Pais em casa

Honey, I'm Home

Stay-at-home dads’ psychological well-being gauged in new study

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There’s a rusty old riddle that goes something like this:

A man and his son were in a car accident. The man died on the way to the hospital, but the boy was rushed into surgery. Upon arriving in the operating room, the surgeon said, “I shouldn’t operate on this child—he’s my son!”

How is this possible? The answer, of course, is that the surgeon is the child’s mother.

Decades ago you could confound somebody with that puzzle, but now it’s not so easy. More women are doctors, CEOs and sheriffs, while an increasing number of men are nurses and schoolteachers. Research suggests several hundred thousand males also are staying home, changing diapers, warming bottles and pushing strollers.

Dr. Aaron Rochlen

Dr. Aaron Rochlen, a counseling psychologist in The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education, has done several studies addressing the mental health, adjustment and barriers for men in non-traditional work roles. In several projects completed earlier this year with educational psychologist Dr. Marie-Anne Suizzo and several graduate students in the Department of Educational Psychology, Rochlen turned his focus to a rapidly growing demographic—the stay-at-home dad.

Rochlen and his team surveyed 214 men nationally and interviewed local stay-at-home fathers. In the national study, Rochlen used measures to evaluate the factors that predict psychological well-being and relationship satisfaction.

“According to U.S. census data, there were around 5.5 million stay-at-home parents in 2003,” said Rochlen, “and 2006 census data indicate there are about 159,000 stay-at-home fathers. The number of stay-at-home dads has grown over 60 percent since 2004, but getting an accurate number for just how many there are out there is very difficult.

“The census doesn’t count dads who are the primary childcare provider but who earned any income in the previous year, are part of a same-sex couple or are single fathers. It’s a new phenomenon to even be counting stay-at-home parents. ”

Of the more than 200 men who participated in Rochlen’s national survey, the average age was 37, about 97 percent had been employed prior to becoming stay-at-home fathers, 30 percent reported working part-time and 98 percent of them were married. About 72 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher and the average number of children was two.

Of the 14 men interviewed, the sample included individuals from professions as diverse as law, construction, education, the military, law enforcement and information technology, and the majority of them left jobs where they were earning $100,000 or more.

“Even though the social and economic climate has changed tremendously in the past several decades,” said Rochlen, “the belief that child raising is a mom’s job and that the mother is the best parent is still, for many, a fundamental perception. We were particularly interested in seeing how much stigma these stay-at-home dads reported feeling, if any, and if they suffered mental or emotional discomfort as a result. (According to U.S. census data, the number of stay-at-home dads has grown more than 60 percent since 2004.)

“The results of our study offered a very positive representation of changes in gender roles and parenting. More people are doing what makes them happy and determining what’s best for their families rather than worrying about society’s expectations. An increasing amount of men are shifting their ideas about what it means to be a ‘provider’ and most of those we surveyed seemed very content in their new role.”

The national survey of more than 200 men revealed that those who reported receiving support from their mate, family and friends also experienced high levels of psychological well-being and relationship satisfaction. Fathers who said they felt confident about their parenting skills seemed much happier. Of those, the ones who encouraged their children to develop independence and who felt comfortable being nurturing and affectionate with the children expressed the highest degree of satisfaction.

Describing his philosophy of childrearing, one interviewee stated, “I’m encouraging my daughter to develop into herself, to be a person who can confidently and enthusiastically pursue what she wants.”

Another commented, “I just want her to grow up without having the stereotypical limitations. I want her to feel she can do anything she wants to do, be anything she wants to be.”

Men taking the survey also were asked to rate themselves on various measures of conformity to traditional male values (for example, feeling it is inappropriate for a man to show emotion, be nurturing, make less money than his spouse, etc.). According to Rochlen, most survey respondents reported less conformity to traditional masculine norms than men of a similar age in their community and those who had lower scores reported being more satisfied with their lives and relationships and having much lower levels of psychological distress.

A substantial body of scholarly research shows adherence to strict gender role definitions is related to a variety of psychological and physical maladies, including depression, anxiety, marital problems and substance abuse. In a recent study completed by Rochlen, he found that not only do men who conform to traditional roles suffer, but they also don’t seek professional help for their dissatisfaction or reach out to family and friends for support.

“It wasn’t that the fathers didn’t encounter any negative reactions from others,” said Rochlen, “but most of them expressed a lack of regard for the criticism and emphasized that it wasn’t important to them how others defined masculinity. These are men who still discuss sports, fish, hunt, mow the grass and work on their cars as well.

“One explicitly stated, ‘If others are judging me, they’re wasting their time,’ and another one said that he didn’t feel there should be such black and white distinctions between masculinity and femininity in the first place. It was interesting how many men pointed out they had a personality better-suited to staying at home and caring for the children—and their wives agreed.”

Findings from the national survey were supported by responses to the qualitative interviews of 14 Austin men.

As for reasons behind the increasing number of stay-at-home dads, Rochlen noted several motivators, with the first being economics.

Current census data indicate that about 25 percent of adult working females earn more than their spouses, and for some of these families it seems to make financial sense for the husband to stay at home with the children. One of the respondents even stated that, at the time he left work to be a stay-at-home father, his wife was making about four times as much money as he was in his profession. Many of the stay-at-home fathers described their wives as finding their jobs extremely fulfilling, enjoyable and being highly successful in their careers.

“We had our oldest son in daycare for his first year,” says Rick Lucas, an Austin stay-at-home dad and freelance writer, “and every day was so anxiety-filled as we worried about the quality of his care. Plus, he was sick quite a bit and my wife and I often had to miss work to be with him.

“When my boss told me that I had to make a choice between work and my family, it was an easy decision! My wife made more money and had good insurance, and I could do freelance writing, so I began to stay at home with my son. My in-laws probably had some serious doubts about my staying home, but, really, most everyone has been very accepting of our situation because I think they can see how happy we are.”

In addition to the matter of money, another primary reason for the growing number of stay-at-home dads is that many couples value a parent being home to raise the children and elect not to leave them with a caretaker outside the home. When temperament, income and skills are considered, dad often comes out ahead of mom for the job of caretaker.

One dad simply stated, “I find it weird when people go, ‘My God, who’s going to care for our kid?’ It’s your kid—I would start there first.”

Finally, Rochlen pointed out that a significant reason more fathers are electing to stay home is because primary childcare responsibilities appear slowly to be shifting from a mother’s role to a parent’s role. His data seem to support the conclusion that more dads being at-home caretakers means more men and women are defining their own family roles and gender identity in flexible, personal and less restrictive ways.

For men considering a leap from the office to the nursery, Rochlen’s findings are encouraging.

“Studies on stay-at-home dads who deliberately chose to be full-time childcare providers are scarce,” said Rochlen. “I was very interested in developing a more comprehensive understanding of how stay-at-home fathers perceive reactions from the different people in their lives and how all of this information might prove useful to other men who are filling, or thinking of filling, the same role.

“It’s easier to navigate the waters if you know what to expect, how to set up support networks and have some idea of how to respond to others. One dad we interviewed said his grandfather still asks for ‘the man of the house’ when he calls and the dad answers the phone, but that it’s just seen as a joke, not something to undermine his confidence and self-worth. Most of the men who are doing this are very secure, strong, say they’re quite happy and have successfully divorced their self-concept from the size of their paycheck.”

Rochlen points out that stay-at-home dads who may feel isolated or overwhelmed by the enormity of their new job can turn to online resources like rebeldad.com and dadstayshome.com to connect with other fathers. Playgroups for stay-at-home dads and their children have become more common and there even is an annual stay-at-home dads convention in Kansas City, which Rochlen attended this year.

“There is not a day that it feels like I go to work,” said one dad. “I still feel like I’m getting away with something. There’s such sweetness to that…these are very pleasant days.”

By Kay Randall

Photo of Dr. Rochlen: Christina Murrey

Banner illustration: Guy Kingsbery

Pai querem cada vez mais tomar nas mãos o exercício da parentalidade

More Dads Want To Stay Home With Kids

Many Would Take Pay Cut To Spend Time With Kids

POSTED: 1:53 pm EDT June 11, 2007

Parenting: It's not just for moms.

Don't be surprised if you see more dads on the playground with the kids during the workday. According to a new CareerBuilder.com survey, 37 percent of working dads said they'd leave their jobs if their spouse or partner made enough money to support the family.

If given the choice, another 38 percent said they would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids.Nearly one-in-four (24 percent) working dads said they felt work was negatively impacting their relationship with their children. Forty-eight percent have missed a significant event in their child's life due to work at least once in the last year and nearly one-in-five (18 percent) have missed four or more.According to the survey, the time working dads spend on work far exceeds the time spent with their children. More than one-in-four (27 percent) working dads say they spend more than 50 hours a week on work and nearly one-in-10 (8 percent) spend more than 60 hours. In terms of the time they spend with their children, one-in-four (25 percent) working dads spend less than one hour with their kids each day. Forty-two percent spend less than two hours each day.While more companies today are offering various programs and options to promote work/life balance, some working dads say their employers are lacking in this area, according to the press release. Thirty-six percent of working dads said their company does not offer flexible work arrangements such as flexible schedules, telecommuting, job sharing and more.CareerBuilder offered the following tips to help dads gain what it called a healthy work/life balance:

1. Keep in touch -- While you're at work, make a quick call in between meetings and projects and let your children know they're top of mind.
2. Plan a kid-friendly potluck -- If co-workers in your department have kids, ask your boss if you can have a kid-friendly potluck for lunch on a Friday. Not only does this allow the kids to spend extra time with you, but it also gives the employees in your department time to get to know each other better.
3. Give your undivided attention -- When you're at home spending time with your family, turn off your cell phone, step away from the e-mails and give your undivided attention. If you bring work home, do it after the kids have gone to bed.
4. Keep one calendar -- Schedule baseball games and play recitals on the same calendar you use for meetings and travel to make sure you never double-book yourself. Save your vacation days for those special events in your children's lives, so you're there and in the front row.
5. Make time -- At least once a week, schedule a family activity that involves interaction such as a game, bike ride, trip to the playground, etc. Also, make sure to schedule a date night for you and your significant other.

The CareerBuilder.com survey, "Working Dads 2007," was conducted from Feb. 15 to March 6, and included 1,521 men, employed full-time, with children under the age of 18 living at home.

Pais querem passar cada vez mais tempo com os filhos

Thursday, Oct. 04, 2007

Fatherhood 2.0

By Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, Lev Grossman

Does being more of a father make you less of a man? To a group of committed dads assembled one night in a New Jersey diner, the answer is obvious. Sort of. Paul Haley, 38, a father of two, says women look at him when he walks down the street with his kids. "I think it's admiration," he says. Adam Wolff, also 38--with two kids and one on the way--ponders what it means to be a man. "Is my man-ness about being the breadwinner or being a good father to my kids or something else?" Michael Gerber, 36, father of a 7-month-old, asks, "Do you mean, Do we feel whipped?"

"I'm probably a little whipped," shrugs Lee Roberts, 45. He's a part-time copy editor, married to a full-time journalist, who has stayed home for nine years to raise their two children. "There are definitely some guys who look at me and think, 'What's up with him?' Do I care? Well, I guess I do a little because I just mentioned it," he says. Haley speaks up to reassure him: "Kids remember, man. All that matters is that you're there. Being there is being a man."

But what does it mean, exactly, to be a man these days? Once upon a Darwinian time, a man was the one spearing the woolly mammoth. And it wasn't so long ago that a man was that strong and silent fellow over there at the bar with the dry martini or a cold can of beer--a hardworking guy in a gray flannel suit or blue-collar work shirt. He sired children, yes, but he drew the line at diapering them. He didn't know what to expect when his wife was expecting, he didn't review bottle warmers on his daddy blog, and he most certainly didn't participate in little-girl tea parties. Today's dads plead guilty to all of the above--so what does that make them?

As we fuss and fight over the trials and dilemmas of American mothers, a quiet revolution is occurring in fatherhood. "Men today are far more involved with their families than they have been at virtually any other time in the last century," says Michael Kimmel, author of Manhood in America: A Cultural History. In the late 1970s, sociologists at the University of Michigan found that the average dad spent about a third as much time with his kids as the average mom did. By 2000, that was up to three-fourths. The number of stay-at-home fathers has tripled in the past 10 years. The Census counts less than 200,000, but those studying the phenomenon say it's probably 10 times that number. Fathers' style of parenting has changed too. Men hug their kids more, help with homework more, tell kids they love them more. Or, as sociologist Scott Coltrane of the University of California, Riverside, says, "Fathers are beginning to look more like mothers."

Many dads are challenging old definitions of manliness. "Masculinity has traditionally been associated with work and work-related success, with competition, power, prestige, dominance over women, restrictive emotionality--that's a big one," says Aaron Rochlen, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas who studies fatherhood and masculinity. "But a good parent needs to be expressive, patient, emotional, not money oriented." Though many fathers still cleave to the old archetype, Rochlen's study finds that those who don't are happier. Other research shows that fathers who stop being men of the old mold have better-adjusted children, better marriages and better work lives--better physical and mental health, even. "Basically," says Rochlen, "masculinity is bad for you."

So are sugar doughnuts and beer bongs, and men hate to let go of those too. Women forced the revolution by staging one of their own: in the 1970s they began storming into the workforce, making it harder for men to shirk child care. What's more, they showed their sons that it's possible to both work and parent. Economic forces were at work as well: for the entire 20th century, every successive generation of American men could expect to do better financially than their dads--that is, until Generation X. According to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the median income for a man in his 30s in 2004 was 12% lower than it was in 1974, once adjusted for inflation. Men were forced to relinquish sole-breadwinner status for their households to stay afloat.

But how to forge a new idea of manhood for this brave new two-income world? Hollywood hasn't been much help. From Michael Keaton in the 1983 movie Mr. Mom to Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (1999) to Eddie Murphy in Daddy Day Care (2003), the sight of a man caught in the act of parenting has been a reliable laugh getter--always a good indicator of what the culture considers uncomfortable material. For every Pursuit of Happyness, there's a movie like this summer's Knocked Up, which plays not so much as a tribute to fatherhood as an effort by men to convince themselves that fatherhood is all right--and the movie's happy ending is the least plausible thing about it. One show at least managed to capture the tension: What were those seven seasons of The Sopranos about if not a man fighting to reconcile the tender pangs of a caring, new-style father with the old-school masculine ideals of violence and stoicism--not to mention the psychological damage wreaked on him by his own old-school father?

Society hasn't made it easy for newly evolved dads to feel manly either. In Rochlen's study of stay-at-home dads, those who scored low on measures of traditional masculinity professed higher degrees of happiness in their roles--as well as in their marriages, with their children and with their health. But even they worried about how the rest of the world viewed their choice--with some reason. "There's definitely a stigma out there," says Rochlen. "The dads tell stories about mothers on the playground looking at them like they're child molesters or losers."

Ironically, dads who take on parenting roles once considered emasculating may simply be responding to nature. Studies have shown that men experience hormonal shifts during their female partner's pregnancy. A man's testosterone level drops after settling down to marriage and family, perhaps in preparation for parenthood, as the male hormone is thought to be incompatible with nurturing behavior. In one study, for example, men with lower amounts of testosterone were willing to hold baby dolls for a longer period of time than those with a higher count. In another, the very act of holding dolls lowered testosterone.

More evidence of nature's intent to design men as active parents might be seen in the effects of involved fathering on children. Given the politically charged debates over same-sex unions and single parenting, it is perhaps not surprising that the richest area in the nascent field of fatherhood research is in the results of fathers' absence. David Popenoe of Rutgers University has pointed to increased rates of juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and other problems among children raised without a male parent present. Research on the unique skills men bring to parenting is sparse but intriguing. Eleanor Maccoby of Stanford University has found that fathers are less likely than mothers to modify their language when speaking to their children, thus challenging their kids to expand vocabulary and cognitive skills. Fathers also tend to enforce rules more strictly and systematically in reaction to children's wrongdoing, according to educational psychologist Carol Gilligan. "Having a father isn't magic," says Armin Brott, author of seven books about fatherhood, "but it really does make a difference for the kids."

When men take on nontraditional roles in the home and family, it also makes a difference to the marriage. Coltrane of UC Riverside and John Gottman at the University of Washington found in separate studies that when men contribute to domestic labor (which is part and parcel of parenting), women interpret it as a sign of caring, experience less stress and are more likely to find themselves in the mood for sex. This is not to say that more involved fathering has erased marital tensions or that it hasn't introduced new ones. Dads admit they get fussed over for things moms do every day. "Sometimes you're treated like a dog walking on its hind legs--'Oh, look, he can do laundry!'" says Jim O'Kane, 47, a father of two in Blackstone, Mass. And some women resent ceding their role as top parent. When her daughter fell down at a birthday party, Amy Vachon, 44, of Watertown, Mass., recalls that the girl ran crying all the way across the room--to her husband Marc. "I admit it hurt at the time," she says, "mostly because I wondered what everyone thought. There's such a high standard in society for the good mother."

It's a slippery slope: a recent Pew survey found that increasingly, parents rank their relationships with their kids as more important than their relationship with their spouse. Just as interesting, they rank their job dead last. That most masculine of traits--the ability to go out into the world and bring home a buck--is receding in importance for the men of Generation X. Men's rates of labor-force participation have dropped from just above 90% in 1970 to just above 80% in 2005. Almost a third of young fathers (32%) say they dedicate more time to their children, while 28% say they devote more time to their jobs.

Big employers are beginning to catch on. Deloitte & Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Xerox and IBM are urging family-friendly benefits for their male employees and touting them to male recruits. California recently became the first state to guarantee paid time off for new dads. But the U.S. still lags far behind other countries: only 12% of U.S. corporations offer paid leave for fathers of new babies (the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act enables workers in large companies to take up to 12 weeks off, but that time is unpaid), while dads in 65 other countries are guaranteed paid paternity or parental leave; 31 countries offer 14 weeks of it or more. At companies that offer and encourage paternity leave, participation is high. KPMG reports that 80% of eligible workers have taken paternity leave since it was first offered in 2002. Still, more than half of working men say they would not take paternity leave even if it was offered, most saying they could not afford it, others fearing it would harm their careers--the same complaints long made by working women.

Today's fathers aren't the men their own fathers were but only if you insist that the nature of masculinity doesn't change--that it's a biological fact and not a mutable cultural construct. The new fathers are creating a new ideal of masculinity. It's not as Mad Men cool, but it is healthier. "The emerging and evolving norms of fatherhood and masculinity challenge men to be a different kind of guy," says Rochlen. "But on the positive side, it gives them new opportunity to embrace and enact these dimensions that are good for them and good for their families." It's even good for their emotional health. Coltrane says fatherhood is proving a "safe pathway" for men to develop and explore their nurturing side. "It's not considered wimpy or gay to hug your daughter," he adds. That's something we can all embrace.

Relatório SEDES-Paulatina Decadência da Nação

Educação

Há um espectro que paira sobre sucessivas gerações de portugueses, um claro problema de eficácia. O país gasta em educação não-universitária mais que os seus parceiros europeus mas os resultados são paupérrimos e lançam-nos sistematicamente para os últimos lugares na Europa.

A recente polémica sobre os exames é mais um contributo para a descredibilização do sistema. A forma de organização e elaboração dos exames, desde há muito, não segue padrões técnicos internacionacionalmente aceites e a polémica repete-se todos os anos.

Este Governo iniciou um conjunto de reformas difíceis e urgentes: fecho de escolas com poucos alunos, introdução do inglês como língua obrigatória desde o início da escolaridade, estabilização do corpo docente, controle de custos, avaliação de desempenho dos docentes, envolvimento das autarquias e dos País na gestão das escolas, etc.

Embora a titular da pasta se tenha mantido, nota-se uma perda de fôlego relativamente aos primeiros tempos, com as últimas reformas a aparentar não terem passado de intenções. A confirmar-se, o espectro continuará presente e o fosso agravar-se-á.

Só através da dotação de conhecimentos habilitantes num mundo competitivo, se pode promover eficazmente a ascensão social, pelo que uma educação competente é o melhor, senão mesmo o único, meio de libertar duradouramente as pessoas da pobreza e das limitações da sua origem social. Por isso as atitudes de complacência e de rebaixamento dos padrões de exigência que têm dominado, nas últimas décadas, o nosso sistema de ensino são, no fundo, os melhores meios para tornar os pobres mais pobres e para perpetuar a sua situação de dependência. E não há nenhum discurso socializante que, por si só, inverta esta realidade.

(ler original aqui)

Cábulas nas calculadoras dos alunos sem controlo

Educação. No dia em que os alunos ficaram a conhecer as notas dos exames, que, em geral, desceram a Português e melhoraram a Matemática, o DN mergulhou no mundo dos 'auxiliares de memória', com recurso a máquinas calculadoras

Cábulas nas calculadoras dos alunos sem controlo

Uma falha nas regras sobre utilização de calculadoras permite aos alunos do secundário levarem para os exames de Matemática e Física e Química todos os 'auxiliares de memória' que considerem necessários, como fórmulas que não constem dos enunciados e até descrições "passo a passo" de como resolver diferentes problemas.

Os recursos são diversos: desde activar a função alfanumérica, presente na generalidade das calculadoras gráficas autorizadas pelo Ministério da Educação, e escrever as cábulas desejadas para consulta posterior, às páginas da internet que fornecem formulários e pistas em formatos já adaptados às calculadoras mais populares, da Casio e da Texas Instruments.

Longe de ser um segredo bem guardado, verificou o DN, o método é conhecido por alunos e professores, e tolerado como normal. Para o impedir, seria aliás necessário eliminar das calculadoras a informação para lá descarregada, algo que o próprio Ministério proíbe: "Aos alunos é permitida a utilização de todas as potencialidades da máquina, não sendo por isso permitida qualquer intervenção no sentido de fazer reset à mesma", diz um ofício de Janeiro da Direcção-geral de Inovação e Desenvolvimento Curricular e do Júri Nacional de Exames.

"Habitualmente, o que os professores fazem no início das provas é verificar se as calculadoras estão na lista permitida. E mesmo que não estejam os alunos podem usá-las, desde que assinem um documento assumindo esse facto", explicou ao DN Teresa Caissotti, da Sociedade Portuguesa de Matemática. "Verificar os conteúdos das máquinas, mesmo que fosse permitido, seria fisicamente impossível, porque estamos a falar de centenas de alunos, que chegam aos exames 15 minutos antes".

Para esta professora, não há dúvida de que estamos a falar de "auxiliares de memória" e que, objectivamente pode haver "desigualdade" entre os alunos nas provas , em função do volume de informação descarregado para as calculadoras. No entanto, é "discutível" que se possa considerar estarmos perante uma forma de maus alunos chegarem às respostas certas: "A matemática não se presta muito a isso", diz. "Não basta consultar uma fórmula para se conseguir resolver o problema".

Mas, sendo assim, poderá questionar-se porque se dá o Ministério ao trabalho de dizer que as calculadoras não podem ter funcionalidades como o "cálculo simbólico (CAS)" ou "teclado QWERTY" (aquele que é utilizado nos computadores), quando essas limitações são facilmente contornadas pelos estudantes.

A verdade é que até os próprios alunos parecem ter dúvidas: "Recebemos muitos e-mails de estudantes a perguntar se isto é mesmo assim. Se podem fazer isto", disse ao DN Bruno Teixeira, da Aexames, uma associação que gere um site dedicado a estudantes do secundário e do superior.

O DN contactou o Ministério da Educação, solicitando uma posição sobre esta situação, mas não obteve resposta em tempo útil.

Ler original aqui

A tragédia educativa

A 8 de Agosto de 1975 o V Governo Provisório tomou posse, terminando o seu mandato a 19 de Setembro de 1975. Da sua composição faziam parte, como Ministro da Educação, José Emílio da Silva e, como secretário de estado da orientação pedagógica, Rui Grácio (também membro dos II, III, IV, governos provisórios). O general Vasco Gonçalves assumia o cargo de primeiro ministro. (consultar link oficial aqui).

A 17 de Outubro de 1974 Rui Grácio, secretário de Estado da Orientação Pedagógica, emite o seguinte despacho:

" Tendo sido informado de que nas Bibliotecas dos estabelecimentos de ensino existe quantidade apreciável de livros e revistas de índole fascista, determino que seja elaborada uma circular ordenando a destruição das publicações com esse carácter, depois de arquivados um exemplar, pelo menos, de cada revista e alguns livros a seleccionar, que fiquem como documento ou testemunho de um regime."

Em várias escolas do país procederam-se aos respectivos autos de fé com a consequente queima de livros:

"Aos dezasseis de Julho de mil novecentos e setenta e cinco perante o escrivão do presente auto, Arnaldo Ferreira da Cunha, e Maria do Céu Faria Fernandes da Cunha e Adelaide de Jesus Ferreira Simões, todos professores da Escola Primária de Marrazes, concelho e distrito de Leiria, procedeu-se à destruição, pelo fogo, dos seguintes livros, abaixo indicados e inscritos na lista A:" Escrita à mão, numa folha de papel azul de trinta e cinco linhas, esta frase ocupa as primeiras 11 linhas das quatro páginas de um "Auto de Destruição", pelo fogo, de 92 livros - 51, por inteiro; e 41, das folhas, previamente arrancadas, que continham "uma frase dos ex-Presidentes do Conselho". Estes últimos livros constam de um segundo rol, designado pelo escrivão como "lista B". Ambas as listas foram fornecidas pela Direcção-Geral da Educação Permanente (DGEP) aos encarregados das bibliotecas populares, geralmente professores de escolas primárias às quais aquelas estavam anexas. Seguindo as instruções da circular nº 1/75 de 26 de Março de 1975, daquela Direcção-Geral, o escrivão enumera e indica o título e autor de cada um dos livros e informa que "após verificadas as referidas destruições pelo fogo, foram feitos os devidos abates no livro de inventário da Biblioteca nº 393", pertença daquela Escola Primária. (consultar original aqui)

Do mesmo autor, circular 3/75 de 27 de Junho, é dada a machadada final no ensino técnico profissional da qual ainda hoje o país sofre as inevitáveis consequências com a quebra de modelos de qualificação profissional para a vida activa que nunca foram igualados...

Ao longo dos anos os nossos políticos, e pseudo técnicos/teóricos da educação conduziram o país à beira de um precipício no qual paulatinamente nos afundamos... Somos os reis do papel... E das habilitações duvidosas.

Os recentes resultados dos exames nacionais mostram que a insidiosa cruzada contra qualidade/excelência da educação continua activa. Vive-se pela estatística, pela cultura da aparência, independentemente/contra os interesses pátrios... Impera a medíocre falta de senso decisório...

Pretender que há melhoria efectiva de resultados ao nível dos exames nacionais, quando se alteram algumas das suas variáveis (nomeadamente no factor duração das provas, dando mais 25% de tempo aos estudantes para realizarem a mesma estrutura de exames que até aí eram realizadas, independentemente do grau de facilidade) ou manifesta brutal desonestidade intelectual ou confrangedora incompetência.

Facilmente se verá que o rei vai nu quando chegarem os inevitáveis estudos internacionais comparativos . Até lá o que importa é promover a ignorância, facilitismo, acefalia acrítica... De que outro modo poderia alguma da nossa ilustre classe política perpetuar-se no poder?