The labor movement is alive and well in Brazil, and strikes are a common occurence, paralyzing various sectors of services throughout the country as workers demand higher wages. Recently, there have been three major nationwide strikes: bank workers, who have now been on strike for 18 days, postal service workers, who just ended a 28 day strike, and teachers and workers at federal government-run technical schools, who have been on strike since August 1st. The postal service workers, who are now back to work, received a wage increase of around US$46 a month, and will receive another raise next year. The strike cost around $320 million, and workers are now facing 180 million pieces of mail, with expected delays for deliveries.
Strikes at banks and post offices can cause a major inconvenience, but what happens when teachers go on strike? For some, it's a dream come true, the equivalent of seemingly endless snow days. For others, especially students preparing to take entrance exams for college, it may not be such a great idea. The teachers and workers at Colégio Pedro II, a network of fourteen public high schools in Rio de Janeiro with 10,000 students, have been on strike since August 15th. Around 80 percent of the 1,800 employees have adhered to the strike. The teachers did not manage to reach an agreement, but have decided to return to work this coming Monday, which means the strike will soon come to an end after nine long weeks. Since my sister-in-law is a student there in her last year, I took the opportunity to speak to her and some of her friends about how the strike has affected them and what they have been doing with their free time.
First, some background: public elementary and high schools in Rio, and in Brazil in general, tend to be viewed as schools for those who can't afford to pay for school, since they are perceived as providing a poor quality education. Those who can afford to send their children to private schools, which aren't the same as in the US - they range in price and can be found in many different neighborhoods, so they're accessible to a variety of social classes and not just the wealthy. (Though of course, the more expensive the school, the more competitive it tends to be.) But there are a few exceptions, and those are public schools that require entrance exams for students and provide higher salaries to teachers, with reputations for excellence. Pedro II is one of those schools. It was founded in 1837, making it the second-oldest high school in the entire country. It has an illustrious list of former teachers, including Heitor Villa-Lobos and Manuel Bandeira, as well as a long list famous alumni including presidents of Brazil, authors, acclaimed actresses, singers, journalists, Supreme Court justices, politicians, and even revolutionaries. Students must take an entrance exam to get in, and selection is competitive. Students come from across the socioeconomic spectrum, and aim high after graduation, including highly selective universities and internships.
So what have Pedro II students been doing for two months while teachers have been on strike? For some, it's been a blessing to have time to study for college entrance exams and to attend test prep courses. For those who usually go to class in the morning and prep courses at night, it has made for an easier schedule. Plus, a few kind teachers have been going in or keeping in touch to help students prepare for the vestibular (college entrance exam), which some students have found helpful. "Between my test prep course and a few teachers, I try to maintain the same study schedule so that I won't be at a disadvantage from being out of class," said Bia, a senior. My sister-in-law, Larisse, told me that since she's not exhausted from going to class (she normally has to get up at 5AM to get to school), she has a more relaxed and "dignified" schedule to study, though she feels badly for students who don't have the luxury of a test prep course.
On the other hand, all of the girls I spoke to confessed they've been sleeping a lot more, sometimes through lunch, and that some of them have a hard time being productive. One senior, Mayara, admitted that she has been doing almost no studying, and spends most of her time on the Internet. Most of the girls are worried about missing material they'll need to know for the entrance exams, since the national exam, ENEM, is actually next week. (Each university offers its own entrance exam, though in the last few years students have been opting to take the ENEM, which is accepted at some schools). Students are also worried about what will happen because of the school year. It's possible they won't have much of a summer break, since classes will likely go through December or January. Some are worried that teachers will rush through the material, or not have time to finish it. Since the school year will be extended for two months, students don't know how they will manage to sign up for classes at universities without their high school diploma in hand. It could potentially lead to serious bureacratic headaches for graduating students.
As for the strike itself, students have mixed feelings. It seems most students don't really understand what the teachers are protesting, other than wages. Some sympathize with the teachers' demand for higher salaries, since generally Brazilian teachers don't earn very much. (However, as a few girls I talked to pointed out, Pedro II teachers have higher salaries than other public school teachers, and those with masters degrees and doctorates earn even more). Another senior, Sofia, told me: "Teachers in Brazil are undervalued, and I agree they should fight to make things better. But I've already been through teacher strikes and they never accomplish much, and they never seem to do much either. They don't go to the streets, there are very few public protests, very little advertising, and most people don't even know they're on strike. So in the end, it's not fair to the teachers who don't agree with the strike, and it's not fair to the students." Bia agreed. "I think the teachers' demands are fair, but I believe there are other ways to protest, like marches or open classes, that don't negatively affect the students."
According to the media, the teachers are demanding a number of things: a nearly 15 percent increase in salary, the implementation of civil service exams, a restructuring of career planning, and more government investment in education. They're also protesting a R$3 billion education budget cut. Some teachers are frustrated with the status quo, in which some classes are simply put on hold for months on end or are never given, because a teacher isn't available.
It seems that for dedicated students, the strike may have not been such a bad thing, allowing them to focus their studies on the vestibular, though for less disciplined students, or for those not taking test prep courses, it may have hurt them. But the time spent out of structured classes with assignments and homework wasn't beneficial for everyone. While in Brazil, I noticed my sister-in-law was watching a lot of TV, much more than usual. "I've been watching a lot more since the strike," she confessed. "I think my brain is atrophying."