a dozen typesHere are soldsuch as lingui a andand also foods imported from thenon-perishablessuch as dried fruits andof canned sardines as well as perishablessuch as fresh fish and fruit flown in from Portugal.In addition to the Taunton Sports Club there are several otherPortuguese clubsisin the city.ThePortuguese-American Civic Clubthe largest with approximately fiveto six hundred members.The smallest club with a membership under a hundred isaglss,istheTauntoa soccer club which developed out of Taunton Sports.q religiousclub,the Holy Ghost Club,Therein East Taunton with

entiapproximately one hundred members.S/3O/829-The most recent organiza-tion founded in Taunton (in 1981 with. approximately 120 mem bers)to promotePortuguese culture,coirTnullist y,TOPACAmerican Conmiunity)for example,both within and outside(Taunton Organization for thewhichassthePortuguese-is ts aawly arrived immigrantscitizenship classes.ethnicwi t h,Memb ership in these clubs isnon-exclusive and Taunton Sports members may be members of otherclubsThe Portuguese Continental Union,organization,also hasa Taunton lodge.A major aspect of community lifee3 a5a national Portugueseoccurs during the summer.crowd the summer weekend calendar.A festa may beasimple picnic without calendrital or historical significanceor it may be a festival based it religious meaning.every weekend in June,July,and August there appearsfesta in Taunton or the surrounding southern NewFamiliesattend not only the local festas,ones some distanceaway Du ri ngto be ang1and area.but also traveltoThe major Taunton festa is St. Anthonyt aheld under the sponsorship of the local parish of the same name.This -festa consists of a mass in theehurch followed by a reli-gious procession through the surrounding streets of the Portuguese villagefor example,events areand afterwardsa secular segment where,ethnic and. American foods are sold and carnivalavailable.held in June.in July.there isTheOur Lady ofLourdes also has its own festaThe Holy Ghost Club has its own religious festaTaunton SportsClub,as mentioned holds itsownfeata in July.he major secular celebration of the year occurred during thecourse ofthis fieldwork;it isthe"Day ofPortugal" which

Pentj 6/30/8210honorsPortuguese culture under theof LLs De Caes,aegis of a commemorationthe great Portuguese poet.holiday occurs on Junetenth,The actualbut the occasion is marked byweek long festivities which began. in Taunton this year witha flag-raising ceremony on Taunton Green in the city center, whichwas. followed by an art show for local Portuguese artists,5(rainSaturday JuneSunday a festadid force a change in schedule).onOnwas held in the Portuguese Village wheretherewere performances by the Rancho Folclorico do Taunton Soortsand four other invited folklore groups from southeastern Massachusetts and. Rhode Island.On Wednesday there were three soccergames held in the eveningclub's threeat theTaunton Sports field where theteams participated.Finally on Thursday,June 10,the major event of a dinner and fado performance was held at thePACC.The school children commemorated the occasion through anend of the yaer project of essaysand drawings.The Taunton Portuguese have a variety of occupations.city's factoriesemployment(primarily silver,to many.clothing,and shoe)life.causeAnd from thereto some other school,bilingualofferAntonio Amaral described the immigrant workcycle which was also represented in his own life:go to the factory;'hethat's"We have tothe first step of everyone'sthey' try to better themselves by goingsometeache!% did.other college like my sister [ aAnd then they try to better themselvesby going into business or getting another job getting outof thefactories."any Taunton Portuguese appear to have sought self-employment asevidenced by the large number of small Portugueseowned markets,garages,travel agencies, furniture stores,home

'enti6/3 0/8211improvement companies,and c amera storesEistoi7- of the Taunton Portuguese SchoolAgainstPortuguesedent ofthisvigorousPortuguese community baci grcund,school was rounded in 1980.theschool sinceits inception,integral role in the creation of theAntonio Amaral,presi-apparently played anschool.Amaral notedhe had thought' of founding a school when he wasClub president in the mid-1970sthethatTaunton. Sports(he has been a club member forover 20 years), but the lack of proper facilities at the OakStreet club building prevented this.tLe described his interestin a Portuguese school as natural with four children; he wantedhis children toan academic"learn my culture,way."theand background inAn organizational meeting was held duringlate winter of 1980bility oflanguage,(February or March)to discussthe feasi-school assessing the means of operation, and thenumber of students possible.Attending this meeting wereap-proximately 25 parents and, other interested people includingsome invited guests.These included directorsthe Taunton Sports Clubascluded Josel n.o Guerreiro who hasTheseand the school's folklore group.pite their expertise in language education,on the basisofteachersin-continued her interest aspresent school secretary and 'saura Amaral,teachersofwell as are bilingual teachers whowere called in ror experienced guidance.the club'sand officersdirector of botIronically,des-these bilingualtheir American education are not con-sidered qualified to teach in the Portuguese school.It wasdecided toa 'the Taunton school an official school(Escola Oficializada Portuguesa)seei ng support and recognition

Pentj6/3 0/8212from thePortuguese Ninistry of .Education.This involvementof the Portuguese government in theoperation of Portugueseethnic schools is somewhat unique.The Portuguese governmentthrough the Ministry of Education. offers an aid program toPortuguese schools in the United States which includes monetary support,free textbooks,and direct guidance by a trained"coordinator" living in the United States.Rmilia Mendonça istheInspectora do Enslno Elementaj' currently employed by the"Service of Basicseas."Rhodeand. Secondary Education for Portuguese Over-She works out of1slandthe Portuguese consulate in. Providence,and is the first person to have held this positionhaving been in the United States for two years.cultural agreement between the Unitedstatesand Portugal whichwould allow her to act as an official inspector;as a coordinator for the variousthroughoutthe United States.in Massachusettsand Ludlow),(for example,1hodeIsland,There is noshe merely acts"official" Portuguese schoolsThus far she has visited schoolsNew Bedford,Connecticut,Fall River,Norwood.,and California.Shevisits the Taunton school about once a month meeting withteachersand administrators.Emilia Mendon a explained how the Portuguese government firstbecame interested in the role oftuguese settlements insuch asurope.rance and Lermany wherePortuguese education in PorSuch programsexist in countriesPortuguese schools are supportedby official agreements between Portugal and the resident countries.1endona said that the first of these programs for Pthgueseliving abroad was begun in 1975 in France and the last wasstarted in theUnited Statesabout 1977.Tt was notedthat per

enti6/3 0/8213haps American bilingual teachers were responsible for theeventual awareness ofthePortuguese government that there wasa need for support in the United ttates.Mendor a emphasizedthat Portuguese schools in America voluntarily choose to acceptPortuguesegovernment aid(somePortuguese schools do chooseremain independent and private):ernment who's imposingparentsthatthese schools, It'stheare interested in the education,tuguese culture and language,ment aware"It is not thethat makestoPortuguese govfreedom of theto learn the Por-the Portuguese govern-that they should be interested and help these schoolsto go ahead in the right way.It's an answer to a call,need."availed itself df.The Taunton school hassince its beginning.Antonio Amaral noted:to thethese services"A.9thin.g that weneed for our school they p ortuguese Ministry of Educationwillgive to us within reason,"Emilia Mendon9a is a trained elementary school teacher andadministrator.She taught in elementary schools in her nativeAzores for ten years andthen worked as an administrator incontinental Portugal after taking an advanced course to becomean"inspector."Her residence in the two major areas of Pcr u-gal as well as her teachingministrative experience(including adult education)qualified her for her present work.Throughout the year she makes periodic reportsof tducation in Lisbon and visitsa directEmili aand ad-Lisbon-onceto the Ministrya year to make"in-service" report.endon9a visitsthe Taunton schooltending classes and meetingwi t hon Wednesdaysat-teachers for two hours afterclass to introduce supplementary material tothe teachers.The

Pentj 6/30/8 2textssentto official schools from Portugal are actualused in homeland schools(it wassaidthat notextsPortuguese schoolteaching materials are published in the Unitedtates)and thematerials iendbnca presents in such meetingsare intended tobridge any gap between the Old Country textsand the Americansetting.SIt was said. that Mend.onqa had written the supplemen-tary materials herselfteaching to"totell theteachershow to goaboutthese youngsters, because Portuguese is a secondlanguage actually and they have to be more precise and directthan if it wasthe first language."The method used is"direct teaching" with an attempt made to relate lessonsdaily likeand realisticsituation s. eCDr example,calledtoduring .theApril meeting Xendon5a presented a lesson plan consisting ofa map of a Portuguese city showing places such asisthe post of-fice and museum which was intended to aid students in functioningon visitstothe Old Country.It was mentioned how previouslyshe had given a lesson where students were asked to describetheir homesin America comparing them to houses in the homelandbased on knowledgestudentsdon5a commented thatobtained from their parents.such lessons ser-of Portuguese language,Men-d to combine the teachinghistory and cultureand theschool'slessons were not divided according to subject.In return, for Portuguese government support the officialschool must fulfill certain requirements.school sFirst of all,teachers must be qualified teacherstheeducated in thePortuguese system with seventy five pereent being fully certifieIt was saidteachers.that it has been, somewhat difficult to find suchTb.0 most recentteachet to be hired is not a locals

Penti o/3 0 /8 215man and hasto drive a considerable distanceto class.hoped that there will be less difficult to locatethe futureand the principal of the school spokewho had expressed interest in joining the staff.approval ofteachers'teachers inof twoand resumesconsul in New Bedford.teachersTo gain thethe Ministry of Education the school hascredentialsIt isto forwardto Portugal via the PortugueseTwo of thepresent teachers are bothcertified and experienced in Portuguese elementary schoolteaching;also hasthe third, hasattended a teacher training school andtaught in Angola but is not certified.also required to submit periodic reports toEducation in Lisbon which,rollment.The school isthe Ministry offor example, indicate student en-The local Portugueae consul also makes periodicvisits to theschool in an official capacity.Not only doesthe school receive the already mentioned bene-fits operating as an of ficial school, but theceive the benefit of the possibility ofstudents also re-taking an official exami-nation whose successful passage would allow them to enter highschool in. Portugal.4ostudent yet has been qualified to takethis examination, but it is hoped that some will do thisspring of 1983(two students in the advanced class mentionedthat they would takeare advanced from onetheexam atthis time).of successful completion of ak. The week before classesend the teachers meetwith Emilia klendonSa to evaluate students'has a fileNormally studentsclass to another without special examina-tion , but rather on the basisYear's classwin thewhere copiesof his report cardsprogress(each studentand work are kept)deciding who will be promoted to another level(in some cases

antithe schoolstruc ture of6/3 0/8216-three classes apparent.y does notallow for actual promotion;' for example students in thead-vanced class may remain there for more than one year sincethere is not a higher class).Each student receives a diplomaat graduation in recognition ofAdministrators,ror tuga l forpresident,teachers,a year'sattendance.and parents consistently, praisedthe support it has given the school.Antonio Amaral,explained how the Ministry oftion's support had been invaluable.opening a new school,The schoolduca-Paced with the task ofthe founders were happyto accept thesupervision and guidance provided by the homeland as well asfinancial support in termsamounted tobooks.of a subsidy (this year's grantjust under 1, 500 dollars)Ohe parent noted how he wasPortuguese government" wantingand passcoordinator. % rais,on his relationship witheach other;discovers,heteachers"how canQspecia. 1y arethe help provided by the Ministry ofFernandoducationteacher and principal,commented"We are in constant touchLiendon5a:that's why I say it's very useful."for example,"the poor"to help us keep our culturethe courage to do it?"grateful forof text"touched" to seeour culture to the next ones;" he wonderedthey havewi th,and quantitiesIf hethat a certain lesson does not succeedin class he will call the coordinator to ask for her suggestionson other methods of approach."excellent faciltiesclassroomsstudentsofAnother parent contrasted thethe Taunton school with the crowdedof his boyhood school,on Payal where 60 to 70of all ages were taught in one room by oneteacher andwondered how the Portuguese government could manage to supportschools in the United States.Antonio Amaral explained the

antiinterest ofthePortuguese governt:"Portugal is a countryof immigrant; people from the beginning sinceAnd a lot of people havethe Discoveries.a tendency to look for better daysoutside even though sometimes they could haveb.ity in theimmigrateknowingcountry.toand theI guess it's in our blood.opportu-And sooutside the country.Sothey promotecountry."He alato notedthe cultureand culture out.-that thePortuguese gov-ernment would receive benefits in return for its policy:you havetotheythey would like to continue the culture of thoseteaching of the Portuguese languageside of thethe sameall over the world and. the Portuguese government,that,immigrants/3o/8217-"Butkeep in consideration that the immigrants are .a bigpart of incomefor the country, by tourism arid by improvingrelationship between theimmigrantstheand the generations actual-ly they are improving the tourists in the future.That'sof the reasons I have,This pr-,-perhapsmotion of official schoolstion ofthere are othersapparently occursthe local Portuguese consul.Bedford consul had helped in thethere areother schools in hisgall diver,initiateisland,for example)for mationarea.Thethrough the medianoted how the NewtheadministerThe Providence,school.Rhodeother Portuguese of ftcialTaunton school appearsunder Portuguese A1in.istry of Vducation guidance;Amaral commented:xauntonand it was noted how he hoped tooston consulsschools in theof"jurisdiction (Ne w Bedford anda new school in Provincetown.andIt was.ieto have flourishedas ?resident"This way we have more benefits."School AdministrationAfter' -the initial 1980meetinga committee was formed to begin

Penti 6/30/82-18work on theschool such as visiting another offic5aJ. schoolin Cumberland,part ofthis group.meet to electphy:Rhode Island.;theAntonio Amaral,for example,Each school year in the fall the parentsschool'sadministration based on the philoso-"the ideal is to have a school run by the parentsAmaral)."Amaral,school fartwo years; he ispresident,who has serterm schoolwasa parent,has served as president of theassisted by Jose Gon alves,d during the same per od.treasurer is(AntonioJoseph Fresta.,the vice-The secondnot a parent but aleader in the local Portuguese community who in his retirementyears is able to devote considerable timetothe school.only non-local administrator is Joselina Guerreiro,tary,a bilingual teacher.involved with theThethe secre-All of these officers have beenschool since its inception.The administra-tion also includes five elected school directors many of whomare parents.three monthsmeeting;The entire administration meetsalthough pressing needsare fulfilled without athe administration is said to be responsible for"everything." OfficersGon.qalvesasisto takerespondenceare often in attendance on school tights.always presentto open and closeto the Ministry of Education in Lisbon,also responsible for the collection oftuition fee from each student.isthe school as wellcare of school business in the library,even to call 'arents of absent student

days when the Portuguese in Taunton were a minority ethnic community; in 1960, for example, the Portuguese population was 5,695 (Pap 1981:8S). Today the Portuguese form the largest ethnic community in the city and the existence of a sizeable community base is a prime reason why the Escola Oficializada Do T