(en) Brazil,Organização Anarquista Terra e Liberdade - V Wheel discussion of Libertarian Education - "Cages or wings?" (15/11) by Piotr (pt)

[machine translation]

On November 15, at 13h, in Occupation homeless Chiquinha Gonzaga (Rua Bar?o de S?o F?lix, 
110), the day EPG (Group of Popular Education) will hold its fifth wheel discussion of 
libertarian education. In the last session attended public school students, educadorxs, 
students of pre-university community organized by GEP in Morro da Providencia, and other 
comrades. ---- In the next section we will make discussions from the text Rubem Alves, 
"Cages or wings," ue reflects about public school education and imprisoning and education 
that favors freedom. ---- Put the text below: ---- Cages and Wings ---- Rubem Alves ---- 
Thoughts come to me in an unexpected way, in the form of aphorisms. I'm happy because I 
know that often also Lichtenberg, William Blake and Nietzsche were attacked by them. Say 
attacked because they appear suddenly, without preparation, with the force of a 
thunderbolt. Aphorisms are visions, they see, without explaining. Since yesterday, 
suddenly, this aphorism struck me: There are schools that are caged. There are schools 
that are wings.

Schools that are caged there for the birds unlearn the art of flight. Caged birds are 
birds under control. Caged, its owner can take them wherever you want. Caged birds always 
have an owner. No longer birds. Because the essence of the bird is in flight. Schools that 
are wings do not love caged birds. What they love are the birds in flight. There to give 
courage to fly birds. Teaching the flight, so they can not do because the flight is born 
within the birds. The flight can not be taught. Can only be encouraged.

This simple aphorism born of suffering, suffered, talking with teachers in schools. What 
they tell are stories of horror and fear. Din, shouting, disrespect, insults, threats... 
and they shyly for silence, trying to do things that bureaucracy determines to be made as 
to the program, make assessments... Listening to their stories, I saw a cage full of 
hungry tigers, teeth bared, claws on display - and tamers with their whips, making threats 
too weak to force tigers.

Feel joy when she left home to go to school? Pleasure in teaching? Love the students? The 
dream is to get rid of everything. But they can not. The iron door that closes Tigers is 
the same door that closes with the Tigers. Violent, the bird struggling against the wires 
of the cage ? Or will the still violent cage that holds? Violent teens? Or are the schools 
that are violent?

Schools will be caged ? I will speak of the necessity of schools saying that teens need to 
be educated to improve life. Accordingly. It is necessary that teenagers, who all have a 
good education. A good education opens the way for a better life. But I wonder: our 
schools are providing a good education? What is a good education? The bureaucrats assume 
without thinking is that students get a good education is to learn the contents of the 
official programs. And to test the quality of education, create mechanisms, tests and 
assessments, plus new tests developed by the Ministry of Education.

But is it? Does learning the official programs identified with the ideal of a good 
education? You know what a "digraph"? And know the uses of the particle "if"? The name of 
the enzymes entering the digestion? And the subject of the sentence "the Ipiranga Heard 
the placid shores of a heroic people the resounding cry"? What is the use of the word 
"mesoclisis"? Poor teachers also caged... They are obliged to teach what programs they 
send, know that it is useless. This is an old habit of the schools. Bruno Bettelheim 
recounts his experience with the schools: I was forced to study what the teachers decided 
that I should learn (!). And learn your way.

The subject of education is the body, because that is where life is. It is the body who 
wants to learn in order to live. It is he who gives the orders. Intelligence is an 
instrument of the body whose function is to help you live. Nietzsche said that 
intelligence was a tool and a toy body, Therein summarizes the educational program of 
the body: learning tools, learning toys. The Tools entas are skills that allow us to 
solve the vital problems of the day-to-day. The toys are all those things, having no 
usefulness as tools, give pleasure and joy to the soul.

These two words, tools and toys.- edos is the summary of education. Tools and toys.- 
edos are not cages. Are wings. The tools allow me to fly the ways of the world. The 
toys allow me to fly the paths of soul. Who are learning tools and play the freedom to 
learn are not is violent. Is joyful, seeing the wings grow... So any teacher, to teach, 
should ask themselves: That'll teach you, you tool? It's toy? If not, you better set 
aside. Official statistics announce the increase in schools and the increase of students 
enrolled. These data do not tell me anything. Do not tell me if schools are cages or wings.

But I know there are teachers who love their students of flight.

There is hope...

Rubem Alves