Pela criança, para a família: a intervenção científica no espaço privado através do Serviço de Ortofrenia e Higiene mental (1934-1939)

Abstract

Affirm the Brazilian society in the tables of modernity was the desire of intellectuals from various fields in the context of the early decades of the twentieth century. In this scenario, education was considered a possible way to promote changes in habits, shaping the population from modern references. If the school has taken a prominent role to be a place from which you could educate the children, the importance of other educational institutions were also considered, among which we highlight the family, thought of as fundamental space for socializing. The education given in private should, however, be consonant with the ideals advocated at the time, for that it was necessary to intervene in it, educating agents inside. In this study, we analyzed the actions directed by the Office of Ortofrenia and Mental Hygiene (SOHM), who worked in Rio de Janeiro, then the Federal District, in the period 1934-1939. This service, led by Arthur Ramos, aimed at preventing and correcting the problems of school, considering the cultural and social relations are important for a global understanding of these individuals. As family relationships and domestic space were aspects to be known and modified as needed and as parents were asked to help with the actions of service in various forms, we analyze various strategies designed to intervene in the domestic space, focusing on the requirements aimed at this and some practical aspects of the relationship established between families and school through the SOHM.