Introduction

This article is the result of a post-doctoral research, carried out with the Graduate Program in Education at the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS) under the supervision of Professor Dr. Flávia Obino Corrêa Werle, funded by the Post-Doctoral National Program (PNPD/CAPES). In this perspective, a study was carried out based on the memories of managers of two small rural schools in a municipality located in the north of Rio Grande do Sul, for the academic research in the field of History of Education, focusing on the axis of educational institutions, having Memory as a theoretical assumption and using the methodology of Oral History.

Memory has become a precious source of research, and the productions in this field have been increasing significantly, since it brings a part of the past that was not recorded through photos or other means of keeping, since these moments were only lived. In this way, it should no longer be treated as a limited process of remembering facts that have already happened, but as a column of historical making, leading references from different social groups. For this reason, another perspective is being discovered, a new way of looking at the experiences and memories of the historical construct.

Studying the relations established between the institutions and the procedures by which the representations of the institutionalization of these schools were determined, it is possible to perceive and understand attitudes and historical behaviors produced collectively. Examining the dynamics of these relationships presupposes assimilating how members of certain groups became involved in the face of external stimuli and pressures.

The research uses the rural environment as a setting, whose local practices and representations generated the cultural elements that created the way schools were being established in the communities of Arroio Grande (Aníbal Magni School) and Linha Floresta (Frei Anselmo School). The article aims to investigate the memories of managers of the Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools, located in the countryside of the municipality of Selbach, in the north of Rio Grande do Sul, in the period comprising the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. The article, in addition to the introduction and final remarks, is divided into four parts. In the first part, we intend to analyze the Educational Policies aimed at Basic Education. In the second part, we discuss the theoretical and methodological basis of oral sources. In the third part, we study the history of rural communities. In the fourth part, we investigate the memories of managers of two important rural schools.

Educational Policies focused on Basic Education

The candidate chosen to assume the presidency of the Republic, after the 1964 civil-military coup, was Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, coordinator of the military conspiracy. On April 11, 1964, the National Congress elected Castelo Branco with 361 votes. The most important ministry, that of Finance, was given to Octavio Gouveia de Bulhões. The other key economic position, Planning and Economic Coordination, was given to Roberto de Oliveira Campos. (^{SKIDMORE, 1988}).

Members of the military who orchestrated the 1964 coup hoped to face armed resistance. They imagined that legalistic officials would defend João Goulart, plunging the country into civil war. For this reason, thousands were arrested all over Brazil, in the so-called Operation Clean-up, including Catholic organizations and others whose organizational activities attracted the suspicion of the military intelligence or the Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS), the political police. Left-wing political parties were hit: the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) and the Communist Party of Brazil (PC do B). (^{SKIDMORE, 1988}).

It is interesting to discuss the position of the Catholic Church in relation to the Brazilian Dictatorship. Most bishops and priests were supporting the 1964 coup on the grounds that the Church feared the advance of communism in Brazil. The participation of the clergy took place in the two Family Marches with God for Freedom, the first in São Paulo and the second in Rio de Janeiro, both in 1964. The ecclesiastics, who accompanied the two marches, observed that there was “[...] minimum wage sweat, and they would discover that there, on the asphalt, one walked towards the regime that would take off the mask in the first days and, over the years, become the greatest persecutor of the Catholic Church in Brazil”. (^{CASTRO, 1984}, p. 80).

The Catholic Church starts to defend the banner of social and human rights. With this, Catholicism enters into a direct confrontation with the State, especially after the publication of the AI-5, in 1968. Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs) resist the impositions of the Dictatorship, opening spaces for groups to express themselves religiously and politically. During this period, the fight for civil rights, the commitment to human rights and the denunciation of torture increased significantly. Thus, "[...] the contribution of the CEBs was felt in the complaints of violence in the countryside, in the factories and in the student movement". (^{DELGADO; PASSOS, 2009}, p. 124).

Since 1966, after the impact of the repression, the opposition had been articulating. In addition to the position of members of the Catholic Church in Brazil, initially supporting the coup and now opposing it, students began to mobilize around the National Student Union (UNE). In 1968, the mobilizations spread throughout Brazil and what promoted the street demonstrations that year was the death of high school student Edson Luís, who was killed by the Military Police in March 1968 for having protested against the quality of the food given to poor students at Calabouço Restaurant.

All of these events created conditions for a broader mobilization that could bring together, in addition to students, representative sectors of the Church and the middle class of Rio de Janeiro. The highlight of this convergence was the March of One Hundred Thousand, even after the ban - by means of an ordinance - of marches and demonstrations, by the Minister of Justice. The students' flags led the march, but there were issues related to the field of democratic freedoms, such as the end of censorship. According to ^{Villa (2014}, p. 123) “[...] if in Rio de Janeiro the axis of the demonstration was the defense of the broad freedoms, therefore, of democracy, in São Paulo, the radicalization of the left had abandoned the struggle on the democratic ground".

In the economic area, the country is going through the so-called economic miracle, which will extend from 1969 to 1973, combining economic growth with low rates of inflation. “GDP grew at an annual average of 11.2%, peaking in 1973 with a variation of 13%. The average annual inflation did not exceed 18%”. (^{FAUSTO, 2004}, p. 485). Those responsible for the miracle, with Delfim Netto at their head, will benefit from a situation of the world economy characterized by the availability of resources.

What actually happened was a change in economic policy. If the government of Castelo Branco was supposed to combat inflation, now the situation was reversed. In this sense, ^{Prado (2009}, p. 223) points out that the inflation rate fell “[...] from 90% in 1964 to 38% in 1966, and, although still high, it remained in decline, what indicated the existence of some margin to prioritize the resumption of economic growth”. The most important thing was to diminish political opposition to the Dictatorship.

With regard to the majority of the Brazilian population, it can be said that indifference to the Civil-Military Dictatorship prevailed. Much of the population was poor, needy, uninformed and had no idea what was happening in the country. In the words of ^{Couto (1999}, p. 99), the truth is that “[...] this mass will enthusiastically approve the Médici government, the height of the dictatorship. All because of the favorable impact of the acceleration of the economic growth on their daily lives, especially with respect to employment and income”. Those who will really feel the weight of the Dictatorship will be politicians, journalists, intellectuals, students, among others. This mentality of the population will only change after the crisis of the accelerated growth model in 1973.

Regarding education in the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship, after the 1964 coup, the Ministry of Education sought to sign financial cooperation agreements with the American agency, responsible for assisting underdeveloped countries in relation to education. The agreements involving the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) included all levels of education, even professional. Such measures, guided by the doctrine of interdependence, conflicted with the national-developmentalist orientation, followed by the demands of the students.

From 1964 onwards, the privatization of education, in the business sense, will be reinforced. However, it is important to note that the mechanisms to strengthen privatization were as follows: “[...] the increase in transfers from federal public funds, destined to private schools, and the creation of a percentage of 5% of the National Higher Education Fund for private schools”. (^{COMPARATO, 1987}, p. 110). Until then, the National Higher Education Fund only financed public education. After the civil-military coup, it started to finance universities and private schools as well.

After the 1964 coup, three institutional acts and several amendments modified the 1946 Constitution. Thus, in early 1966, Castelo Branco decides to leave to his successor a new Constitution that “[...] would include these changes in a uniform and harmonious way and that would represent the institutionalization of the ideals and principles of the Revolution”. In relation to education, ^{Horta (2001}) continues, the 1967 Federal Constitution proposes three modifications: free official education for all should be extended to secondary education; gratuity in higher education would be conditioned not only to the lack or insufficiency of students' resources, but also to their merit and the State would be allowed to remunerate teachers of religion.

Regarding the funds for education, the 1967 Constitution did not provide for any budgetary connection to that area. The 1969 Constitutional amendment imposed a 20% binding budget for municipalities only. The investment rates for education were below any investment that the State should guarantee. Only in 1983, with the approval of the National Congress, of Senator João Calmon's amendment, the so-called Calmon Amendment, will we have the restoration of the linkage of resources, “[...] 13% for the Union, 25% for states and municipalities, which represents a considerable gain”. (^{CURY; NOGUEIRA, 1986}, p. 67). However, the government's economic area, which was against the amendment, was creating ways to not comply with the new legislation.

Law n. 5.692/71 introduces the distinction between the ideal terminality, which corresponded to the complete course of primary and secondary education with the duration of eleven years, and the real terminality, recommending the anticipation of the professional formation in order to guarantee that all, “[...] even those who do not reach high school or do not complete primary education, leave school with some professional training to enter the job market”. (^{SAVIANI, 2004}, p. 7). In other words, it was admitted that in the less developed regions and in the most deprived schools, for the general population, the real terminality would be below the legal one. In such cases, the student should receive some kind of professional training to go to the job market. As a consequence, the Brazilian State was not able to democratize education, being far from organizing democratic public education at the national level.

In the 1970s, after the University Reform, there was the implementation of short degrees, which expressed the economic dimension of education, seen as an investment, generating merchandise (knowledge) and labor for the market. ^{Nascimento (2012}) states that the military justify the creation of short degrees because the Brazilian middle school has faced an obstacle to its expansion, that is, the deficit of qualified personnel, which forces the improvisation of teachers to the detriment of teaching standards. The short degree comes on an experimental and emergency basis. In the area of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as the most lacking in terms of teacher training, it was necessary to create a multipurpose teacher for the secondary education.

We emphasize that these degrees accentuate the devaluation of the education professional. They end up contributing to the loss of teacher’s autonomy, in the teaching and learning process, insofar as his/her preparation to exercise the teaching function is minimal. Thus, short degrees fulfill the role of legitimizing technical control and new relationships of domination within schools.

In 1962, the Federal Council of Education (CFE) created a new discipline, the Brazilian Social and Political Organization (OSPB). After the 1964 coup, the State started to worry about the need to reinforce the teaching of Civic Education under the focus of the Doctrine of National Security, emptying the teaching of History in primary schools. (^{FONSECA, 1995}).

From that moment on, themes such as nation, homeland and national integration became concepts at the center of the discipline of Moral and Civic Education (EMC) created in 1969, as it should also mark the work of all specific areas with the participation of teachers and families, convinced of the same ideals and civic responsibilities. The OSPB discipline is now linked to Moral and Civic Education. Through this, the order and morality transmitted aimed at eliminating divergences and making hegemonic the power of the dominant groups in Brazil, represented by the military. The teaching of Moral and Civic Education fulfilled the role of reducing the concepts of morality, freedom and democracy. (^{CURY; NOGUEIRA, 1986}).

The Brazilian dictatorship causes a setback in the development of the country's critical capacity. This is measured by censorship of primary and secondary education. ^{Smolentzov and Moterani (2013}, p. 20) emphasize that "[...] textbooks were objects of suspicion, in the same way that every school organization consolidated by the Dictatorship was suspected, and not without reason". The struggle of historians and geographers against the purge of the History and Geography curriculum was not negligible.

Discussions regarding education funds and the other current models were in evidence. Due to the exclusion of the principle of budgetary binding, “[...] the federal government gradually reduced the resources invested in education: it decreased from 7.6% (in 1970) to 4.3% (in 1975), recovering a little in 1978, with 5.2%”. (^{SAVIANI, 2008}, p. 296). Parallel to this elimination of financial ties, the 1967 Federal Constitution signaled in the direction of supporting private education, when it states in article 168: Respecting legal provisions, education is free to private initiative, which will deserve the technical and financial support of Public Powers, including scholarships. (BRAZIL, 1967).

The result of all this was that, in the mid-1980s, the Brazilian situation was worrying: “[...] 50% of the children repeated or were excluded during the 1st grade; 30% of the population was illiterate, 23% of teachers were lay people and 30% of children were out of school”. (^{LIRA, 2010}, p. 332). ^{Lira (2010}, p. 323) continues that, in addition to all this alarming picture in relation to the Brazilian education, “[...] 8 million children in primary education were over 14 years old, 60% of their enrollments were concentrated in the first three grades which accounted for 73% of failures”.

With regard to supplementary education, ^{Lira (2010}, p. 329) points out that "[...] this modality ended up impairing the quality of teaching, because its intensive character made it impossible to carry out a deeper teaching and learning process". In the Minerva Project, the improvisation of teachers and the replacement of educators and a distant and strange sound indicated a probable low performance. Likewise, the diplomas awarded by MOBRAL and the Minerva Project did not improve the social situation of their holders. They even, in several moments, contributed to the deterioration of existing positions in the 1980s.

The dictatorship's educational policy made it impossible to democratize the public school. Through the educational regulations of the 1970s, guidelines that would contribute to the crisis in public education were put into practice, “[...] the 1970 Demographic Census showed that only 357,312 children attended pre-school, which corresponded to a rate of 4.2% and private schools obtained 40% of enrollments”. (^{LIRA, 2010}, p. 335).

In fact, in the Brazilian educational policy of the first half of the twentieth century, there existed the potentiality of developing a quality educational system for all, and thus democratic, but it was interrupted by the 1964 civil-military coup and replaced by a model that produced an expansion of the supply of low quality education. Therefore, we conclude that, if there was any expansion of quality education for all, it occurred in a period before the coup, with liberal flags, among them the universalization of the quality educational system.

Theoretical and methodological basis of oral sources

The study is part of the concept of Cultural History, a field of history that, in the course of the 20th century, has expanded its areas of study and the ways of understanding and constructing history. In this understanding, Cultural History "[...] has as its main object to identify the way, in different places and moments, a certain cultural reality is constructed, thought, given to read". (^{CHARTIER, 1990}, p, 16).

The investigated social group institutes what Borne (1990) calls the community of memory, based on the way the subjects revisited the past and translated a way for cultural practices to be narrated. These united memories made it possible to incorporate a common social time, that is, a time located in the countryside.

The history of institutions as a constructed place and which, in this way, is likely to be reconstructed from the perspective of their meanings and representations, “[...] carry with them a certain interpretation of the culture of a group, which can be singular, to a certain extent; however, in some cases, it cannot be measured”. (^{SOUZA, 2015}, p. 25). This investigation requires an understanding of the different modes of appropriation and the exchange established in a social group.

^{Stephanou and Bastos (2005}) emphasize that Cultural History portrays the possibility of studying new research objects. They believe, for example, in the sense of the world built by men of the past and the understanding of different educational and school processes. ^{Julia (2001}) adds the discussion about cultural studies. When dealing with School Culture, she expresses that it is carried out from the analysis of the conflicting or peaceful relations that she maintains, at each period of her history, with the set of cultures that are current to her. For this reason, we sought to understand it, through ^{Certeau (2012}), as a plural culture, which integrated the experiences of the different ethnic groups that knew how to request school for their own, in a certain period of time.

^{Julia (2001}) describes the school space as one of the fundamental elements for the constitution of a school culture. Even if classes were at home or in rural schools, in this process, two highlighted elements can be perceived: a certain degree in the contents and a teacher, a specific professional for the job, even without having academic training.

The social importance of schooling is a process that has integrated elements from different identity constructions with regard to their original contexts, such as the relevance of the school institution, the presence at worship or mass, the parties and kermesses of the place. In the words of ^{Souza (2019}, p. 226), the cultural translation of integration, stimulated by the coexistence of these different groups, “[...] instituted and updated traditions and habits that took on representations that prioritized the school as a necessary legacy for the children of the settlers”.

To enter the interviewee's memory, it is necessary for the interviewer to exercise knowledge exchange and recognize his/her social performance. This process is immersed in a universe of contradictions, as memory, in the face of which, on the one hand, “[...] is based on a theoretical discourse that is not effective in practice; and, on the other hand, in a fruitful practice linked to interpersonal experiences in the school and educational context, in a certain socio-cultural context”. (^{WENCZENOVICZ; SAAB, 2019}, p. 107).

In the words of ^{Grazziotin and Kreutz (2010}, p. 16), memories, related to research, “[...] in addition to the history of a region, refer to the system of thought, to the mentality of an era, forms of behavior, values and priorities”. They provide, at certain times, an understanding of the degree of relevance that some issues have assumed in the life of a community, to the detriment of others.

^{Viñao (2000}) highlights that memory is not a faithful mirror of the past, but a filter, and what comes out of this filter will never be reality, it is a reconstitution of reality, it is the interpretation that the individual makes, being able to be conscious or unconscious. In the same way, ^{Nora (1993}) judges the memory as life being carried by living groups and, in this way, it is changing, open to forgetfulness and memories, exposed to manipulations, successive deformations and sudden revitalization. Consequently, the testimonials allow us to see everyday events as conflicts, changes in teaching practices, in the workplaces and in the connections with managers and employers.

Memory does not have the objective of instituting the past as it actually happened, it brings emotions, knowledge and individual conceptions. Therefore, it demonstrates that "[...] memory alone does not add as much as the whole, when taken together with the personal documents that each individual keeps over the years". (^{WENCZENOVICZ; SAAB, 2019}, p. 108). Thus, it becomes a source of broad research, covering various social groups.

According to Le Goff (2003, p. 409), "[...] memory is a fundamental element for identity, individual or collective". Memory, the real presence of the absence of the past, is likewise recollection, recognition, remembrance. Memory is committed not to forget. By bringing the past into the present, through the process of narrating, we reproduce the experiences of the past with references from the present, giving meaning to the past itself. In this perspective, memory is the result of "[...] a work of selection and organization of what is important for the feeling of unity and coherence, which produces identity". (^{ALBERTI, 2006}, p. 167). In this way, the memories that prevail in a certain group provide an understanding of that same group or society.

Pollak (1998) points out that, in working with memories, there can be silences about the past, the unspoken, which cannot be understood as forgetfulness, since the anguish of not finding a listening, of being punished for what is said, or at least, exposing oneself to misunderstanding shapes the subjects' memory. Therefore, the boundary between what is said and what is not said divides “[...] an underground memory of the dominated civil society or specific groups, of an organized collective memory that a majority society or the State wishes to pass and impose". (POLLAK, 1998, p. 10). In this sense, memories are still remembered and solidified by monuments, architectural heritage, landscapes, dates, historical characters, traditions and customs. Another important aspect is that, as individuals are part of different groups, their memories are fractionated from their experiences in these groups.

Oral history breaks silences deriving from everyday life, from doing anonymity, indicating events, experiences and concepts that “[...] are not found in written documents and official versions of historiography, which can contribute to a more realistic reconstruction and understanding of the past”. (^{THOMPSON, 2002}, p. 25). In working with oral history, narrative allows people to memorize facts, give them meaning, put their experiences in a sequence, explain these experiences and relate them to their lives. (^{MACHADO, 2016}).

The social group is composed of seven subjects, identified in Chart 1, who were managers at Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools, and who represent the set of memories, which are in the documents elaborated, from the narratives collected throughout the research. We are using fictitious names to preserve the identity and to not expose the opinion of any manager. It should be noted that the average age of the managers is 74 (seventy-four) and the average period of their working time in schools as managers is seven years.

In this research, the debate on the use of oral memories as an investigative perspective was emphasized, for the study of the History of Education in rural areas, based on oral sources. In addition, the memories allow us to comprehend and understand how school practices and cultures were established within schools in these locations.

In this article, we opted for the narrative interview using the methodology of Oral History. Using this type of interview, a script was defined with questions focused on the memories of managers of the Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools during the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship (1964-1985). The aim is to explore the following categories of analysis: a) manager's work routine; b) relationship between managers and teachers and the school community; c) planning in rural schools; d) student learning and attendance.

The interview is a relevant technique that allows the development of a relationship between people. It is a form of communication that establishes how information is spread from one person to another. The term shows the understanding between two people. It is the most used method in field work and, through it, the researcher seeks to reach information contained in the conversation of the social actors. The narratives came to life as the dialogues between interviewer and interviewee began, continuing that the interviewer must strengthen the ability to listen and encourage the flow of information of the interviewee.

The interviews have approximately 100 (one hundred) minutes and, after transcription, were textualized and presented to the narrators, so that they could intervene and approve. The interviews were carried out in December 2019, based on an elaborated script that served as a reference, since the narrator can “[...] reconstruct his/her personal history, objectify it to a certain extent, such as retracing it, recounting his/her memories, from the present moment until childhood or invert the movement”. (^{PROST, 2008}, p. 106).

We emphasize that the interviews with the research subjects were scheduled in advance. An important fact was that all interviewees were available to contribute to the Post-doctoral research. We were able to carry out all seven interviews in a single visit. All subjects involved authorized the use of their interviews, as long as fictitious names were used to preserve the identity and to not expose the opinion of any manager.

Brief history of rural communities

Below, we present the History of the Municipality of Selbach and the communities of Arroio Grande, where the Municipal School of Primary Education Aníbal Magni is located, and of Linha Floresta, where the State School of Primary Education Frei Anselmo is located. Selbach is a small municipality with about five thousand inhabitants, located in the north of Rio Grande do Sul. Its colonization began in 1905, with the arrival of the first families of Germanic origin. In addition, in order to get a lot, the candidate had to be a farmer² and a catholic³. Through Law no. 4,762 / 64 the opportunity was given for the creation of new municipalities. On September 22, 1965, the Municipality of Selbach was created. On May 13, 1966, the Municipality was established and Benno Ely was appointed as federal intervenor. (PREFEITURA, 1991).

The institutional trajectory of the Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools is constituted by a process of changes and alterations in their designations, in order to consult the communities, in view of the different designations of the Schools. Several managers have left their mark on educational institutions and are still remembered by rural communities today.

From 1910, the first settlers of the community of Arroio Grande appeared, coming from the Colônias Velhas. They acquired the lands of Miguel Matte, who was then the attorney of Colonel Jacob Selbach Júnior. The first settlers were the families of Augusto Freiberg, Emílio Bougarth, Guilherme Grafunda and Guilherme Streck, from Cachoeira do Sul. The fertility and low price of these lands came to meet the personal interest of these colonists, because they had the objective of populating and producing, as well as having a new home and property, suitable for their families. (^{WEBER; HOLZ, 1999}).

The dense forests and the lack of roads were some of the difficulties that the colonists faced. The distance was great, and many days were spent in ox carts, horses, on the back of donkeys or even on foot, to reach the land they were looking for. The colonists dedicated themselves to colonization and agriculture, seeking their survival and economic development. (^{WEBER; HOLZ, 1999}).

Concerned about the population increase in the community and the high number of school-age children, the colonists end up encouraging the beginning of school activity. Between 1922 and 1931, the first school in the Lutheran Church began to operate. Students did not learn the content in Portuguese, only in German. The classes were multigraded and the teachers taught reading, writing and mathematics (calculations).

In 1956, the number of students grew and adequate physical space was needed. The School changed location and moved to a house on Lídio Streck's property. In the 1950s, on the initiative of some parents of students, aiming at improving care for the children, acquired an area of land from Baldoíno Karling. A wooden school was built, opened in 1961. It operated until 1974, when it was destroyed by a storm. (^{WEBER; HOLZ, 1999}).

In 1975, the State School of Incomplete Primary Education Aníbal Magni was inaugurated. With few resources available and with an increase in the number of students due to the growth of the community, the land was given to the State under the administration of Mayor Ilvo Aloísio Barth, in the 1970s. With the closure of rural schools in the communities of São Pascoal, Santa Teresinha and Passo do Padre, due to the small number of students, they started to attend Aníbal Magni School. In 1987, the school was municipalized, receiving the name of Municipal School of Incomplete Primary Education Aníbal Magni. In 1989, the 6th grade was implemented, in 1990 the 7th grade and in 1991 the 8th grade, thus becoming a School of Primary Education, called Municipal School of Primary Education Aníbal Magni. From 1996, with the enactment of Law no. 9.394, it was renamed Municipal School of Basic Education Aníbal Magni. (^{WEBER; HOLZ, 1999}).

In 1910, the community of Linha Floresta began to be populated. The first immigrants came from Venâncio Aires and Roca Sales. Among the families that arrived in Linha Floresta, are highlighted: João Felício de Oliveira, Valentim Nodari, Nicolau Wagner, Mathias Kuhn, Carlos Augusto Bogorny, among others. Land occupation took place between 1910 and 1921. (^{SEGER, 2002}).

From 1925, the wood cycle began, which started to decline in the 1950s, with the extermination of native forests. In the late 1950s, an option arose for the farmer to increase his income and consequent investments, through swine farming, which extended until the end of the 1960s. From this moment on, the beginning of mechanization was registered in the community of Forest Line community, with the cultivation of wheat and in the 1970s with the cultivation of soy. (^{SEGER, 2002}).

Since the arrival of the first immigrants in the Linha Floresta community, there has been a concern about the education of their children. In 1917, the first community school was built on the property of Camilo Schneider. Until then, all schools were simple wooden constructions. The second school, which operated in parallel with the first, is located on the lands of Frederico Jacoby. The existence of two schools operating at the same time brought disagreements among people in the community and contributed to the emergence of a third school, in an area donated by José Sestari Filho. (^{PREDIGER et al., 2017}).

In the late 1930s, the first part of the Frei Anselmo School was built. It consisted of one room only. The position of the teacher in relation to the student has always been from top to bottom, which proves the fact that the teacher dominates the class on a pedestal, usually being at a table. The desks were made of wood, with a lid, in which the cloth bag and the school snack could be kept inside. On top of the desk there was a small concave side, where the inkwell was placed when writing. Usually, two students occupied the same desk. (^{SEGER, 2002}).

It is relevant to highlight the importance of the figure of the teacher in the 1960s, in the community of Linha Floresta. The teacher was considered the most important person in the community. According to ^{Seger (2002}, p. 45), “[...] people in general respected him a lot and attributed him maximum authority over their children, even demanding that he use punishment when necessary”. In 1977, the School changed its name after a plebiscite, being called of State School of Primary Education Frei Anselmo, in honor of the first parish priest of the Municipality of Selbach. With Law no. 9.394 / 96, the School starts to be called State School of Basic Education Frei Anselmo.

Memories of rural school managers

The Rural Education policy needs much more than a legal, pedagogical or methodological order for it to be implemented within rural schools. It needs the participation and intervention of the constituted powers, of the whole society, especially the part of society - managers and teachers, “[...] responsible for leading actions of transformation and inclusion, in the field of the right to quality education, in the field of respect to differences, in the field of education as a political practice of equality”. (EVANGELIST, 2016, p. 20).

The educational practices of rural schools wanted a manager as a community, religious and cultural leader; and, in this conception, the formative action of these schools is constituted and consolidated. The rural manager "[...] was responsible for carrying out the tasks of community leader in all dimensions of life". (^{WERLE, 2012}, p. 37). The school, while producing "[...] a leader for the public space of rural communities, left marks on the individual, consolidating a religious habit and providing services to others". (WERLE, 2012, p. 37).

Most managers say little about themselves and their experiences, especially within the school context and the social place they occupy. According to ^{Bosi (1994}, p. 68), “[...] talking about oneself and the time lived has great importance, because the narration of one's own life is the most eloquent testimony, it is how the individual remembers events, it is his/her memory”.

Consequently, the legislation and the action of managers through the Municipal Department of Education decided and imposed, in other spaces, the nucleation of rural schools, between the 1970s and 1980s. Due to the high number of students who migrated to urban schools, several schools in the countryside were closed. With the completion of activities in these school and educational spaces, local memories such as schools and chapels were lost, leaving societies entirely abandoned.

Principal Adalberto (2019) describes some of his managerial routine during the Civil-Military Dictatorship at Frei Anselmo School:

I performed all functions. It was a place where I tried to enter the state as a teacher. Teachers from Passo Fundo and Soledade came and wanted the best schedule. We tried to serve everyone in the best way. Even when the teacher couldn't come, for example, from Soledade, I had to substitute the teacher always thinking about the best interest of the student who wanted to learn. (ADALBERTO, 2019).

Supervisor Luciane (2019) points out that her school supervisor routine consisted of several functions:

we had a lot of “paperwork” to fill out. There were many administrative meetings, both at Frei Anselmo School and at the Education Office. I followed the teachers' timecards, demanded the teachers presence in the classroom, the system was very rigid. CPM was brought to school. The principal had a fundamental role in society. He participated in the commissions of the municipality, the bonus was small, he was the link [teacher-school-community]. He participated in the community's religious activities. In fact, the principal was the “driving force behind the education of the community”. The principal was consulted a lot, including for family problems [advice]. (LUCIANE, 2019).

Regarding the manager's work routine, principal Pedro (2019) emphasizes that everything started with the opening and closing of the School every day.

I had no employees to perform this job. CPM paid for a cleaning lady. The maintenance of the School was daily, from the large playground to inside the classrooms. The biggest concern was how to get money. The Parent-Teacher Association managed the School financially. Student’s tuition did not cover the costs. We had to organize parties and sweepstakes to raise money. (PEDRO, 2019).

Principal João (2019), from Aníbal Magni School, points out that the manager was also someone who repaired locks. In this sense,

if there was any service in the building [maintenance], it was the principal who did it. Students were easier to work with at the time [1970s]. They did the things we asked. The most important memory I have is that where I go today, the school’s alumni recognize me and ask how I am. It is an acknowledgment of my work, and it means that I did something important for them. (JOÃO, 2019).

With respect to the manager's routine, it is important to point out that, in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to being a principal, the manager was a teacher. Another concern was the lack of resources. Normally, resources were collected for the maintenance of the schools with parties, where communities participated actively. A fact that draws attention is the recognition of the students in relation to the work of the managers. The importance of the figure of the principal in rural schools is clear, as he was the “link between communities and schools”. We must remember that it was the period of the Civil-Military Dictatorship, in which there was no freedom of expression.

Regarding the relationship between managers, teachers and the school community, Principal Alice (2019) emphasizes the following:

I was chosen to be the principal of Frei Anselmo School by political nomination and for being someone from the Linha Floresta community. Before retiring from school, I don't remember having any election to choose the principal. It was the Education Office itself that appointed the teachers. The relationship was very good with the community, at no time we had disagreements with parents and teachers. We met with parents, and parents looked for guidance when students did not learn. The relationship was one of respect between the school and the community. We did funerals in the community, when the priest couldn't come. (ALICE, 2019).

Principal Pedro (2019) talks about how he became the manager of Frei Anselmo School and recalls the relationship he had with fellow teachers and the school community. Thus, he points out that

my nomination for the management was not political, I did not participate in a political party during this period [1980s]. The most important factor was being local and knowing all the people in the community. The relationship with teachers and the school community was very good, especially with the students' parents. Among the teachers, over the course of eight years I was in charge of the administration, political obstacles began to manifest. The relationship with the students was excellent because I worked with the parents. The countryside school facilitated a lot, the standard of living and acceptance. (PEDRO, 2019).

Principal Isabel (2019) remembers how she became a principal at Aníbal Magni School and talks about her relationship with teachers and students' parents:

I became a principal because I had a teaching degree. There was no election for the choice of principal. The parents rarely came to school. As of 1972, I already had four teachers at school. It improved a lot in this respect. I had a lot of respect and friendship with the teachers. There were no meetings with the parents. It was in 1975 that the CPM was born. From then on, if there was any problem in the School, she would meet with the CPM when needed. At the end of the year, the report cards were given, and if there was any observation, I talked to the parents. (ISABEL, 2019).

Regarding the choice of the manager and his relationship with teachers and the school community, principal João (2019) recalls that

there was no election at Aníbal Magni School to choose the principal. The process took place by nomination and because he was the only teacher at the School in the early 1960s, the relationship with the school community had to be good. With my arrival in the community of Arroio Grande, I was able to attract more students to the School. I had a respectful relationship with students and teachers. The moment to spend time with parents was when the report cards were given, time to listen to what was necessary. (JOÃO, 2019).

It is relevant to note that, during the Dictatorship (between 1964 and 1985), there was no election for the choice of principals. It was by political nomination, usually the managers were affiliated to ARENA or for being someone from their own community or for the fact that they know people around them. As it was reported, in order to get to the management, you had to have a political party. The military managed to stay for two decades because it created a supportive web in the municipalities, in addition to having the support of the country's political and economic elite, in this case bankers, businessmen and large rural producers. Another striking fact was the relationship that managers had with teachers and the school community. According to the reports, they had a respectful and friendly relationship with the teachers. CPM used to help with the financial issue, in addition to giving full support to the activities developed in the two educational institutions.

Supervisor Maura (2019) points out that there was planning in rural schools, and the same came from the Education Office itself. In this sense,

each teacher had to hand in his/her plan. I expected a lot from the teachers on this matter. The planning was part of the School's Pedagogical Plan [Frei Anselmo School]. The philosophy of the School and the role of each teacher were at the forefront. I had a good relationship with the teachers and an efficient structure. (MAURA, 2019).

With regard to planning, principal Pedro (2019) states that there was systematic planning over the years. And he adds:

the contents had ascending degrees, so that the student left nothing out until the 8th grade. In my time as principal between 1983 and 1990, the focus was on interpretation within all disciplines. The relationship was only and exclusively with the State Department of Education. The Education Office demanded copies of what was developed within the School's planning, but had no feedback and evaluation. We sent the School's statistical reports to the 25th Education Office (DE). These reports included information about the classes given in the month, the financial issue and the attendance of the teachers. (PEDRO, 2019).

Supervisor Luciane (2019) points out that there were planning processes at Frei Anselmo School. Furthermore, she recalls that

we used to make Course Plan [valid for the whole year], Semester Plan [which had to be achieved in one semester], Bimester Plan [every two months] and the Daily Plan which had objectives, contents, methodology and evaluation. I had a good relationship with the municipality [Selbach], because regardless of the political party, I needed transportation. Also, I had a good relationship with the other municipal schools that completed their studies at Frei Anselmo. (LUCIANE, 2019).

With respect to planning, principal Isabel (2019) reports that it served to elaborate the contents of the next year of Aníbal Magni School. Thus, it emphasizes that the meetings took place in Tapera (neighboring municipality of Selbach).

Usually people from Soledade came to Tapera to plan. The content used for each school grade had to be sent to Soledade to be approved. The content was annual and monthly and from it the diary was done. People from Soledade were accessible to talk. If there was no Education Office, they would talk to the advisors. For each sector, there was a responsible person at the 25th Education Office of Soledade. (ISABEL, 2019).

We observed that, at each beginning of the school year, meetings between managers and teachers in schools took place. The planning took place daily because it was part of the Schools' Pedagogical Plan. The daily plan developed used to address the objectives, contents, methodology and evaluation of each class given. According to the memoirs, the Education Office of Soledade demanded copies of everything that was developed in schools, but it did not usually give any feedback and evaluation. This demonstrates that rural schools were abandoned and without any support from the state government.

Regarding students' learning and attendance during the Civil-Military Dictatorship, principal Alice (2019) recalls that

the students had a lot of difficulty in learning because they spoke everything in German. I spoke German first to calm the students and then I spoke Portuguese. There were mixed up letters, p with b, t with d, v with f. Students were always present at the School, even barefoot and with their feet full of mud and dust. When explaining the subject, it was clear which students had not had breakfast [sleepy]. With the cold of winter, clothes were brought to School [Frei Anselmo School] for the students in need. In the cold and the frost, she used to take an iron pot inside the room with coal, and lit it inside the room and the children would get warm. The students also ran inside the classroom to warm up themselves due to the cold, and they loved it. (ALICE, 2019).

Supervisor Maura (2019) recalls how the students learning and attendance were at Frei Anselmo School in the mid-1970s, as follows:

she thought the students were weak, they ran away when she got close. There was always a smart student in mathematics. It was not part of the parents’ culture to accompany students in learning. They only learned the contents at school. The students came to school with the School Transport, provided by the Selbach City Hall, and they didn’t miss class. Transport was very well organized. (MAURA, 2019).

When it comes to student learning and attendance, principal Pedro (2019) points out that, in the 1980s, students had some difficulty

because they came from rural areas, where they spoke a lot of German. The great difficulty of the students [boys] was the Portuguese language. The environment and the quality of the teachers made learning much easier. All of them continued with their studies and graduated in multiple areas, spread across Brazil. Usually everyone was always there, they were absent just for health reasons or because of a family problem. There was already school transport and the students came even in the rain and cold. The students got out of school when they left town to live someplace else. (PEDRO, 2019).

On the other hand, principal Isabel (2019) talks about the students' learning and attendance during the period (1963-1970) of her management at Aníbal Magni School. Thus, she emphasizes that

students had a hard time learning. They were country students and had no access to anything. The parents had no knowledge and could not help. A lot of students missed class on rainy days because there was no transport and the roads were precarious. Another difficulty at the time [1960s] was the lack of material. There was no notebook, pencil and eraser. I always took pencils from home to school, so that students could write. Poverty was high among students. Aníbal Magni School took students from other countryside communities, in addition to people from the village [Arroio Grande]. (ISABEL, 2019).

According to the managers' memories, in general, students from the countryside had many difficulties in relation to learning. Because they spoke German at home, they presented serious problems in the Portuguese language discipline, because they used to mix up letters. Many students came hungry to school, according to reports, and this issue ended up interfering with learning. In addition, there was no support from parents, as they are farmers with low education. From the mid-1970s, the Municipality of Selbach started to provide free public school transport. This favors the attendance of students in schools and increases their frequency, including on rainy and frosty days in the middle of a harsh winter.

We have noticed that the authoritarianism in force between the years 1960 and 1980 did not reach the Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools. We believe it was because schools were located in rural areas, and also because managers had ideological affinities with the educational policies of the Dictatorship. In addition, the rural population was unaware of the excesses committed by military governments, such as torture, persecution and, even, murders of political prisoners, as they had no access to information.

Final considerations

The laws imposed by the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship on education and professional training inaugurated a series of actions by the State, with the objective of playing a role in the expanded reproduction of capital, which extended beyond the process of qualifying this force, since these sectorial policies affected scientific research, technological innovations, social assistance and collective consumption. In this scenario, the legislation was decisive in the extended reproduction of the workforce.

The social policy of the military governments, adopted since 1964, was represented in the preponderance of the repressive apparatus, placed in the front position in the war against the popular classes, with the objective of separating their organizations and their struggles for structural changes in the Brazilian society. In short, in the field of education, the legacies of the dictatorship's teaching legislation resulted in the privatization of education and the proletarianization of a large part of the country's category of teachers.

The concept of memory guides the theoretical assumptions of the investigation, since it works with the methodological conception of Oral History. Memory has its limitations because it is an updated reconstruction of the past. Aware of this, we conducted interviews with managers who worked in rural schools, at Aníbal Magni School and at Frei Anselmo School, during the period comprising the Civil-Military Dictatorship, between 1964 and 1985, that is, more than three decades ago. A positive fact was the willingness of managers to contribute to the Postdoctoral research. Perhaps for the reason of being a resident of the small municipality of Selbach, this helped.

The political component was the way in which they arrived at the position of manager (a), some by political indication, others for being part of the staff; thus, the desired position was easily won. The achievement is related to another component that is territoriality, understood as the action of managers in the school space and around them, their permanence in office. The normative component, which were legal provisions that standardize the actions of managers in daily school life, seeks to mention that they sought to act in accordance with the rules pointed by the Education Office. Finally, the teaching experience, which is based on the time they were teachers, since technical and pedagogical knowledge was essential to establish their administrative practices.

With regard to the profile of the school managers, the focus on the pedagogical prevails, given that the managers were responsible for conducting teaching and learning issues, alongside teachers. In addition to the multifunctional profile, they perform many functions at school, including pedagogical, financial and human resources. Therefore, when questioned about the role of managers between the 1960s and 1980s, the multifunctional conception was a theme. Consider that the managers collaborated with the education of the communities where they worked, being evident in the narratives of memory, in the recognition they receive from their former students.

Finally, the memories of the managers of the Aníbal Magni and Frei Anselmo Schools provide moments of clarity and new concepts. Memories provide visibility to school daily life, its spaces and times, such as the respectful relationship that existed between managers, teachers and rural communities, as well as difficulties in the learning itself, especially in the subjects of Portuguese and Mathematics, in addition to the fear of criticizing the crimes committed during the Civil-Military Dictatorship within the school space.