Why is Brazilian education so bad nowadays? (Part 1)

(Rodrigo Contrera)

I talked earlier about Brazilian literature in general, without addressing exceptions (which exist). Now I will discuss education. I won't rely on any external studies or reflections, nor on data that could enlighten us about education as a public policy. I won't focus on a specific segment of education (basic, middle, higher, post-graduate), nor on a specific area (humanities, biological, exact sciences), and I won't address exceptions (which exist).

Currently, Brazilian education is characterized by significant mediocrity. This encompasses all areas, some more than others, and generally suggests that students lose more time trying to learn than actually learning or reflecting on society, life, work, or education itself. But does the student not believe in education? Not necessarily. This is because, if they lack resources, privileges, or a guaranteed future, they ONLY have education, formal or informal learning, to surpass others, stand out in life, and build a family or a future. Of course, there is also a gamble on crime and informal life in general. But, believing in the myth of social ascent, education is the way they can excel in the prevailing general mindset.

Why is education so mediocre? For several reasons. First, due to the overall poor quality of teachers, derived from mediocre training or training not focused on real-life results or the development of those who want to learn. Second, due to the moral relativism that dominates the teaching environment, as many active teachers do not truly believe in forming well but only in giving lectures, fulfilling the workload, and accumulating tasks to overcome their poor average financial condition. The student perceives the teacher's profile and quickly loses faith in the person and therefore in the example. Third, due to the disillusionment the student experiences when realizing that many of the answers to their questions are just "it depends," which, stopping there, does not allow them to advance in the discovery they propose. Fourth, due to the environment that is generally dominated by the (false, as I will show) need to deal with the challenge of discipline when students naturally obey teachers who prove to be exemplary simply by performing their function well. Fifth, because students have their own life project, to which schools and teachers are largely oblivious because they simply believe that students should follow predetermined paths, which they themselves do not believe in. This is also why the entrepreneurial drive (which is fundamentally an ideal to be embraced) almost always stays far away from schools.

Brazilian schools are generally disconnected from reality, and this, from the school. Both seem to hate each other when they should complement or help each other. And the student doesn't think that way. They would love for the school to discuss their daily life, their dilemmas, but generally, they are disappointed in various ways and tend to feel that staying in school imposes on them a range of false ideas that they can never fulfill unless they submit to the giant wheel of institutions whose inner workings are often entirely flawed.

I will comment more on this subject later, on the school's detachment from the living world, which, while frightening, also manages to fascinate (especially young people).

(Rodrigo Contrera)

Translated by ChatGPT