Higher Education in Brazil: Academy and Operation, a Challenge or a Paradox?

Abstract

In a world where the “means” becomes the “end”, when I refer to the “massive use of technologies”, determining the speed of changes, behaviour, mood, or even economic level, being such phenomena originated from needs or fads, certain things are enhanced, while others, such as a country’s Education take a crucial time to endure any kind of change (exceeding patience or survival). There is no need to bring up the famous jargons applied to Education, especially here in Brazil, where it has been facing a stationary state for centuries, in which its own temporal dimension is not acting in a linear way in practically nothing. It is incredible that such a crucial sector, in a country like ours, is not updated or fostered as an institution, application and operation. It is also clear that it is not possible to analyze this issue without the political and economical artifacts underpinning the induced maintenance of such status quo we still face today; and in not having significant goals and interest towards a fair and balanced development in Brazil, it is in the Education (or in the lack of it) where we can assure having an ignorant country. I reinforce the criticism to people’s ignorance, taking as premise a society with “fake” access to information, but not the lack of access to such available information. Confusing? Let me clear that out. If for some communication theories, information is not delivered with attached meaning, which is a fact, a least in a Habermasian line, the mere fact of having it in quantity, and with no knowledge, leads to the banalization of the information itself, for both those delivering it and those possessing it. It is like having access to a number of “things” we do not know what they are for or what their boundaries are. I very much appreciate neuroscientific perspectives, for they offer an important cognitive base to understand that “signs” or “meanings” are generated from learning and interacting with the whole.