French Citizens Propose Overhaul of School Schedules, Citing Student Well-being & Screen Time Concerns
PARIS – A new report from a citizens’ assembly is calling for significant changes to France’s school schedules, advocating for a return to four-day school weeks in elementary schools and later start times for older students, alongside stricter limitations on screen time. The proposals, born from concerns over student fatigue and a lack of quality free time, come as France already boasts longer school holidays than many other countries.
The citizens’ assembly recommends a five-day school week with “five full days required” for elementary students to better distribute learning. This follows the largely unsuccessful 2013-2014 reform which increased the week from four to four and a half days – a change abandoned in most schools by 2017, with 90% of municipalities now operating on a four-day schedule. Citizens argue condensing courses into four days “results in overly busy days, irregularities in bedtime and waking up times which have major impacts on children’s attention span and fatigue.”
Inspired by the work of a panel of twenty adolescents aged 12-17, the proposals suggest dedicating mornings to theoretical lessons and afternoons to practical activities, followed by extracurriculars and light homework from 3:30 p.m. For middle and high school students, the report recommends classes begin no earlier than 9 a.m. and be limited to 45 minutes.
“Citizens’ observation is that there is not enough quality free time in children’s lives. One of them said ‘We impose a rythm on them,'” explained Kenza Occansey.The assembly also expressed concern over excessive screen time – averaging five hours daily for those aged 11-19 – and supports banning social networks for children under 15 and cell phones until middle school.
The report will soon be submitted to the executive branch, then presented to parliamentarians in January and local elected officials ahead of municipal elections in March, leaving its ultimate impact uncertain following recent government changes.
