I am David Pereira. Since 2013 I have been a monitor in FASIM - Family Agricultural School of Integrated Municipalities - in the Region of Irará, in the interior of Bahia.
FAS works with the pedagogy of alternation, and students remain in school for 15 days each month.
Every teacher is called an internal or external monitor
The internal monitor sleeps in the school, and is responsible for the students during the 15 days. The main function of a monitor is to prepare, co-ordinate and supervise the tasks and functions.
The tasks are developed by students in the different sectors of the school, such as: orchard, pigsty, aviary, bathrooms, kitchen, bedroom, classroom, among others. The activities are carried out from 6 to 7:00 am, and from 5:10 pm to 6:00 pm.
Functions are reports drawn up by student groups and presented at the General Assessment. Students describe what happened during that period of stay at FASIM. A group co-ordinates and so the moment of reflection takes place.
There are secretaries who will report the positive and negative points that occurred during school time. Some students will lighten the atmosphere during the assessment; keeping an eye on the language, and correcting the pronunciation of the words spoken by students and monitors.
The external monitor is the one who gives class and returns home at the end of the day.
Being a monitor is an arduous task, but very rewarding, especially when we hear reports of peasant students' empowerment and humanisation.
And this motivates us to continue our struggle in defence of rural life as a space of possibilities ...
Translation: Michael MC Laughlin