The uses of memory in school: construction of narratives with students of a municipal school in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro
Teaching of History – Knowledge and Experience in School Environment – School Life and Historical Knowledge – Citizienship and Social Identity – Student’s Empowerment – Memory Record
This master’s dissertation revolves around a workshop in which students offered personal narratives about their final years in Ensino Fundamental (Primary School), from seventh through ninth grades, in Medalhista Mayra Aguiar da Silva Municipal School, west zone of Rio de Janeiro city. Once the students are the leading figures in producing school and local historical knowledge we are able to understand the importance of this workshop of narrative building. Filing themselves represents an important step towards these students’ identity consolidation where they live - since many of them haven’t lived in this community for quite some time - besides creating the sense of belonging towards the school and the awareness of school history. To do so, it was necessary to discuss concepts about History curriculum and History as a school subject. In order to accomplish this workshop, we used the elective discipline period, that is a part of Ginásio Carioca program, in which activities of different aspects are carried out beyond the school curriculum, dictated by Secretaria Municipal de Educação do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Department of Education) and PNC’s. At the end of this workshop of narrative of memories, it was done a qualitative and quantitative data collection of the material, different classifications for analyzing students’ depositions, as members of school community that are also a part of the area around it. These students can be an active part in recording local memory and, at the same time, in building historical knowledge - using their own life experience - that is also part of the school memory. An archive of these first student’s memories will be available to future students, teachers and members of the community as the embodiment of this workshop of memory and local knowledge production.