The Federal Supreme Court (STF) votes, this week, on the permission of the homeschooling or family education. Despite being rejected by the National Education Council, the practice is adopted by Brazilian families who prefer to educate their children at home rather than in the traditional school.
Voting is scheduled for next Thursday (30) and, if the system is not approved, enrollment in educational institutions will be mandatory for these children. The Court will determine whether the form of teaching, which is quite common in the United States, complies with the provisions of the Brazilian Constitution.
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Article 205 of the Charter treats education as “the right of all and the duty of the State and the family” whose promotion must be cooperated by the collaboration of society. In this sense, the objective is to enable the “development of the person, his preparation for the exercise of citizenship and his qualification for work”.
The action began in 2012 when a family from Rio Grande do Sul filed a lawsuit for the right to teach their 11-year-old daughter at home. The objective was to overturn the decision of the Municipal Department of Education that guided enrollment in the conventional school for the High School course.
As an argument, the parents used the “advanced sexuality” of their classmates and vocabulary that went against the ideal criteria for coexistence and socialization. Another point of contention was the “pedagogical impositions”, such as evolutionism, something in which the Christian-oriented family does not believe.
After denials by the local district, the young woman's parents filed an appeal with the STF and, in 2016, the Minister Luís Roberto Barroso suspended previous judicial decisions until a final decision by the Supreme Court regarding the subject. From then on, the measure validated by the vote will apply to all cases.
The STF has, today, about 40 lawsuits waiting for some resolution, most of them coming from Rio Grande do Sul. The estimate by the National Association of Family Education (Aned) is that there are 5,000 families involved in homeschooling, teaching approximately 10,000 students.
Still according to the association, most of them remain anonymous for fear and their desire is to continue with the practice within the law. However, if the STF decision is unfavorable, Aned's fear is the establishment of a social crisis, from the moment when most of these families intend not to enroll their children.
Pros and cons
Public bodies such as the Advocacy General of the Union (AGU) and the National Council of Education are against homeschooling. According to them, the education of children and adolescents must be built by society and family, but together, not in isolation.
Another argument used is that of socialization because, from the point of view of these institutions, the school favors the exchange of experiences and visions different from those presented within the family. In addition, only professionals from the education network would be qualified to provide complete content, that is, without impartiality.
The Attorney General's Office (PGR), in turn, adopted an intermediate position, stating the need for legal rules to provide socialization and full training. On the other hand, the lawyer for the family from Rio Grande do Sul who filed the lawsuit alleges that the experience in schools today is far from being positive.
He cites cases of bullying, drugs and violence to support his argument, in addition to the quality of teaching itself. He argues that homeschooling provides healthier living, in addition to cases of higher school performance in countries where homeschooling is allowed.
The Chamber of Deputies currently has three proposals in transit to regulate home education. One of them allows children to be taught at home, however, under the obligation to enroll them in school that they are periodically evaluated. However, there is still no forecast for the texts to be evaluated.
In an interview with Portal G1, the professor at the Faculty of Education at Unicamp and a doctor in the subject, Luciane Barbosa, points to the need for regularization, however, sees it as a great challenge. The main reason is the country's social and economic inequality.
According to her, it is necessary to take into account that the school is the main or only form of access to education for many children. Therefore, the regularization of homeschooling must be done in a way that does not restrict this right. Luciane also recalls that in many cases, going to school means taking a child away from drugs, child labor or sexual exploitation.
