In SP, children lead choices about education – 09/09/2023 – Seminars Folha

At EMEI Dona Leopoldina, students aged 4 to 6 develop autonomy in school activities ranging from self-service at lunch to choosing which task to participate in. The school, located in Alto da Lapa, in the west of São Paulo, created a culture of child leadership by actively listening to children’s demands.

The practical result of this ideology even appears in the landscape of the institution, founded 68 years ago. In one of the courtyards, there is a climbing frame made of colorful bamboo and a running track painted on the ground — suggestions from the students themselves.

Children’s autonomy was cultivated by many educators who passed through there, such as former director Marcia Harmbach, who led the institution for ten years and retired in 2022. The idea of ​​creating the child council, a deliberative space for so that children could express themselves and think of ways to improve the school.

“It is a strategy of dialogue and respect for children’s voices that qualifies their perspectives on an equal basis with adults in decision-making”, explains Harmbach, who wrote about the advice in the book “Democratic Management”, published this year by Panda Educação.

With the pandemic, the project activities, which were a milestone in the school’s culture, were paused, but are returning. According to Aline Neves, current director of EMEI Dona Leopoldina who took office in January, the child council is undergoing reformulation, but conversations on the topic have already taken place with some of the 240 students.

“The appreciation for children’s autonomy and participation continues”, says Neves, explaining that children can bring ideas to any space, in the park, in the cafeteria, at the lake or on toys.

This protagonism is also reinforced in content teaching. In São Paulo’s educational plan for 2023, which focuses on anti-racism, educators have worked on African narratives through music and dolls. It is up to the children to choose which of the six stories — read in gardens, tree houses or stairs — they prefer.

The day after the readings, students still choose activities related to the themes, whether planting medicinal herbs in the garden or creating replicas of leaves with clay, as happened in the unfolding of the “African Tale of Ossaim”, about a prince who enchanted plants so they could heal.

“Children learn by singing, playing, drawing, painting”, says the director. “And for that, our curriculum offers the possibility of choice.”

According to Neves, even the kitchen is a pedagogical instrument of autonomy. At lunch, children are encouraged to use glass plates — as a sign of confidence in handling the material — and to help themselves to the mini buffet.

When the Sheet visited the school, one of the teachers helped a group of eight students, who were wearing colorful caps and aprons, to prepare a salad. Some peeled carrots, while others washed lettuce and cleaned — sometimes nibbled — strawberries.

EMEI Dona Leopoldina also has a vegetable garden for children to use. In the school’s pedagogical project, cooking permeates several processes, says educator and former director Marcia Harmbach, ranging from planting, caring for, harvesting, sharing, cooking and eating.

According to education specialist Tereza Perez, CEO of Comunidade Educativa Cedac, food illustrates well the issue of children’s autonomy in interaction with adult responsibility.

On the one hand, it requires organization with children in mind, such as bowls, plates and cutlery at a height they can reach. On the other hand, it depends on the food served being selected by adults based on nutritional criteria.

“Situations need to be provoked so that the child is the subject of the action, so that they create, experiment, investigate, but based on contours given by the adult”, says Perez. “Autonomy has to be developed and encouraged with intention.”

Another ally of Dona Leopoldina in child development is the green space, which is full of fruit trees, such as jabuticaba and mulberry trees. According to director Aline Neves, students spend 80% of their time outdoors.

The school even has a small lake, one of 5-year-old Pablo Miguel Nunes’ favorite places. “My father puts the fish in the lake. He can’t throw branches or bamboo,” he says. It is not uncommon to see a circle of students when the teachers feed the fish.

Other students, curious about the presence of the report, even posed for photos in their hero or princess costumes, as they can wear whatever they want at school. They also mentioned that the reporter shared a profession with Superman.

“Children have their own way of meaning the world, they have a sensitive and critical look”, says Marcia Harmbach. “It’s not enough to ask them questions so they can answer, we need to provide conditions for their manifestations, so they can really reveal themselves.”