Associação Sul Rio-Grandense de professores: um nicho de desenvolvimento da consciência de classe docente em Pelotas (1929-1979)

Abstract

Starting with the premise that the mutualist associations also promoted the very aspired (and many times distorted) category consciousness, this thesis aims to analyze historic process of “Associação Rio-grandense de Professores (ASRP)”, from its foundation in 1920’s till 1980’s last century. The sources were the local newspapers, the meeting proceedings, the ASRP annual written reports, the proceedings of 24º nucleus of “Centro de Professores do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (CPERS)”, moreover ASRP photographies and objects as flags, banners, etc. Besides documental researches, it resorted to the instruments of oral history to have the informations. This way, it was dealed with derivated categories of labour sociology, more specific, the teachers work as class, class experience and consciousness, professional identity and qualification, etc. Basicly, the ASRP creation is due to the increasing of teachers and schools in the region of Pelotas in the beginning of last century. The teachers establish that association because of the insecurity of the rights that the career configured in the 1920’s and to organize the class. It would be the first one of south region of Rio Grande do Sul. Through its existence, the ASRP showed that it was not just a “friends association”, as later it will be accused by the called “red teacher syndicalism”, but a society that assembled the teachers of Pelotas and region, and fought for this group, always aiming to protect the material and moral status of the group, renovating without revolution. Linked to the elevation of the class, the ASRP strengthened to corroborate with the profissionalization process of the teachers that occurred in Pelotas and region through the 20th century. The given courses and talks gave to the institution the title of “Institution of Public Utility”. In the 1970’s, however, with the creation of College of Education (FaE) of Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), the ASRP loses this place. The activity of formation/qualification of teachers is authenticated to UFPel. Consequently, at the end of 1970’s and beginning of 1980’s, the ASRP decreases, losing every intention and characteristic of its foundation. At last, it is concluded that, because of a changing in the various profiles of teaching of Pelotas, the ASRP, in assembling several experiences of teachers’ class, started an identity crisis. The option of maintaining the principles and values of its history, placed it into a situation of constant resistance to decease that still remain today. With the decrease of ASRP, it vanished its most impressive characteristic and the other after institutions could not be maintain the power of aggregating beyond the economical sphere, as revealed in the interviews.