Uma “corrida menor” para um sentido maior: correlações entre educação física e a corrida na vida de coletores de resíduos sólidos

Abstract

The present investigation prospected the life histories (including the formative, family and work aspects) and the meanings of running for garbage collection workers, in order to understand the representations related to the experiences with the practice of pedestrianism (street running), observing the idiosyncrasies that make up the content of athletics and the profession of the solid waste collector, notably with regard to the (cor)relations with school Physical Education, since the aforementioned knowledge of a sports nature composes the fabric of the manifestations of the body culture of movement, the epistemological object of this school curricular component. It was a qualitative research, under a narrative design. It had the participation of three collectors/runners, named as: E 1; AND 2; And 3. To produce the empirical data, a period of immersion in the daily life of the profession was carried out, the results of which comprised the field diary (Appendix A), added to semi-structured interviews, provided by a script with previously defined questions (Appendix B). For data analysis, we chose Oral History as an analytical method, in fact, formulating categories of analysis. In general terms, the results showed that the three participants are experienced professionals, with one or two decades of work activity, coming socially from the lower classes, a corollary, they deeply know the marks and effects of sociocultural class inequalities, given the early entry into the world of work and obliteration of the schooling process, with the exception of E 2 who completed the cycle of basic education. Despite the limits of the school experience, we were struck by the appreciation for the mathematics marked by E 1 and E 3, despite the infrastructural precariousness of the school described by the interviewee E 3. We also found identity processes related to Physical Education and the sports content indicated by the three. Regarding the genesis of the desire for the practice of running on the part of the interviewees, it can be inferred that in the case of E 2 and E 3, the influx for running originates in school, notably in the domain of Physical Education, while for E 1 the advent occurs through the work universe. Another finding was the complete absence of notions of specific physical preparation for running when they started the practice of pedestrianism (street running), whether to train or compete, raising doubts about the formative effects of the school Physical Education discipline. In terms of the implications of pedestrianism, the three indicate the constitution of social bonds and friendships - even under the logic of competitiveness there is fraternization, an intriguing paradox, in addition to benefits such as: health, social integration, stress relief and the search for activities that meet pleasurable or performative objectives, in addition to the ease of its practice in relation to the physical structure. Finally, with regard to the choice of the profession itself, it is linked to economic factors and the search for financial stability to support the family, and in the case of E 1, a puerile idealization arises, with contours of enchantment and nostalgia. It was also noted that a work activity with a strenuous routine and with vulnerabilities and insecurities, in addition to having been historically marked by the process of discrimination, invisibility and social contempt for people or groups in society, although the study found a certain attenuation of prejudice and some positive feelings in relation to the work performed.