A dreamy thing, one might reply, which is the rejoinder: education in its most generous sense is exactly that, it is a belief in human beings, it is this hope that everyone can learn. But education cannot be just that desire. It is also a science, which means that idealism needs to be accompanied by pedagogical rigor, with in-depth study and the best strategies to get as close as possible to the desired transformation.
Yes, there are school anti-racist education projects that are just a facade, a commodity like a water park, bilingual education or a maker space to fill the list of seductions for families during the enrollment period. But the context avoids mistakes and, from what I see, the Vera Cruz School’s anti-racist project has consistency and scientific rigor. It involves a scholarship program for black, brown and indigenous people that guarantees 13 years of free scholarship; a policy for hiring teachers and managers that increases the proportion of black, mixed-race and indigenous people and places them in a leadership position; a deep and democratic curriculum review; a complex methodology, supported by good practices in anti-racist education; a team of reference supporters in the area, from Sueli Carneiro to Lia Verner Schucman, from Sílvio Almeida to Cida Bento; an almost exhaustive disposition for periodic and constant self-evaluation.
This is a project recognized internationally for its consistency. The most relevant evidence was the Luis Gama Institute’s invitation to Juliana de Paula Costa, coordinator of the school, to speak at the UN during the 3rd Session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent in Geneva.
It is somewhat illusory to believe that an anti-racist education program, no matter how good it is, can magically eradicate racism. In many cases, the opposite may occur, because the discussion on the topic breaks the silence and creates a more attentive look, highlighting situations that were not even recognized as racism before. Another possibility highlighted is that the breakdown of institutional racism leads, initially, to an increase in interpersonal racism. These are situations that are beginning to be mapped by studies in the area and that show the complexity of disarming a bomb dropped into all of our pockets by four centuries of slavery.
It takes courage to choose a punishment that is proportionate to the gravity of the act, but that is not expulsion. Courage to provoke a mostly white community to look in the mirror and recognize, to a greater or lesser extent, their own racism, when removing the strange and deviant body would be enough to atone for the guilt and carry out the justice demanded in these hasty and thoughtless times.
The choice of education could not have been any other. Educators always hope that the episodes are “pedagogical”. This is also my hope, that the school, students, families and staff can look at the episode with as much serenity as possible, and that the dialogue and rigor of knowledge specific to education helps each person in their own reflection. about race and racism. As the context avoids mistakes, I think Vera Cruz is up to the challenge.
Tags: Expelling student racist act atones guilt resolve educate
