O direito à escolarização: aventuras e desventuras no trabalho socioeducativo em uma unidade de semiliberdade durante a pandemia por covid 19

Abstract

The principal motivation for this study stemmed from 25 years of experience in the socio-educational system of the State of Rio de Janeiro, 12 of which were dedicated to the Integrated Resource Center for Adolescent Assistance (CRIAAD) in Teresópolis; and deals with guaranteeing the right to schooling for adolescents serving a semi-liberty socio-educational measure in this center. We know that guaranteeing the rights of adolescents who have committed an offence has given rise to polarized debates, with those who defend and those who deny their rights preferring to lower the age of criminal responsibility, increase the number of years they have to comply with restrictive measures, and/or even transfer adolescents to prisons. When it comes to the right to schooling, it's important to note that CRIAAD Teresópolis receives adolescents from all over the mountainous region, both those who live in Petrópolis or Nova Friburgo and those who live in Teresópolis, which makes it difficult to fulfill this right and brings up specific issues. It should also be pointed out that before entering the socio-educational system, many adolescents arrive at CRIAAD Teresópolis not knowing how to read or write, or even mention the months of the year or the days of the week, with an age x grade gap and a lack of contact with the school In this way, problems with schooling precede the adolescent's entry into CRIAAD Teresópolis. And when these adolescents are received at the unit, the aim is to bring them closer to school, to try to create or re-establish this link. As for the socio-political context, during the period in which this study was carried out, it is worth highlighting both the lethality of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, and the inadequate management of it by the federal government, which, at the time, downplayed the seriousness of the disease, treating it as a “little flu”. In this scenario, amid a whirlwind of feelings of loss, revolt, impotence, sadness, mourning and struggle, it was challenging to work in the socio-educational system, surrounded by uncertainties and fears.