New High School

Is this news to anyone?

So much noise and so little work. That is how I see all this commotion surrounding the New (!) High School, enacted and publicized in the media. I see nothing new, nor much education. High School is perhaps the only expression that survives in this semantic set.

I belong to the age group that was automatically promoted (provided our grades were compatible with that) from the 4th year of primary school to the 5th grade. In other words, when primary and lower-secondary education were unified. At that time, without the slightest nostalgia, merely as an account, we studied subjects of considerable complexity. In other words, getting home and going straight to our toys was not feasible. Can you imagine your children or grandchildren today doing Vacation Homework? We had that activity in July so that we would not distance ourselves from books, notebooks, fine motor coordination through drawing, and the improvement of other skills. That was when I concluded my life in First-Level Education, beginning my life in Second-Level Education.

Let us return to the subject. What life experience does one have at 15 or 16 years of age, so to speak, to be so certain about which profession ONE IS GOING to pursue? Because it is a definitive answer under the proposal presented by the Ministry of Education.

My first professional choice, at the beginning of my time in what was called Colegial, Científico, Second-Level Education, High School (so many names just to watch quality decline), was Journalism. That was already almost halfway through the course. I began studying the profession, observing professionals, and even interviewed journalists and was interviewed by them. Conclusion: I was too young to define, at that stage of life, which university course would be my LIFE CHOICE. Yes, exactly that. A university degree and a profession are a life choice.

Two years away from formal studies, immersing myself in my preferences (after all, I had already completed high school and full-time work came calling), revealed proofreading to me as my path in life. It has now been 37 years. Happy ones!

Editorial update: Brazil’s National High School Policy was restructured by Law No. 14,945/2024, with implementation beginning in 2025. See the official information from the Ministry of Education.