Why say no to school at home

Published in New School

Two weeks ago, a family of Belo Horizonte had chosen not to register his children at school and teach the program content at home was forced by justice to change attitude. In addition to this case, many others have emerged in the media and are examples of a movement that started shy, but which has more and more followers: the school at home or home education. There are many formats: parents in charge of teaching, substitute teachers hired for one or the other discipline, activities taught at different times and places, adoption of an international program and many other methods of organization .

Those who defend the system consider that ordinary schools do not perform their duties, claim to want to keep their children safe from violence and believe that they can learn for themselves what their children would learn. at school. On the website of HomeSchooling Brasil, the group presents itself as "parents concerned about the state of Brazilian education, totally infected with a lower level ideology and, moreover, by pure and simple ignorance ". And it is said that "university professors have become ignorant charlatans and that graduate professors know neither the minimum nor the spelling, who will speak of their specific subjects".

There are many other organizations, such as the National Association of Home Education (Aned). and the National Alliance for the Protection of Freedom of Instruction and Learning (Anplia), which brings together participants from the movement. Each in their own way, these groups are based on the discourse that, before a poor school, it is better to stay out of the way. But is this the situation of all schools? And if problems exist, would not it be more courageous and effective to deal with them? What is the use of taking an individual decision on a collective problem? And most importantly, is this really the best alternative for the child?

The struggle for a school that allows access to all and the maintenance of education goes back several years and is based on the right of every child to learn and live with his peers. Until 1971, compulsory and free education in Brazil targeted only the four years of the so-called primary school. After 1971, eight years of primary school were considered and, in 2010, there were nine, with the decision to start compulsory schooling at the age of six. By 2016, the period will increase further and all people aged 4 to 17 years old should attend educational institutions. For educators and many other citizens, this story represents a victory for the population, as the school brings many benefits that go far beyond the discussion of the legal issue.

Carlos Roberto Jamil Cury, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-MG) and professor emeritus of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), explains that the school fills two essential functions. "One is to allow a permanent and continuous situation of interaction with the other, which is one of different, the other is to be a place of sharing knowledge and content." [19659004] There is a type of learning that occurs only in schools, says Telma Vinha, a professor of educational psychology at the School of Education at the University of California. State of Campinas (Unicamp). "It's not just a specific content that the family may even be able to teach, but learning it involves the daily relationship between peers, among them the ability to argue, to listen to it and convince it from a point of view, to realize that the rules are valid for everyone and to make a decision jointly created, "he explains. The Argentinian psychologist Emilia Ferreiro, in the book Past and Present of Verbs Read and Write, highlights one of the school's missions: "to help all the children of the planet understand and appreciate the value of diversity".

In addition, the student will find in the school a structure ready to welcome him: a team of teachers, director, educational coordinator, department of education and planning that organizes the operation and guide the steps to follow. essential content. Denying the importance of these characters, is to ignore the importance of professionalisation of the region and consider that anybody can badume the role of manager.

Many families who opt for home schooling do not have this appearance and believe that by removing children from school, they guarantee a better future. The solution, however, is not the most appropriate. "When parents think that quality is not good, they have to join others and demand improvements," says Cury. Telma also advocates parental involvement to discuss and build a better school. And he insists that even if the institution is defective, it is essential. "I argue that the loss is greater when the child stays home, everyone has the right to go to a different place than the private one, to live with peers and with another environment. the school, it is to deprive it of possibilities of development. "

What the law says

Besides the aforementioned aspects, there is a Significant aggravation: cases of children out of school are illegal. According to the National Education and Guidelines (LDB), it is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 to attend an educational institution. Parents who do not register their children can be reported, they must pay a fine and eventually they must comply.

According to Cury, only cases provided by Decree 5622/2005 on distance education can be taken out of school. The text states that the rule only applies to persons "who, for health reasons, can not attend clbadroom education, have special needs and require specialized care services, are in the care of the child, and are in need of care. foreign for any reason, live in places that do not have a regular network of face-to-face services, mandatory transfer to hard-to-reach areas, including missions in border areas; or are in prison. "

National legislation may change if one of the many projects providing for the regularization of home schooling is approved, as in the case of Draft Constitution Amendment (PEC) No. 444 of 2009 For Cury, even if this happens, benefit only in very specific situations. This is at least what happens abroad, as in the United States, France, Australia and England. In these places, home education experiences are allowed, but the legal acceptance of this preference is not simple. Parents must justify themselves and wait for government approval, which is still considered a second option.

According to a report by Beatriz Santomauro