Classroom Diary | Isadora Faber | TEDxLiberdade
Isadora Faber, a fourteen-year-old, initiated the "Diário de Classe" (Classroom Diary) on Facebook to critique issues in her public high school, which successfully prompted swift renovations and establishing an NGO to help other struggling schools. She found initial support and was later challenged by school staff and external threats, realizing her persistence was vital for advocating for public education improvements. Faber plans to launch a book detailing her experience and bring the "The A Student" project to Florianópolis.
## Speakers & Context
- Isadora Faber: Speaker, fourteen years old.
- Location: Originally from Florianópolis, currently residing in Santinho beach.
- Context: Sharing the story behind the "Diário de Classe" to advocate for improvements in public education.
- Comparative observation: Compared her public school to a private school visited by her sister, leading to questions about tax spending on public infrastructure.
## Theses & Positions
- Public schools, funded by taxes, should meet a standard comparable to private schools.
- Continued efforts, even in the face of opposition and threats, are necessary to enact necessary educational change.
- The struggle for change can lead to building broader community support and tangible improvements, as evidenced by the prompt renovation of her school.
- Dreams and collective action ("We believe in dreams and we build reality") are powerful forces capable of reshaping reality, even when doubted by authorities.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Diário de Classe (Classroom Diary):** The name of the initial project, launched as a Facebook fan page, used to document and complain about conditions within the public school.
- **Public/Private School Comparison:** The implicit argument that public institutions are entitled to a level of quality matching private institutions.
- **Reprisals:** The adverse actions (disciplinary, legal, physical) taken against students or families who attempt to raise awareness about shortcomings in the school system.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Initial Catalyst:** Comparison between the speaker's public school and her sister's private school, leading to questioning public spending.
- **Advocacy Platform:** Using a Facebook fan page to aggregate complaints and raise public awareness about school deficiencies.
- **Organizational Growth:** Establishing the NGO Isadora Faber to provide structured help and support to other students in similarly disadvantaged schools.
- **Project Transfer:** Bringing the "The A Student" project, developed in Bahia, to Florianópolis.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **When first observing:** While in seventh grade, visiting sister's private school.
- **Diary creation:** Launched "Diário de Classe" on **July 11th, 2012**.
- **Initial Media Recognition:** Started appearing in the media about a month after page creation.
- **Immediate Change:** Within **fifteen days** of first media appearance, the entire school was renovated, and reported problems were fixed.
- **Later Developments:** Other students began creating their own "Classroom Diaries," though some faced expulsion threats.
## Named Entities
- **Florianópolis:** The speaker's origin city.
- **Santinho beach:** The location where the speaker lives, noted for being the cleanest beach in Brazil.
- **Martha Penn:** A Scottish girl mentioned by the speaker's sister, who used a blog to complain about British school meals.
- **NGO Isadora Faber:** The organization created by the speaker to assist other schools.
- **"The A Student":** A project originating in Bahia that the NGO is bringing to Florianópolis.
- **Department of Education:** The entity currently blocking the NGO from speaking at schools in Florianópolis.
- **São Paulo:** A potential location for the book launch.
- **Rio de Janeiro:** A potential subsequent location for the book launch.
## Numbers & Data
- Age of speaker: **Fourteen**.
- Grade level: Junior in high school.
- School age when comparing: **Seventh grader**.
- Page likes achieved: **3,000 likes**.
- Time to visible improvement: Problems solved in **less than a week** after reporting.
- Police reports registered: One against the speaker, and one against her parents (by the school director).
- Potential number of cries for help received: **7 to 10 thousand**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Comparison:** Observing the difference between the speaker's public school and her sister's private school's amenities (e.g., intact doors, fans).
- **Inspiration Model:** The case of Martha Penn complaining about British school meals via blog.
- **Success Metric:** The swift renovation of her entire school following her initial reports.
- **Support System:** The crucial support received from ten supportive comments read at home every time someone said something negative.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Facebook:** The platform used to create the initial "Diário de Classe" fan page.
- **Blog:** Referenced mechanism used by Martha Penn in the UK.
- **NGO:** The formalized organization, Isadora Faber, used to execute advocacy efforts.
## References Cited
- Roberto Marinho: Source of the quote: *"We believe in dreams and we build reality."*
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Failure to Act:** Public schools falling behind private standards despite taxpayer funding.
- **Personal Cost:** Facing threats, police reports filed against parents, and potential disciplinary action from schools.
- **Alternative Advocacy:** Other students successfully creating similar diaries, though some faced expulsion threats.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- School teachers turning against the speaker, targeting older grades.
- School authorities filing police reports against the family based on the speaker's efforts to improve the workplace.
- University teachers dismissed the cause as *just a dream*.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Continue the effort with the "Diário" despite setbacks, as the collective pursuit of change is worthwhile.
- Students and citizens should recognize their dissatisfaction and find solidarity (i.e., look for peers seeking change).
- The goal of the NGO is to replicate the positive change experienced at her own school in other communities.
## Implications & Consequences
- The failure to address educational needs leads to systematic neglect of public resources.
- Successful grassroots advocacy can force immediate structural improvements in institutions.
- Lack of external support means the fight for change must be sustained by community belief (the "dream").
## Verbatim Moments
- *"Our public school should be better than private schools, because that is our right as citizens."*
- *"I decided to create a fan page on Facebook, because that was the place I knew had thousands of people online at the same time."*
- *"Fifteen days after I first appeared in the media, they renovated my entire school; all the problems I had reported were fixed."*
- *"The older students had the right to beat me up, and, since they were underage, they could do whatever they wanted, as long as that made me stop doing 'Diário de Classe.'"*
- *"We believe in dreams and we build reality."*
- *"I have an NGO, the NGO Isadora Faber, which aims to help other schools, like I helped mine."*