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Summary: How teachers can help kids find their political voices

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Summary: How teachers can help kids find their political voices

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The speaker states that teachers don't just teach subjects. but we teach people. if we avoid teaching things like equity, by turning education into a vacuum we do our learners a disservice.

It is our job to guide students to engage in difficult conversations with each other. and help them find their own voices and activisms.

She proceeds with an example of students gaining a voice, and finding their activism. with the protests against apartheid in South Africa.

By teaching our students about critical thinking, collaboration, perseverance, and historical context, we teach them to develop an ability to work for justice.

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Summary: How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

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Summary: How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

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The speaker starts with an anecdote, stating that once confronted with a taboo topic - in this case racism - that our instincs often push us to a flight or fight response.

However when a pupil (unintentionally) makes a racist remark, and we decide to "flight" by quickly changing the subject, the other pupils might think that those remarks are acceptable or even normal. Whereas, if you choose to "fight" and scold the pupil they might never dare to talk about a topic such as race ever again.

She continues that destigmatising these topics and conversations around them teach our pupils how to think for themselves and form their own opinions. While it is not our job as teachers to teach students what to think, it is our job to teach them just to think. And controversy should be included amongst things learn should think about.

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Controversy in the classroom pitch (spoken production)

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Controversy in the classroom pitch (spoken production)

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https://liveadminwindesheim.sharepoint.com/sites/O365-Canterburyproject/Gedeelde%20documenten/General/Recordings/New%20meeting-20220323_161625-Opname%20van%20vergadering.mp4?web=1

Can/do statement: I can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

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Question 1: Read "Taboo in the classroom". Why should you teach taboo topics, according to this article? Could you give five examples?

Question 2: The article also states arguments against teaching taboo. Could you give five examples?

Question 3: Watch the tedtalk "How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics" by Liz Kleinrock. At the start of the video she talked about a horrible situation she experienced between two pupils. What would you do if you had to deal with that situation?

Question 4: Read the article of body and gender by Brazilian students. Do you think this topic should be discussed more to pupils? Please elaborate on your answer.

Question 5: Watch "How teachers can help kids find their political voice" What example does the speaker give to demonstrate the effects of talking about equity, and how that could help youths finding their voice?

Question 6: What does the speaker say about rebellion in our kids, and how we should deal with it?

Question 7: Watch "How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics" How would you handle the practice moment the speaker describes in her first anecdote?

Question 8: Link your answer to question 7 to "Teaching controversial issues: a guide for teachers" and one of the other sources.

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Statements on controversy in the classroom.

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Statements on controversy in the classroom.

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Statement 1: Controversial topics should always be discussed, regardless of what it might be.

Statement 2: Controversy should be taught in an unbiased way.

Statement 3: Controversial topics shouldn't be considered taboo.

Statement 4: Controversial topics should be left to the parents to discuss with the children.

Statement 5: Controversial topics should be avoided with pupils under sixteen.

Statement 6: It is the responsibility of the school to discuss controversy in the classroom.

Statement 7: Teaching controversy contributes to the development of a learner's intellectuality.

Statement 8: A teacher Shouldn't be required to be capable of talking about controversial topics.

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The article starts off by naming a variety of topics that’s considered taboo or controversial. This is followed by stating that taboos can be found in words, gestures, topics, social and cultural behaviour, body language and personal space. Taboos also vary from culture to culture.

Questions to ask yourself as a teacher, when you’d like to discuss taboo language and topics:
1. Is it right to teach taboo language to learners?
2. Is it right to use taboo topics to teach language?

A list of arguments for and against these questions can be found in the article.
The article also shows acceptable approaches for when you’re against teaching taboo topics during class.

As conclusion the author answers the two questions listed above by saying it’s all about your own choice. If you feel like the pupils gain something from this knowledge and it’s something they could use in the future, then you shouldn’t be afraid to discuss the topic.

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Summary: Why a great education means engaging with controversy.

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Summary: Why a great education means engaging with controversy.

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Very little room is given for engaging in controversy. The speaker compares it with an accordion, where in it’s given a bit of thought during a conversation, but then the discussion becomes constricted and cut off immediately.

During the first world war they’ve given it some thought at school, where the pupils would cut off a column from a newspaper and take it with them to class to discuss the topic.

The speaker states that there is controversy in today’s democracy and that it shouldn’t be ignored. Teachers should be able to educate the pupils on how to approach and discuss these kinds of controversial topics.  To verify this he gives an example of a bad approach on how to talk about controversy that’s done on TV and if that’s the only source a child sees on how to talk about controversy, then the kid assumes that’s how politics are.

There’s a danger on teaching controversy and that is the teacher foisting his/her opinions on the student. That’s exactly why teachers also should be educated on the topic and being aware on how to teach it to pupils, without sharing their own opinions as they’re the adults in the room.

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Why a great education means engaging with controversy

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Why a great education means engaging with controversy

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQi4HI10d40

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Why a great education means engaging with controversy | Jon Zimmerman | Big Think

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How teachers can help kids find their political voices

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How teachers can help kids find their political voices

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https://www.ted.com/talks/sydney_chaffee_how_teachers_can_help_kids_find_their_political_voices/transcript?language=en

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Sydney Chaffee: How teachers can help kids find their political voices

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Social justice belongs in our schools, says educator Sydney Chaffee. In a bold talk, she shows how teaching students to engage in activism helps them build important academic and life skills -- and asks us to rethink how we can use education to help kids find their voices.

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Taboo in the classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

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Why deal with taboo subjects?

Some acceptable approaches

What are taboos?
Swear words, gay rights, torture, sex, one-parent families, drug abuse, divorce, political freedom, obscene gestures, incest, cannibalism, religious belief, death, alcohol, nudity, suicide, racial abuse, AIDS, terrorism, pregnancy, abortion, polygamy, depression, rape, democracy...

Taboos can be found in words, gestures, topics, social and cultural behaviour, body language and personal space. The Oxford English Dictionary defines them as 'Prohibition...generally of the use or practice of anything'
and in linguistics as 'A total or partial prohibition of the use of certain words, expressions, topics, etc., esp. in social intercourse'.

Importantly for teachers, taboos vary from culture to culture. For example,the subject of how much you earn is taboo in the UK but not in other cultures, whereas homosexuality is a subject many British people are comfortable with, but a clear taboo in many other countries. Taboos change as societies change, so topics such as divorce and depression and illnesses such as cancer and AIDS may not be as taboo as they used to be (interestingly, almost no universal taboos have ever been identified, but many are shared by almost all cultures - incest, patricide and cannibalism are three examples).

Is it right to teach taboo language to learners?

Is it right to use taboo topics to teach language?

When we teach a language, we must teach the cultures in which it exists. Taboos are a key element of every culture, so we must teach them too.

Learners rarely learn a language for purely academic reasons. They learn so they can communicate with others who speak the language. In order to do this well, they have to know what language is appropriate and what is not.

Taboos are taboos for a reason. They are areas of language and topics which are prohibited by a society, and when we use them in a classroom we run enormous risks of offending our learners in the most profound ways possible: religious and political belief, sexuality, morality.

Taboo language is extremely difficult to use correctly and appropriately. By teaching learners this kind of language we are giving them a loaded gun but not showing them how to use it safely.

Looking at how taboos are managed in a culture, e.g. euphemism, innuendo, double meaning, formal and informal equivalents.

Is it right to teach taboo language to learners?

Is it right to use taboo topics to teach language?

Discussing what is appropriate and what is not, both at a language and content level. For example, is it right to ask questions about taboo topics when you meet someone for the first time? Which ones are okay and which not? Who can ask those kinds of questions? Is this language vulgar and impolite?

Thinking about body language / gestures / personal space. What is acceptable in each learner's culture?

Looking at modern slang and informal language - rich, challenging and always changing.

Looking at politically correct language.

Learner-led discussion. Learners who feel free to express themselves will often start a discussion on an apparently sensitive area if it is important to them. Our role is to facilitate discussion, guide and ensure that there is no negative impact on other learners.

Talking about your own society's taboos and your own feelings about these (if you are teaching abroad, in another culture). Even if this is not successful, it may offer you some insights into what you should be asking your learners to do.

Looking at taboo language in context, e.g. literature readings.

Our work as teachers is not to provoke extreme emotional responses from our learners, although we may think that a provocative role is the right one. Our work is to teach the systems and skills of English. There are many effective ways of doing this apart from exploiting areas that learners would never discuss, not even in their own language.

Taboo topics provoke extreme reactions and in a classroom these kinds of reactions can cause problems, no matter how well we think we can manage the activity. A discussion can turn into a conflict in a moment.

There are few classrooms in the world where nothing bad has happened to any of the learners, or the teacher. Many have had experiences of areas we classify as taboo, such as death, issues of political freedom and divorce. Discussing these may be involving, yes, but in the worst way for someone in your class.

When you decide to use taboos, you should ask yourself why. Is it because they support your aims for the class better than other material, or just because they are taboos?

Learners who need English to live and work in a country where it is the first language have to understand both taboo language and taboo topics, as they will encounter both. Not understanding taboo areas is dangerous.

Learners in the modern world are constantly exposed to taboo language and topics. As teachers we have a responsibility to guide them through this.

Using taboo topics to teach language can be highly productive, as they often generate high levels of interest and involvement in learners.

When we teach learners about the taboo language and topics of our culture, we share something special and unique, something they do not see in coursebooks.

Taboos are a rich area of language. Thinking about taboos means for example thinking about euphemisms, slang, formal and informal language, double meanings, body language and politically correct terminology. Discussing sensitive areas means using skills in negotiation, agreeing, disagreeing, explaining opinion, justifying, etc.

Multilingual classes are multicultural classes. Discussing the taboos of learner cultures together means real communication of genuinely motivating topics.

Both the Oxford Dictionary definitions above are relevant for us as teachers, as we can ask two questions based on this idea of taboo language and taboo subjects:

Neither of these questions have a simple answer, or one that people agree on.

Why deal with taboo subjects?

The arguments against

Some acceptable approaches
Even if you are against teaching taboos or using them to teach language points, there may be ways of exploiting this area. Below are some ideas:

Before you give an answer to the two questions above, you need to think about your own classes. If you feel your learners' needs are best met by teaching them taboo language, then it is right to look at it. Similarly, if you feel that the best way your learners can achieve the learning aims of a class is by looking at taboo subjects then they can become an important resource. But I feel you should take a long hard look at what you are asking your learners to think about, and respond to, before you make the decision to take taboos into your classroom. It may not be worth the risk.

Further Reading
Wikipedia: Taboo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo
Taboos and Issues by Leather, ELT Journal 2003
Breaking Taboos by Guy Cook, ETP April 02
Taboos and issues, Richard MacAndrew and Ron Martinez, Language Teaching Publications, 2001.
Discussions A-Z, Wallwork, CUP.
Dangerous English 2000!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/
http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/

Written by Paul Kaye, Teacher, Trainer, Materials writer

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Why deal with taboo subjects? Some acceptable approaches What are taboos? Swear words, gay rights, torture, sex, one-parent families, drug abuse, divorce, political freedom, obscene gestures, incest, cannibalism, religious belief, death, alcohol, nudity, suicide, racial abuse, AIDS, terrorism, pregnancy, abortion, polygamy, depression, rape, democracy...

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Frontiers | Breaking Cultural “Taboos” About the Body and Gender: Brazilian Students’ Emancipation From a Thematic Perspective of School Physical Education | Education (frontiersin.org)

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Physical Education Post-Graduate Programme, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

In order to understand the problems related to equity and diversity, we can first recognize that school physical education potentializes processes of a cultural context that has, directly and indirectly, interfered with the body and its relationships. We live in a still retrograde society, which has its foundations established in hierarchical relations of power and that women are often devalued in many sectors, especially in contexts of deep social exclusion. However, the body is the result of cultural construction and the concept of "natural" coexists within the culture. Then, it is necessary to problematize and (de)construct concepts that reinforce prejudiced/discriminatory attitudes. Our objective in this article is to interpret how high school students' relationship to knowledge allows situated interventions on gender issues by undergraduate students from one physical education teacher education program. Methodologically, we used a qualitative approach to develop interventions in one high school in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, in two stages: (i) questionnaire to consider the students' knowledge related to gender issues; (ii) intervention to work on issues of gender and social inequality. As a result, we have identified as essential to list such issues in the school environment, because it is in the school that we live the plurality of being and establish various social relations, locating them critically. We recognize that the challenge of intervention is beyond problematizing classes, but in educating students as autonomous and emancipated individuals as they can construct their own (self) critique. In conclusion from the analysis of those interventions, it was possible to strongly observe the existing hierarchical relations. In this sense, we emphasize the importance of the teacher to address thematics that generate learning with respect to the male and female bodies in the classes, so that there is a better understanding of the differences to foster the critical and emancipatory expansion of gender equality.

Introduction

Gender-related prejudice and inequalities are remarkably expressed in the current right-wing Brazilian governmental discourses against teaching practices around gender ( Knijnik and Luguetti, 2020). In this article, we aim to contribute to the eradication of gender inequalities through the voices of high school students and their relationships to knowledge. There are challenging questions about the pedagogical practice of school physical education, such as didactic and relational issues, which affect teachers and students in Brazilian basic education. Some theoretical and methodological propositions point to the criticality of the teaching and learning processes. However, during the initial teacher education, there are themes that are little addressed as relevant demands for teaching intervention. According to Jacó and Altmann (2017, p. 3), "physical education classes, which have their attention on the body and movement, have long been understood as a fundamental instrument in schools for the education as discipline of the body and its senses."

This type of bodily education, according to Jacó and Altmann (2017), was based on the dichotomy between male and female. In this sense, the organization of spaces and classes was designed separately for the male and for the female students. However, there are new proposals for thinking about the body, corporeality and movement as dynamics that permeate school physical education ( Penney, 2002). It is not appropriate, for example, for teachers to limit their actions to legal guidelines understood in a shallow manner to promote participation and involvement in learning situations, regardless of sexual orientation and gender and considering the health conditions of each student ( Brazil, 1996). However, there are still differences in the ways of organizing classes ( Corsino and Auad, 2012), as well as in the engagement of students ( Jacó and Altmann, 2017). The subtlety of some of these differences during physical education classes indicates dispositions for maintaining historically predefined places for each gender, which we understand as "taboos."

However, we live in a society that is still retrograde and conservative and whose foundations are based on hierarchical relations of power that devalue women, in various sectors, especially in contexts of profound social exclusion, such as school ( Franco, 2018). In addition, the current Brazilian extreme right-wing government makes it difficult for women to fight against poverty and hunger; it reinforces and promotes violence; it worsens the conditions of access to housing, healthcare and education; it accentuates historical and structural injustices and generates more inequality and social exclusion ( Lavinas and Gentil, 2020). This context affects the life of each human being, each individual, each body and their intersubjectivities.

We know that the understanding of the body is the result of a cultural construction, in which the concept of "natural" coexists due to the intervention within culture ( Goellner, 2010). Then, it is necessary to problematize, deconstruct and reframe concepts that reinforce the naturalization of prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors. As we immerse ourselves in the school context, the contemporary debate on gender relations denotes a polarized political sense - typical of political parties - that masks the importance of these discussions and reflections in the fight against "taboos" that reproduce different forms of oppression.

In the context of schooling, according to Marrero (2008), these relationships to knowledge are consistent with the need for the school to be transformative so that women are not subordinated to gender inequality. For awareness and criticality in educational processes - with the aim of promoting social justice ( Schenker et al., 2019) - it is essential that the school does not reproduce the inferiorization of women and that it does not perpetuate the hierarchy based on historical and social inequalities. Schooling can reveal possibilities for new construction of relationships to knowledge ( Charlot, 2000), without discrimination and seeking to break obstacles to the consolidation of a democratic society, such as a school that promotes (self) critique and human emancipation ( Oliveira and Venâncio, 2017).

During the physical education degree course, two authors of this study had the opportunity to mobilize knowledge from disciplines and programs that enhanced democratic aspects and social justice. Some of those actions provided experiences based on knowledge from the schools' realities and reflection on their own pedagogical practices. In addition, their experiences fostered the development of research projects in school physical education by both authors, within the scope of the academic master's degree in the Physical Education Graduate Program at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. This study covers a common problem to their research, with the mediation of their advisor and the critical participation of a professor-researcher, who collaborate as co-authors of this article. Our objective is to interpret how elements of the relationship to knowledge - of high school students - enable interventions on gender issues - by undergraduate physical education students.

Methodological Path

The study is anchored in qualitative research characteristics, situated as an investigative process that did not have any generalization claims, as advised by Alves-Mazzotti and Gewandsznajder (1999) and Sandín-Esteban (2010). As an itinerary, we highlight that the theoretical and methodological starting point is a discipline - Physical Education in Elementary and High School - offered in the second semester of 2018 and attended by the two main authors during their initial teacher education as undergraduate students at the Institute of Physical Education and Sports of the Federal University of Ceará. On the one hand, the theoretical catalyst from the course was the discussion, critical analysis and thematization of official documents guiding Brazilian basic education, such as the National Curriculum Parameters (PCN) ( Secretaria de Educação Fundamental, 1997), the National Common Curricular Basis (BNCC) ( Secretaria de Educação Básica, 2020), the Regional Curriculum Matrices ( Secretaria da Educação, 2019) and the National Curricular Guidelines ( Secretaria da Educação Básica, 2006, 2013). On the other hand, the methodological catalyst was the students' experiences and ways of accessing the knowledge about certain content in high school physical education classes. In this sense, there is emphasis on the qualitative and descriptive field approach to reveal the "taboos" in one class of high school students from a school located in Fortaleza, the capital city of Ceará State in the northeast region of Brazil.

Context

The school has been chosen due to the availability of the physical education teacher responsible for the class and the agreement of the school management. The school - as a public institution of regular education - has a total of 246 students, according to the basic education development index ( Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira [INEP], 2019), located in a central neighborhood of the municipality, whose human development index (HDI) is 0.574, being in the 19th place in the regional districts table II, as based on census data from 2010 ( Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico, 2015). The school has students who live in different regions of the capital and has been suffering a reduction in the number of enrollments annually.

Participants

The choice of students was made randomly with the class that was available at the time we selected to conduct the research. There are 26 students who participated voluntarily with the necessary agreement. The participants justified that they would not include their gender identities in the responses to the questionnaires and that they understood that the absence of this information would not interfere in the evaluative process of their reflections. They understood that each person's verbal report would contribute to the research.

Research Procedures and Data Analysis

As a critical collaborator ( Luttrell, 2005), the professor-researcher responsible for the course - who has followed the academic trajectory of the two master's students since their degree course - is a co-author in this study. The work was organized in two phases. We initially performed a documentary analysis in four sources, considering how themes related to gender and sexuality were cited. We highlight, in Table 1, the number of times that the terms "gender" and "sexuality" were mentioned in the documents, specifically regarding physical education, and an excerpt referring to breaking paradigms. We emphasize that the word count was based on approximations from a search for terms in an isolated or literal way, including correlated terms (such as "man" and/or "woman").

Table 1. Documental analysis.

After the documentary analysis, we carried out a second phase, based on a questionnaire with illustrations by Brazilian designers and cartoonists (Ziraldo, Laerte, Alaúde, Carol Rossetti, and Rafael Babueno) and interventions that were grouped in two stages: (i) analysis of the responses to the questionnaire about the students' knowledge related to gender issues and sexuality; the questions form was used - through writing and orally - in a 9th grade class at elementary school, with 30 students, and in a 2nd grade class at high school, with 26 students; (ii) analysis of the intervention carried out in the high school class context, to address issues of gender and social inequality. We opted for the emphasis on the high school class due to the absence of specific terms on the subject in the curriculum document. The participants and their legal representatives agreed with the school's consent to conduct the study, which is part of a broader research project, duly approved by the institutional research committee to which it was submitted. We compared the data generated in both phases to present and discuss the results.

Table 2. Intervention praxis.

Results and Discussion

The intervention praxis was based on five learning moments highlighted in Table 2 below.

Understanding the embedded logic in the classes' dynamization, we believe that declarative knowledge ( Sanches Neto, 2017) - which is unexplored several times - undergoes without due attention but it emerges when exploring both the "taboos" theme and the possibility of students have their speech respected, their own language listened, confirming their active voice. In an attempt to foster steps that are built for a fairer education - reducing the problem of silenced bodies ( Corsino, 2019) that the school and other institutions promote daily - we meet the need to open paths that teachers and school principals make themselves present with sensitive and welcoming listening to recognize the students' knowledge and experiences, and to encourage their participation and involvement to learn critically. The following questions point to specific gender issues in the participants' perspectives.

Why Do I Have to Say Whether I Am a Male or a Female Student? What Does It Matter?

To present the results with consistency, we need to explain that several elementary and high school students did not want to identify in the form whether they were female, male or other. As it was a work based on documentary, exploratory and descriptive analysis, we understand that this fact did not compromise the findings and made us present excerpts that would meet the proposed objectives.

To understand gender as a constituent of the individuals' identities, Louro (1997) points out that we need to understand that everyone is constantly (re)building and transforming her- or himself in their social relations. It is important to demonstrate to students that they have situated places of speech and listening, so that they feel free to understand aspects of their identities and their sexualities, considering both as constructs. In Ribeiro's (2017) critical perspective on the place of speech, language serves as a device for conserving power from a colonization process based on oppressive thoughts.

The questionnaire used with the classes consisted of cartoons and problematic situations that encouraged students to think critically about the problems mentioned. Table 3 shows three questions extracted from the form, in which we can see how the themes are present in the students' daily lives, as well as their relevance.

Table 3. Thematics.

From the critical analysis of each answer, highlighted as their responses, we have realized that there are stereotypes linked to the individuals' roles and their representativeness. For example, in question 2, when dealing with the association of words with the role of men and women in society, there was an emphasis on physical characteristics, accessories and stereotypes about women. However, when words were asked about the role of men, the focus was on characteristics that highlight male virility and professional aspects. This evidence reaffirms the observations by Cruz and Palmeira (2009) that, historically, the secondary role is mainly attributed to women.

Another point that caught our attention was the moment when we left it open for written or spoken comments on the subject. We have heard sensibly comments such as: "I still think it is ridiculous for people to say that there is a game just for girls and other for boys;" or a feeling of revolt expressed by a student when she says: "I feel disgust and revolt when these inequalities happen, people who occupy the same positions with different salaries for being a man or a woman. Society is sexist."

We highlight some responses from elementary school students, which address the relevance of this theme in their lives. One student mentioned that he would like to assume his homosexuality and that working on such issues at school would help him. We were surprised by this data, as well as we were faced with several comments from students criticizing the election of the extreme right-wing candidate for the presidency of Brazil, arguing about their racist, sexist and homophobic attitudes. The responses of high school students focused on gender relations in society, with some comments and doubts about the use of the social name. Mention was made of the federal decree, approved in 2016, which guarantees the recognition of gender identity ( Presidência da República Secretaria-Geral, 2016). In addition, there was a brief discussion about same- sex and/or gender marriage.

The Bodily Experience as Complex Relationships to Knowledge

The body has variations in meaning as it is influenced by time and culture, it itself is historical and evaluative. On the one hand, the rise of modernity brings to light the body's perspective as a center for discussions about its productive, sanitary, moral and control functions in society ( Bracht, 1999; Costa et al., 2018). On the other hand, the term corporeality appears as a product of philosophical reflections in the search for human emancipation in agreement with the dialectics of the complexity of the body.

Still from the perspective of a reflexive analysis about the bodily experiences, it is important to highlight the countless social demands that surround them. Based on such requirements, we can perceive the complexity of the relationships we create with our own body and with the body of the other. Such complexity can influence the acceptance of the changes that occur as well as generating a search for reaching certain standards often propagated by the media ( Franco et al., 2018).

School physical education, historically, has contributed both in the corporeal dimensions and their functions before society, as well as in the scope of polysemic discussions of bodies. With the Brazilian re-democratization, progressive and critical theoretical-methodological proposals promoted changes in the teaching and learning process. Currently, taking into account the criticisms of the curricular documents that guide the work within school physical education, we perceive gaps when relating them to the students' knowledge and the relevance in each school reality. We understand that a coherent lesson needs to be integrated into life and that it is impossible to achieve it without knowing the students' reality, valuing their needs, as well as considering their knowledge and their relationship to knowledge.

School physical education holds movement as a primordial element for learning, but also interdependent on cultural elements, interpersonal aspects, and environmental demands, as suggested by Sanches-Neto and Betti (2008). While meeting this necessary convergence for the complexity of the classes, we consider that the teacher learns - about how to improve pedagogical practices - from essential debates on the body in the school's time and space ( Costa et al., 2018).

According to Betti et al. (2015), there is a dialogical relationship between world and movement. In this relationship, it is not possible that they exist under some isolated configuration, as one is immersed in the other. Thus, assuming dialogics as a premise, we realize that the relationships that were previously considered external to the school, in fact never were. These relationships to knowledge are part of the construction of each human being.

Merleau-Ponty (1999), when reflecting on the emerging distance from himself with his own body, understands that there is no dissociation, as there is a dynamics of rediscoverings of the meaning of the world, such as "being in the world." In educational circumstances, we recall the meanings that relate physical education to students as powerful bodies in a progressive demand for emancipation.

The aspects of masculinity and femininity are socially constructed concepts so that, as teachers, we do not cast our students on erroneous expectations. Therefore, when mentioning the relational aspect of gender, it is important to emphasize that femininity cannot be understood without accounting masculinity and vice versa. According to Santos (2010), the stereotypes linked to the construction of the meanings of femininity and masculinity are directly related, that is, changes in one generate changes in another. Which leads us to consider that genders are continually made throughout existence and these changes - according to Altmann's (2006) perspective - show that gender and sexuality polarities are socially constructed, therefore being subject to problematization, deconstruction and reframing.

According to Auad and Corsino (2018), there is also a discourse anchored in religious fundamentalism that criminalizes the idea of elaborating gender and sexuality issues in the school environment. This discourse is frequent, although it is visible that in the realities of schools such issues are eminently present, not only in physical education classes, but also in the daily life of human relationships. Jacó and Altmann (2017, p. 20) says: "But, if the segmentation of boys and girls has been overcome, gender inequalities in classes are still a challenge." Therefore, it is important to consider the students' experience as a starting point for thinking about learning pathways and processes in physical education.

It is crucial to realize that the students' experience and knowledge is what should move the classes forward. Giving voice - and ears - to students is not only about "correcting" their actions; sometimes, we want to give students a voice as a way to "compensate" for our own reality ( McLaren, 1997). Understanding the context of physical education classes first involves letting go of the binary analyzes that constitute a biased femininity and masculinity, so that we can overcome the prejudices (as limitations) that we impose - sometimes involuntarily - on the students' bodies.

Another point that we need to address is that it is not coherent to treat these themes in isolation, as if they were present only at school, as they are constructed in a non-linear way in each culture. It is up to the school and physical education as a curricular component, respectively, to assume their political and social functions and their pedagogical intentionality, and in fact, to give voice and listen to the students' voices.

Criticism in school physical education has theoretical and methodological assumptions that refute the simplistic dualisms established historically. In this sense, the strengthening of the specificity of the area can provide didactic-pedagogical actions in the classes so that each teacher, in agreement with his/her students, contribute to the elaboration of knowledge in a collaborative way. In turn, there would be ways to build and promote social justice, so that teachers and students can discuss and problematize conditioning aspects of socialization, social stratification, and inequalities of power in their lives and in other individuals'.

Considerations

We consider that there are observable hierarchical relationships and that students consider gender and sexuality issues relevant in physical education classes. We also identified that teachers could problematize and teach thematic content for learning with respect to male and female bodies, contributing to the understanding of differences and the (re)construction of concepts with critical and emancipatory expansion of gender equality. The school is one of the places of confrontation of interests between the status quo and the individuals, who create their own relationships and meanings. In the Brazilian context, the public school is a space of resistance and schooling engenders a transgressive temporality.

Analyzing the path taken in this research, we reinforce the perspective of Cameron and Humbert (2020) as the themes of gender and sexuality become visible to students, explaining some inequalities in social and school contexts, encouraging them to question the legitimacy and the source of certain ideals (as patriarchal and hierarchical), creating an environment more conducive to reflection and the redefinition of social relations. We suggest carrying out investigations that broaden the views and the possibilities of promoting social justice. As a way, we point to the collaboration between teachers-researchers, to make explicit the relevance of new nuances in the students' relationships to knowledge.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Research Nucleus at the Institute of Physical Education and Sports of the Federal University of Ceará. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin. Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author Contributions

CL contributed to the study conceptualization and led the preparation of the manuscript. EF, LS, and LV helped with the study conceptualization and provided feedback on drafts of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Faculty (CAPES) within the scope of the Pedagogical Residency Institutional Scholarships Programme from the Brazilian Ministry of Education. The content of the manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Brazilian governmental funding agency.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge and thank the high school students and teachers who collaboratively volunteered their time in order to participate in our research study.

References

Sanches-Neto, L., and Betti, M. (2008). Convergência e integração: uma proposta para a educação física de 5 a à 8 a série do ensino fundamental. Rev. Brasil. Educ. Fís. Esporte 22, 5-23.
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Breaking Cultural "Taboos" About the Body and Gender: Brazilian Students' Emancipation From a Thematic Perspective of School Physical Education

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In order to understand the problems related to equity and diversity, we can first recognize that school physical education potentializes processes of a cultural context that has, directly and indirectly, interfered with the body and its relationships.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

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How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

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Liz Kleinrock: How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics | TED Talk

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Liz Kleinrock: How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics

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When one of Liz Kleinrock's fourth-grade students said the unthinkable at the start of a class on race, she knew it was far too important a teachable moment to miss. But where to start? Learn how Kleinrock teaches kids to discuss taboo topics without fear -- because the best way to start solving social problems is to talk about them.