Phillip,
First of all, thank you for your welcome words.
Well, the explicit violence in schools happen very frequently in Brazil.
Just in order to make you aware of it, last two weeks nine bombs=20
exploded in public schools in MINAS GERAIS, and several students were=20
killed (seven of them by fire guns shoots; one is agonizing in hospital=20
after beeing spanked very hard with baseball sticks, skates and wood=20
pieces inside school)in S=C3O PAULO.
Today, for example, two girls were involved in a dispute in a small town=20
public school and one of them (14 yo) thrust the other with a kind of=20
"knife" used in visual art classes.
In MINAS GERAIS was just created a delegacy specially to monitore=20
students and schools. All over the country there are asks to stop free=20
arms sell... free arms acess...
But it is not very often to happen things like that between high=20
midlleclass students, as say, in private schools of dominant class'=20
white kids/children. Here, the explicit violence seem to be much more=20
common between low midleclass and poor students... (white, black, chino,=20
indians, japa )... you know, there's much more mixture of races and=20
cultures here - historically saying - although black people had been=20
traditionally idexed because of their three centuries of slavery along=20
Brazil's colonization).
I've been reading all messagens in the list although, frequently, I can=20
not reply or write comments... I'm too buzy right now, writting my=20
master dissertation, analysing all data collected... But every night I=20
read the messages on the web-forum. And my english... you known... it's=20
pretty bad. But I have made some progress on commanding it... not as=20
much as i'd like too...=20
Personally, in relation to Brazil's public education case, I think the =20
things to do are:
1) To renew teachers in classroom by oppening public competition (many=20
of them was put in schools during millitary dictatorship in=20
sixties/seventies with out any legal applyement).=20
2) To pay better teachers;
3) Democartization of school manegement (each school choose its=20
directors);
4) Pedagogic autonomy of school educational project (with participation=20
of students, fathers/mothers, school workers) without prejudice of =20
national standards;
5) Stop building very very big schools;
6) Less students in classrooms/ more teachers in schools;
7) Project pedagogy around relevant issues to educational comunity;
8) Arts comunication sanctioned by schools (not in a professional=20
sense);
9) Research interdiciplinary projects;
10) More time to teachers to study, plan and discuss their classes with=20
others.
11) Teachers live and around school, be a part of=20
its educational/social/cultural comunity. To stay, as possible, many=20
years at the same school, with the same students, parents, friends... a=20
more affective school enviroment, not so unpersonalized and "cold".
12) Teachers open to learn with students, as one.=20
13) New ways of thinking evaluation... without that old and authoritary=20
culture of "marks", "competition", "ethnocentric values". To ransom the=20
pleasure of learning (Bread, "tes=E3o" [erection?] and "autogest=E3o"=20
[autonomy?] as say Roberto Freire, a brazilian psychanalist, educator=20
and senator of Socialist Popular Party, from PERNAMBUCO)
14) Tolerance/respect to diferences and diferent forms/ways of thinking.
15) Approach of knowledge as a construction of meaning/sense.=20
But, of course, all this might have a political sactioned action. As=20
say, it might have a volitional politic dimension. All we can do, right=20
now, is to act in "our" schools, trying to participate of its political=20
decision, trying to be a part of its team in a colaborative sense -=20
because there is too much competition everywhere outside it.
Ricardo.