History of primary public education workers: first letter teachers in the province of Parahyba do Norte/Brazil (1858-1864)

Abstract

The narrative tells the story of the workers from their daily experiences in “becoming” a professional in primary public education in the historical moment in which they lived. It is a question of knowing how much the teachers earned in the Province of Parahyba do Norte and comparing it with the values of housing, rents and enslaved people and other amounts paid to other workers at the time. The study begins in 1858, with Law No. 9 of October 29, which prescribed the salary values of teachers residing in the Capital and other locations, and extends to 1864 with Law No. 178, of November 30, which listed regulations for public and private, primary and secondary education. The theoretical framework of social history became a support for the analysis of instruction laws and regulations, the reports of provincial presidents, newspapers and various documents cataloged in national and state archives in Brazil. Two sets of categories were used, such as housing and/or rent/purchase/sale of real estate; the cost of enslaved people and wages paid to other workers for the construction of the narrative. The intersection of prices with wages and bonuses made it possible to approximate the values of wages received. It is concluded that these salaries were out of date, since they went back to the legislation of 1852 with the average, in 1864, of 400$000 rs. annual and, therefore, insufficient to guarantee the survival of primary school teachers in the Province of Parahyba do Norte.