Trajetórias docentes: memórias de professores homens que atuaram com crianças no interior de Mato Grosso do Sul (1962-2007)

Abstract

The teaching work with children has been attributed mainly to women, due to historical conceptions of what feminine characteristics associated with motherhood, such as patience and self-denial, are more appropriate for the education of children. Men in the school environment teaching children are rarer and, for many, they would not be the most suitable for the task, because they represent strength, rigidity, among other adjectives. Based on these conceptions, the research sought to elucidate male participation in the history of teaching with children. The empirical locus involved four municipalities in the extreme south of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul / Brazil. In researching the memories of 3 currently retired teachers, this knowledge can stimulate reflection with new teachers, besides contributing to the construction of the history of teaching practice, discussing the gender stereotypes in the profession. For that, it was used as a resource Oral Thematic History, in which the interviews were recorded in audio, transcribed and textualized, following the methodological procedures of this field of studies. The analyzes were based mainly on the theoretical reference of the works of Norbert Elias. Teachers, recalling the reasons that led them to work in teaching with children, pointed out that this process was part of an unplanned insertion, or as Elias would say, was a "blind process." The memories of these teachers made it possible to analyze themes such as: teaching work, male insertion in teaching, the environment of rural multi-serialized schools and models based on gender inferences. According to the interviewees, being male and bearing gender attributes marked by characteristics such as strong, courageous and daring, they could better perform work in rural areas, facing geographical problems, intemperies, long distances and natural difficulties of the rural environment should they arise. Regarding the challenges faced in the work in a historical profession and sextipificado as feminine, in acting they affirmed that they did not perceive difference between the work of men and women. However, they emphasize the vigilance of parents and family, making them continuously prove their competence and confidence to continue working with children. When analyzing the memories of these teachers, it was possible to perceive that the responsibility of the education of the children is not reduced to socio-constructed attributes of gender, but the professional qualification, that independently of these elements, needs to train the teacher to exercise its place in the education.