Education experts and parents of students react to the decree that isolates the ‘specials’ – Education

The driver Danival Cardozo de Carvalho, 40, considered that the president’s decree represents an involution in the struggle of people with disabilities. He is the father of Juan Víctor Silva de Carvalho, 14, who suffered from cerebral palsy. “I know that Juan’s gain is included among the children considered normal. an immense profit that has ”, he says. An inclusive activist, Danival says the benefits for his son were both psychological and related to his learning.

“For Juan, psychologically, it was essential to be among children considered normal in the eyes of many so that he did not develop any kind of feeling of incapacity. He is a child like any other child, ”says the father.

Danival Cardozo and his wife, Luciene Santos Carvalho, fight so that their son can enjoy all the possibilities in relation to other young people of the same age. “Separated into a group of children with physical and cognitive syndromes, Juan would feel inferior to the others in the other rooms,” says Danival. The segregation of children with disabilities, according to him, is as worrisome as it would be to segregate students by ethnicity and sexual orientation. “This type of separation should not fit in our country. The fight to include people with disabilities is as complex as other battles. The country is not prepared to receive the special person. It is not prepared for people with reduced mobility ”, he concludes.

Misunderstood

Occupational therapist Mrcia Bastos Rezende, president of Effeito Consultoria para Even Escolar, who has been working with inclusive education for 42 years, says that Bolsonaro’s decree takes a step back in inclusion policy. In its assessment, the deliberation presents legal, social and scientific errors. In the legal aspect, the decree contradicts national and international documents on inclusive education. The PNEE violates the Convention of the United Nations Organization (UN) on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is prohibited in Brazil by Legislative Decree 186, of 2018, and Decree 6.949, of 2009. The specialist also understands that the Bolsonaro decree contradicts the Statute of the Person with Disabilities, also known as the Brazilian Inclusion Law (Law 13.146, of 2018).

The very concept of inclusive education presupposes the insertion of students with disabilities in mainstream schools. “Until then, inclusive education is understood in ordinary school. To be inclusive it has to be in ordinary school. The other segregating way, ”he says. Mrcia Rezende recalls that in the late 1970s there were schools for the deaf, for people with mental disabilities and for the blind. The possibility for the disabled to attend ordinary school is an advantage.

The specialist responds to the criticisms, which are at the base of Bolsonaro’s decree, that ordinary schools do not promote inclusion. Retired professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), she says that scientific studies show that the presence of students with disabilities in the mainstream school is beneficial for both students with disabilities and typical students. For students with disabilities, there are socio-emotional and pedagogical benefits. The typical student learns to live with diversity and develops emotional skills.

Developing

There is research showing that school inclusion of students with disabilities in the mainstream school is beneficial for both groups: for typical students and for students with disabilities. One of the benefits mentioned is the increase in school performance in mathematics and in the Portuguese language. “This, not to mention social-emotional skills. This is a huge win for typical students. For students with disabilities, there are socio-emotional benefits, there are educational benefits, ”says Mrcia Rezende. It reinforces that learning results from interaction with the environment, with people and with the activities carried out.

The specialist has no doubt that once integrated into a specialized school, the student with a disability loses points from the pedagogical point of view, in the face of the environment, which can be little stimulating. “The trend that learns the least,” says Mrcia Rezende. For her, the idea of ​​creating disabled-only schools is an ethical and scientific error. “In no time, we will accept a black, LGBT-only school. absurd. Diversity is the greatest exercise in empathy we have. “

Mrcia Rezende also argues that, in order to have an inclusive education, schools need to prepare the Individual Development Plan for each student with disabilities, which establishes development goals and establishes parameters to know how the student has evolved. Remember that inclusive education policies began to be implemented in 2008 and, for a short time, schools are learning to cope with their implementation.

“What is my expectation? That in 30 years, these typical students, who today coexist with diversity, will be managers, teachers, businessmen, public representatives. You will be able to break paradigms and understand that people with disabilities can be included in the work ”, highlights the expert.

Current politics has revolutionized all teaching

In note, the Belo Horizonte Municipal Council (CME / BH) expresses displeasure with the decree. The council states that the Policy on Special Education in the Perspective of Inclusive Education, published in 2008, has the precept of ensuring the enrollment of all students with disabilities in the common class and offering Specialized Educational Assistance to complement or complement the schooling of the target audience for special education. “After more than 10 years of the National Policy on Special Education from the Perspective of Inclusive Education, an innovative and revolutionary document, we understand that it is not possible to go back to the precepts of an education for all,” he said.

The Union of Private Schools of Minas Gerais (SinepMG) defended the inclusion of students with disabilities in ordinary schools. “It’s a long road, but a lot of improvements have been made in recent years.” In a note, he affirms that inclusion is a challenge for the whole of society and also for private schools. Remember that many establishments face difficulties in the adaptation of physical spaces, in the continuous training of teachers in serving this public, as well as in specific pedagogical activities.

For this reason, since 2018, it has been conducting training courses for educators on this topic. In 2019, it organized more than a dozen meetings to address the inclusion of students with disabilities in school, with an estimated audience of more than 2,000 people. “Despite the difficulties, research and educational legislation around the world point to the importance of socializing students with disabilities in the same school space as other students. SinepMG believes that comprehensive and inclusive education, along with differences, is one of the main steps in the fight for a more just society.

Scholarships with defined rule

The City Council of Belo Horizonte announced yesterday the enrollment ordinance for the scholarship draw in institutions of the private educational network of the capital for 2021, as well as details of the renewal of existing scholarships. The discount varies from 25% tip. According to the Municipal Department of Education, the scholarship fee exists as a result of a counterpart. Benefits are intended for elementary, graduate, and technology students. The number of scholarships for next year will depend on the number of students who suspend or complete their education and those who do not renew the scholarship and / or enrollment for 2021. Applications will be made between December 1 and 7 in a form available on the site Bolsadeestudos.pbh.gov.br.