“CHEGOU O CHEFE!”: ANALYSIS OF A PLAY FROM THE PARAÍBA SCHOOL FOR APPRENTICE SAILORS AS A DISCIPLINARY EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Análise de uma peça teatral da Escola de Aprendizes de Marinheiros da Paraíba como prática educativa disciplinadora

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the play “Chegou o chefe”, written by Mr. Francisco Barroso, to be read and performed at the Paraíba School of Seamen’s Apprentices, as a disciplinary educational practice for young people. The Schools of Seamen’s Apprentices were educational institutions created by the Brazilian Navy in the mid-19th century with the aim of recruiting children and young people and instilling training practices, taking advantage of their full capabilities. The teaching materials used in the teaching and learning process of the recruits were made by teachers and/or people linked to the Navy, therefore, the objective of this material is to guide the body and mind towards obedience and order. In addition to the textbooks, other materials were made, such as the play, which is the object of interest for analysis in this paper. To this end, we discussed the categories of “educational practices” from the perspective of Franco (2012) and Silva (2017), in addition to the understanding of “discipline” from Foucault (1987), in order to understand the forms of power and control exercised over apprentice sailors. Methodologically, we used “document analysis” in order to understand how the play worked as part of an educational practice of control, which from its first statement, the title, stated “The boss has arrived!”, therefore, a device capable of drawing attention and making students contain their gestures. We concluded that the play on screen worked as an integral part of a form of teaching responsible for training the bodies and minds of the young people who entered the naval training school, and that, despite being part of a cultural activity, it had interests addressed to the children.