"Back to what school?": challenges of public education face of the pandemic and the meanings of school education

desafios do ensino público diante da pandemia e os sentidos da educação escolar

Abstract

Faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, the sphere of education was profoundly and considerably reconfigured, raising doubts and producing different affectations.This article is dedicated to mapping and critically reflecting on the effects of this pandemic event for basic education, more specifically in the sphere of public education. For this, it is supported by ethnographic notes elaborated from: i- reports, impressions and issues captured through online ethnography in Whatsapp and Facebook groups about education in the public network; ii- news, media reports; and finally, iii- the interlocution with teachers, family members and students from the public school system in Porto Alegre/RS and metropolitan region. Through these reflections, the most recent issues around the theme are listed, from “remote education” with its demands and complicating factors in enabling access; even the work overload and daily demands experienced by teachers and students; in addition to the risks arising from the proposals to return to the face classes and hybrid teaching. It is concluded that there is a need to critically and actively engage in the careful analysis of exclusionary practices and policies, which endorse and reaffirm the taking of education as yet another instrument for deepening and producing inequalities.