At the entrance to the school, barriers. In the vicinity, police everywhere. Hidden distress call buttons. What are, after all, the most appropriate measures to prevent violence in teaching units? For specialists in the subject, the main solutions for fears of threats do not lie in palliative measures.
In the opinion of specialist Katia Dantas, consultant for the implementation of practices in child protection and school environments, the violence that has occurred in teaching units is multifaceted and complex.
“We need to understand that security is different from protection. Putting a security guard on the door will not solve the problem. Today, we observe that many of the attacks are of children committing violence against other children and teachers. Rare are those who come from outside to commit an attack inside the school”.
The president of the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE), Heleno Araújo, also understands that marked inequalities in school environments contextualize the problem. “There is a lot to be done in search of an environment minimally able to guarantee security and peace, tranquility and solidarity within the school space and outside it”. Schools in good condition and others without electricity, for example. Professionals who are paid on time and with adequate working conditions, others do not.
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To get an idea of human complexity, Brazil has 2.2 million teachers and more than 1.9 million other professionals working in education – a population of over 4 million people.
Schools are very different from each other in a country the size of a continent. He says that he received a photo from a group in a municipality in Goiás, in which the children appeared in a kind of shooting exercise, as a task at a civic-military school. “This completely disfigures the perspective of human formation that we want. So, it is important that the family sets a good example for the children.”
Partnership in the curriculum
Katia Dantas defends a series of measures, considering that most of these attacks focus on systematic violence in the life of the person who attacks, such as a history of bullying, bullying and family abuse. It’s hard for someone with this trait not to have shown signs at school.
“It is urgent that schools learn to identify abuse. We need to start changing this perception. Today, for example, we know that socio-emotional skills come from the national curriculum base. But very few parents know how to demand from schools”, says Katia Dantas. The partnership between family and school should not remain in theory, since social networks and electronic games have occupied a central place in the lives of children and adolescents.
Also for this reason, as assessed by Heleno Araújo, at the CNTE, it is essential to strengthen social participation, democratic management, the participation of fathers, mothers, guardians, and organized groups in the community where the school is located. “Everyone should be involved in the discussion process, in the School Council, of a political-pedagogical project for the school. Social participation and involvement with school policies, the feeling of belonging, everything is important”.
Guidelines
The specialist understands that it is vital that teachers and other employees in the school environment be able to receive guidance in case of violence. “That they learn to know what to do in the same way that many schools have training for fire, evacuation, for example”. But training with a pedagogical characteristic without creating fear, panic or fuss in children.
“More than that, professionals need to be trained in how to identify conflict situations, changes in behavior that may be showing that child is suffering”. The answer, according to her, should come from the school as a whole and not just from teachers. “It is extremely important that all school professionals are trained to protect children and identify these situations”.
Along the same lines, the president of the CNTE defends that all education professionals must be professionalized and receive courses for their activities. “Doormen have to take an infrastructure and environment course. We have to have an initial formation focused on the conceptions of education”.
This includes knowing how to look for signs that something is wrong. “Professionals should have training in service and first aid, attention, understand the look of students”. Araújo regrets that not all schools, for example, have teams of psychologists and other support professionals. He believes that security begins with the possibility that professionals are connected to the complexity of human beings.
Complaints
Information about attack threats can be communicated to the Escola Segura channel, created by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in partnership with SaferNet Brasil. The information sent to the channel will be kept confidential and there is no identification of the complainant.
Access the site to make a complaint.
In case of emergency, it is advisable to call 190 or the nearest police station.
