What do you think of courses taught at a distance (EaD) in high school? This is one of the proposals made by the National Council of Education in a public consultation that started this Tuesday (09). The so-called “National Curriculum Guidelines” for this step should update the format currently in use which, by the way, was linked in 2012.
In the document, the CNE seeks suggestions on the format and content taught in the intermediate stage of education. Among the items mentioned by the Council, there are distance activities that would amount to 20% to 30% of the total workload. The text mentions that this would include basic general training and curriculum training itineraries.
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The requirement, however, is that the student be accompanied by the coordination and teaching staff of the school. The workload of high school could be formed by different activities, such as conventional classes, participation in volunteer work, internships, courses, workshops, oriented pedagogical activities and contributions to the community.
The time allocated to each one must comply with criteria defined by the institution or education network. The text of the public consultation provides for the complementary certification and expression of these activities in the student's school record. Still according to the new guidelines, each municipality will be able to offer “more than one training itinerary”, referring to those already proposed in the reform of secondary education, that is:
The public consultation has already been opened by the National Council of Education and suggestions are accepted until October 23 by e-mail: [email protected].
The measure that provides for the inclusion of distance learning subjects in High School has generated some controversy, including not being a consensus within the Ministry of Education itself. By means of a note, the Pasta said it disagreed with the proposal stipulated by the CNE and had not forwarded any suggestion regarding the implementation of EaD.
The president of the CNE, Eduardo Deschamps, points out that some points are still being evaluated, such as whether the mandatory subjects of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) would be included in the format. The measure still needs to go through a public hearing and vote to reach the MEC. If approved, it will allow schools to define their own tools and models.
Within the CNE, there is disagreement regarding the implementation of EaD in secondary education. Going against the grain of “leaving conservatism” claimed by Deschamps, Cesar Callegari, a member of the council, sees the modality as an impediment to reaping the lessons of coexistence provided by face-to-face teaching.
Experts also see EaD as harmful to students. In an interview with G1, professor at the State University of São Paulo (Unesp), João Cardoso Palma Filho, mentions that the model current situation already presents difficulties and that young people do not have training that allows for a non-face-to-face monitoring of the content.
Palma Filho also points to a drop in the level of quality in secondary education. According to him, “teachers were not trained to prepare classes and materials for distance learning. It would all be out of control and unaccompanied. Students need a teacher there, to clear up doubts immediately”.
Also for G1, the head of the Faculty of Education at PUC-SP, Neide Noffs, was against the implementation of EaD in high school. In addition to the issue of socialization, the teacher mentions the infrastructure of schools. “I have followed the difficulties of students who do not have access to the internet. Schools need to have more computers and a stable system”.
Without seeing the measure as a viable solution, Noffs mentions that the model may even be interesting for continuing education, but not for the initial stage of high school. Thus, she proposes a focus on how to keep students in school, in addition to making them more critical and aware.
The National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP) indicates that 2,702 Brazilian cities have only one school that offers secondary education. Over 880 have two units that provide this stage of education. The reform of the intermediate stage began with a measure sanctioned in 2017 by the president, Michel Temer.
The provisional measure presents the new guidelines which, among other points, provides for the flexibility of the content taught to high school students. The text changes the distribution of the 13 traditional subjects over the three years, giving greater weight to technical education and encouraging the expansion of full-time schools.
Everything that will be taught must be included in the five formative itineraries indicated in the previous section. Schools would not be required to offer all but at least one of them. The reform indicates that 60% of the workload is occupied by the common contents of the Curricular Base and 40% by optional content.
Before, the school could choose whether the foreign language offered would be English or Spanish. English is now a mandatory subject from the 6th year of elementary school onwards. The second preferred foreign language is Spanish, but teaching it is not mandatory.
