How to adapt to a new work methodology in a short space of time? This was the challenge that Eliane Gonçalves da Silva Neres, a high school History teacher at Colégio Militar D. Pedro II, in the city of Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), faced with the help of the Itinerários Amazônicos Program.

In a statement to the Concertação, Eliane says that her first contact with the project occurred in 2023, at the suggestion of the Acre State Department of Education, in the context of the adoption of the New High School. At the time, both she and other teachers were apprehensive about the prospect of having to work with the area of ​​Human Sciences, instead of teaching only the subject itself. “How, with a degree in History, could I teach content that includes, for example, Geography, Philosophy or Sociology?”, she asks.

During a Continuing Education activity, she discovered the Amazon Itineraries Program and found support in it to develop activities involving multiple themes about the Amazon, as opposed to the experience of teaching a single subject.

The first experience of applying these contents occurred during the preparation for ENEM 2023. As many students showed interest in a career in Law, Eliane had the idea of ​​holding a mock jury on the issue of the Temporal Framework for Indigenous Lands, a prominent debate at the time, using information about the rights of indigenous peoples found in the material.

The experience encouraged her, as it showed that through research activities, students became protagonists of their own learning. Her role was mainly that of a mediator, guiding them so that they could extract the greatest possible knowledge from the information. In the end, the class itself was surprised by their potential and how much they explored environmental legislation.

The positive results led the teacher to resume the application of the Itineraries in 2024, but now opting for the module “Deforestation and conservation in the Amazon region”. This time, she reports, she was able to count on the partnership of a colleague, Professor Evelin, from the Natural Sciences area, which brings together the disciplines of Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Together, they created the project “Friends of the Environment”, which addresses topics directly related to the students’ daily lives. Through it, they addressed issues such as environmental disasters, droughts, fires, floods, solid waste, energy transition and caring for nature.

For Eliane, what most impacted the students was understanding the relationship between the energy matrix and solid waste. Everyone was very surprised to learn that it is possible to produce oil from açaí and buriti seeds, since these are resources that are routinely thrown away — which the students considered serious, given that the city does not have a sanitary landfill, only a controlled landfill. “This information gave them a broader awareness,” he says.

Bringing the reality of the Amazon into the classroom encouraged the creation of other partnerships, which consolidated knowledge on the topics covered. This was the case with an NGO that works with renewable energy in remote communities, with the city’s Department of the Environment and with a cooperative that collects recyclable solid waste, for example.

The project produced surprising results, such as the joint effort to raise funds and acquire selective collection containers for the school, which previously did not have a program for this purpose. A booklet on recycling was also created and two documentaries recording the activities.

Eliane says that what makes her happiest as a result of the project is “discovering the potential of the students,” who show her every day that she is not only teaching, but learning from them.

The Itinerários Amazônicos program is an initiative of the Iungo Institute, the Reúna Institute and the Uma Concertação pela Amazônia network, in partnership and with investments from BNDES, the Hydro Sustainability Fund, the Arapyaú Institute, the Bem Maior Movement and sponsorship from Vale.