Until last year, some of the bathroom doors at Colégio Esquema Único, a partner school of the Polyhedron Teaching System, in Bauru (SP), contained negative intonation phrases and words, which caused an unwanted reaction to the entire school community. Through the project “Toilets that speak”, the school reversed this scenario and today whoever enters these premises sees phrases with a positive impact such as “Every new dawn is a new chance that life gives you”, “Everything will improve, it is a matter of time ”, among others.
“With the aim of changing this reality, we thought of stimulating creativity, collective work, self-knowledge and the appreciation of emotions”, says the elementary school history teacher Claudia Caroline Robles, who created the project. The phrases were selected in a contest promoted by the school with the participation of students from the 6th to the 9th years of elementary school. The vote took place during the Science Fair, on the school's website and on the Facebook page. The students researched and created their own sentences.
Started in October 2018 and completed last February, the project started with the idea that teenagers like to express their emotions, but that it was necessary to change the negative writing on the bathroom doors. The teachers realized that, many times, the registrations corresponded to moments of sadness or even anger.
In total, 92 sentences were entered, 40 of which were winners. The students also participated in painting the doors, using chalkboard paint, and produced illustrations with chalk. “At the conclusion, the participants received a certificate and a keychain with the design they painted on the doors, to keep as a souvenir. The project, with the support of our sponsor, Rogéria Duarte, will have its extension, as we will take it to a State school in the Bauru region ”, says the pedagogical coordinator of the College, Thais Alencar.
