WHEN TEACHING IS ALSO LEARNING: MEMORIES OF A TEACHING EXPERIENCE AT THE ALTO BONITO MUNICIPAL SCHOOL, TIJUAÇU, SENHOR DO BONFIM, BAHIA, BRAZIL

Abstract

This article presents an account of a teaching experience at the Alto Bonito Municipal School, located in the village of Alto Bonito, Tijuaçu District, in the municipality of Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia, Brazil, from 1998 to 2000. Located within a Black community later recognized as a remnant quilombola community, the experience is analyzed based on the relationships among Rural Education, quilombola education, memory, cultural identity, and educational practices. The account was constructed from the recollection of the teaching experience, combined with critical reflection on the school’s operating conditions, the characteristics of the community, and the pedagogical practices developed during the period. Aspects related to access to school, infrastructure conditions, the organization of a multigrade class, the material difficulties faced by students and the teacher, the relationships established with families, and the appreciation of local cultural expressions are addressed. The memories show that, despite structural and social limitations, the school constituted an important space for learning, social interaction, building bonds, and valuing community identity. The experience also reveals the need for contextualized educational practices capable of recognizing the knowledge, history, culture, and ways of life of rural and quilombola populations. The subsequent reunion with the community and former students made it possible to broaden the reflection on continuities and changes in the social and educational conditions of the territory. It is concluded that the experience report, in addition to recording a teaching trajectory, constitutes a means of preserving educational memories and highlighting historical challenges and the potential of Rural Education in quilombola communities.