O ensino de geografia nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental numa perspectiva dos territórios camponeses: um estudo acerca das práticas de sustentabilidade ambiental na Escola Municipal Santa Rosa

Abstract

This paper discusses the teaching of Geography in the Early Years of Elementary School at the Santa Rosa Municipal School located in the Santo Antônio settlement in the municipality of Itaquiraí/MS, based on a peasant teacher-researcher approach, reflecting from the perspective of peasant territories and focusing on environmental sustainability practices. In order to achieve the objective of an in-depth reflection in the field of Human Sciences, we begin with a historical analysis of Rural Education and the main normative frameworks that are fundamental to contextualize our approach. We address the conceptualization of Rural Education and the role of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST), which fought for the creation of schools that met the needs of peasant families who fought for land. Next, we reflect on the curriculum of Basic Rural Education and its educational public policies aimed at the countryside. In the second moment, we explain the theme of Environmental Education in Rural Schools aiming to critically review the relationships between human beings and the environment, offering alternatives to environmental challenges. In the last part of the research, we present a brief history of the Santa Rosa Settlement and the Santo Antônio Settlement, discussing their organization and complexity based on the collective model. Next, we focus on the Santa Rosa Municipal School, located in the Santo Antônio Settlement, in the municipality of Itaquiraí/MS. At this school, we conducted interviews with teachers to identify how issues related to rural reality are integrated into the educational practice of the initial years of Elementary School. We discuss actions and experiences related to the teaching of Geography, covering topics such as agroecology, environmental awareness, and social, economic, and environmental sustainability. We analyze the sustainable practices of the School Garden Project, implemented with 4th grade students since 2007, which aims not only to grow vegetables, but also to discuss income prospects and healthy eating. In addition, the project allows students to have an interdisciplinary teaching-learning process, exploring the plurality of meanings in the management of land and plants. This approach allowed us to reflect on the objectives of teaching sustainable practices in Geography and in agroecological contexts, preparing students for life in society in a critical and conscious way, providing tools for decision-making and acting as agents of transformation of their own reality in their territories.