História e memória: a criação e implantação da Escola Patronato Irmãos Dantas em Piracuruca-PI (1932- 1954)

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into the creation, implementation, and consolidation of the Patronato Irmãos Dantas school, located in the city of Piracuruca-PI, from 1932 to 1954. Situated within the field of Brazilian Educational History, the research is based on the theoretical and methodological contributions of collective memory according to Maurice Halbwachs (2006), and in the reflections on memory and history proposed by Jacques Le Goff (1990), as well as in the studies on school institutions developed by authors such as Saviani (2008) and Nosella and Buffa (2009), articulating documents, printed records, and accounts produced through oral history. The central problem of this study is to understand how the school was founded and what political, social, religious, and cultural factors contributed to its consolidation as a space for formal education and the construction of identities in the municipality. In this sense, the general objective of this work was to understand the creation and implementation process of the Patronato Irmãos Dantas, observing the historical dimensions that structured its emergence and permanence. The chosen time frame is justified by the initial landmark of 1932, the year of the acquisition of the old "yellow house" by Father Monsignor Benedito Cantuário de Almeida e Sousa, marking the beginning of the educational project, and 1954, the first year of operation after the arrival of the nuns of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Teresa of Jesus (1953), whose work reorganized the pedagogical and spiritual life of the school, definitively consolidating its formative proposal. The methodology used was based on oral history, with thematic interviews conducted with community participants, in addition to documentary analysis, such as the Statute of the Irmãos Dantas Patronage and the Minutes, texts from the Ateneu Magazine, and bibliographic review related to memory, patronages, and school institutions. The investigations revealed that the creation of the school occurred as a result of a collective effort between the Church and the community, marked by the lack of public institutions in the municipality and by the understanding of education as an instrument of moral and social renewal. It was also found that the establishment and consolidation of the Patronato were strengthened by the presence of the nuns, who instituted routines, discipline, and a pedagogy based on Christian values. The results demonstrate that the Irmãos Dantas Patronato represented an achievement for the educational development of Piracuruca, expanding access to schooling and offering a space for intellectual, spiritual, and community support. The interviews showed that the institution profoundly impacted the lives of the students and the city, becoming a place of memory and identity reference. Thus, the study confirms that the Patronato contributed significantly to the formation of critical and active individuals in Piracuruca society, constituting itself as an educational, cultural, and affective heritage of the community.