POLICIES AND METHODS OF LITERACY IN THE FIRST LETTERS SCHOOLS OF THE ASSÚ TOWN / RN (1829-1908)

Abstract

In this work, we analyzed the literacy methods and policies instituted in the consolidation of the First Letter Schools in the Assú town / RN. This educational model was created by the Law of October 15^th, 1827, establishing primary schools in the towns, villes and villages of the newly created Brazilian Empire. The implementation of the schools in the town occurred in 1829 when it was still called Vila Nova da Princesa, and developed important economic activities in the state’s countryside. As the main methods and characteristics of schools of the imperial period, we highlight their functioning at the teachers' own homes or at other improvised places, in which the masters were also considered the center of the educational process. The applied policies in the Schools of First Letters point several obstacles in their consolidation process, teachers’ salaries are stipulated in a discriminatory manner and an excluding profile in the public served.