Logbook, October 7, 2026.
There are days that remind us why we chose to become teachers, and today was one of them. I had the great joy of meeting, virtually, with Hermann Hastenreiter and Isabela Galvão Hastenreiter, two former students I first met when they were still children. Today they are adults and parents, living with their children in northwestern Germany. The computer screen did nothing to lessen the emotion. Seeing those children again, now parents concerned about their own children's schooling, was like watching education come full circle before my eyes.
The meeting, however, went far beyond nostalgia. It emerged as an offshoot of the research project I have been developing on the cartography of digital transformation and hybrid education in Brazilian public school systems. Cartography teaches us to follow the flows and to remain open to what the path reveals. That is exactly what happened: a conversation between people who care for one another became a window into how another country approaches digital technologies in the teaching and learning of school-age children. I record here the perceptions they shared as parents, aware that this is a situated view of a specific reality.
They live in a medium-sized city of about 55,000 inhabitants, which they described as very functional. There are only public schools there. Isabela, who holds a degree in Psychology, remarked on something that says a lot about the local culture: you need a certificate for everything. The couple's two children, a 10-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, attend different schools, both publicly funded.
What struck me most was the place of digital technologies. In basic education, everything is in person. Homeschooling is not permitted and there is no room for hybrid models, although higher education can be entirely online (with some in-person assessment activities). Schools have interactive whiteboards, and mobile phones are banned. There are tablets, with apps such as Anton, but according to them, it is mainly the teacher who actually uses these resources, while students use them only for occasional activities. Some computer classes may take place, depending on the curriculum, and digital tools are usually concentrated in labs. Schools also use apps to communicate with families.
One point really challenged me: according to them, the materials and facilities are top quality, but the major challenge lies in human resources. In Brazil, we tend to point to technological infrastructure as one of the main barriers to hybrid education. There, the infrastructure exists, and even so, it does not by itself guarantee meaningful learning. This observation reinforces something we argue in the project: digital transformation is not about equipping schools with devices; it is a change in the ecology of pedagogical practices, and it necessarily depends on the training and valuing of education professionals.
I also heard candid criticism. As parents, they wish they could follow more closely what is taught in the classroom, and they perceive a much greater concern with grades (on the part of the system). On the other hand, there is a feature I found very interesting: the same teacher accompanies a class for several years, often paired with another teacher as the main point of reference. This longitudinal bond is something worth reflecting on in our own school systems. They also explained that the basic education curriculum is regulated by each state.
I leave this conversation with more questions than answers, and that is a very good sign. I am interested in the contrast between a system that restricts digital technology in basic education and the path Brazil has been taking with the National Digital Education Policy and the Innovation Network for Hybrid Education. I am also struck by the convergence between the two countries in restricting mobile phone use in schools, and by the reminder that quality equipment without investment in people does not transform education. In the language of cartography, I perceive well-defined rigid lines, such as mandatory in-person attendance, certification and the focus on grades, coexisting with tensions that seek a way through.
I end the day with a heart full of joy. Seeing former students become research interlocutors, thinking critically about their own children's education, is one of the most beautiful rewards of this profession. Thank you, Hermann and Isabela, for the reunion and for your generosity in sharing your perspective. May there be many more conversations.