School and contemporary challenges

Data on Brazilian education presented in the "Atlas of Human Development in Brazil 2013," published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), show that basic education has advanced the most in the country. The number of 5- and 6-year-olds attending school jumped from 37.3% to 91.1% between 2000 and 2010. In recent years, Viviane Mosé has experienced firsthand the reality of the municipal schools that serve these young people. From Rondônia to Rio Grande do Sul, the psychoanalyst and PhD in philosophy has visited more than 50 municipalities, given lectures to more than 40,000 teachers, and met parents and students from diverse backgrounds across the country. In her book, "The School and Contemporary Challenges," she analyzes the current situation and suggests new directions for education in the knowledge society, with its dizzying technological and social transformations. Viviane argues that a shift in focus is needed: the student needs to be seen as a researcher, receiving guidance from the teacher. Paying attention to each individual's talents is fundamental in this new approach. "Brazil is undergoing a major transformation, and therefore we need to debate the place of education in this information society," warns the author, who was a senior consultant at the Espírito Santo State Department of Education. The revolution in thinking with the spread of the internet and social media, the need for a new relationship between teachers and students, and the urgency of a methodological shift in teaching are some of the points Viviane Mosé analyzes in depth. To discuss these new developments in education in the country, she engages in revealing interviews with renowned educators: Rubem Alves, Moacir Gadotti, Cristovam Buarque, Celso Antunes, Maria do Pilar, Madalena Freire, Tião Rocha, and the Portuguese José Pacheco and Rui Canário. They share their perspectives, which, while different, reach common conclusions.