The text discusses the value of memorials as a component of teachers' identity building. One of the memorials advantages is the fact that they allow their authors to articulate the memories of past and the possibilities of the future in the present time. The memorial is a story that grows within a larger one. Here, the subject is at the same time the outcome and an agent of the process, for there are no stories but those created from other stories' fragments. In this sense, we weave a dialogue between the social dimension of memory in L.S Vigotsky and M. Bakhtin's understanding on autobiographical texts (life record). The methodological design starts from the analysis of memorials written by public school teachers from the city of Rio de Janeiro since the second half of the 20th century. The main point of the discussion is based on the aspects that these professionals unveil regarding the entry in school life as well as the elements that explain their permanence in teaching.
Memory; Teacher; Professional identity; School; Memorial