movements and effects of the word: a reflection on the narratives of/about children in the school context

Abstract

School is a place where children share a space and time with their peers, other people who make up their daily lives and, sometimes, researchers who go into the field with their investigations. For the production of this article, we used as our base material the field report developed during a workshop held with children in the first year of elementary school enrolled in a public school located in the northern zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Based on the speeches, non-speeches and other forms of expression carried out by the students, teacher and researchers, we sought to understand the place of words in the elaboration of narratives by and about children in the school context. In addition to authors from the field of childhood studies, we relied on literary and poetic texts because they provide elements that allow us to situate ourselves in the world from different perspectives. As an exercise in reflection on the movements and effects of these words, we have outlined three lines of analysis: the word that yearns for a gap and to be heard; the imposed, poorly addressed, limiting words and, finally, the invented narratives that turn upside down. In addition to provoking educators to look at their pedagogical practices and mediations, we challenge ourselves to think about whether there is room in school for free and creative expression, which forms readings of self and life.