While a weekend of protests in France is expected to defend home education (IEF), in the sights of Emmanuel Macron, a small hundred parents and children gathered in Dijon to defend their way to teach.
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“We are angry and we will be heard”. A hundred parents and children, defenders of family education (IEF), gathered on the Place de la République in Dijon on November 20 before going to protest in front of the rectorate. In question, the radical change that Emmanuel Macron wants: to make school compulsory while until now only education is. “From the start of the 2021 school year, school instruction will be made compulsory for everyone from 3 years old”, declared the head of state, on October 2 during a speech against separatism. The only exceptions are children with health problems, top athletes and those whose parents are roaming.
The parents and children present in Dijon do not have these particularities but wish to take lessons at home (50,000 children would be affected). Difficult to make a robot portrait of the protester as the situations are so different: some want to withdraw their child from public school because of the difficulties she encounters (overcrowded classes and school harassment), others want to offer them another teaching method (Montessori, Unschooling, …). Meetings with “the non-sco”, as they are called.
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Océane and Sébastien, parents of a one-and-a-half-year-old child: “we are not against school, we want to defend the freedom to have the choice”
“We are here to defend our son’s future. We want to be able to home school him because that would allow us to respect his learning pace, to allow him to naturally acquire skills. We are not against the school, we want to defend the freedom to have the choice.The family education allows to evolve without straitjacket.
Personally (Océane), I suffered from school harassment in CM2 and in college which continued despite my mother’s protests. I am a civil servant, so I can work part-time and my partner is a caregiver, he works some weekends, so he will have days off during the week. Our goal is not to replace the teacher but to offer a different approach, and in particular to learn while having fun. Even if there are very good school teachers, there is a lack of resources in the public school and the children find themselves in overcrowded classes. School is not suitable for everyone. ”
Sébastien, Océane (right), their son and a friend
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© Martin Fort / France Televisions
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Carine, one of the organizers: “public school cannot adapt to all children”
“We were very surprised by the president’s statements. Our demonstration allows us to show what families who practice IEF really are (family education, note). Not everyone here has the same motivations. Home schooling is often a lifeline for children, especially for those who are bullied at school. We make a pedagogical choice while those who put their children in school must deal with the school card and their financial means. Today public schools cannot adapt to all children. ”
Carine, one of the organizer of the event
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© Martin Fort / France Televisions
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Aurore, her 17-year-old son Yannick and Pascale: “the teachers, who take over our children after a period of IEF, find that they are very autonomous”
Y: “I did home schooling from 4 to 15 years old. I enjoyed a lot of freedom in terms of learning. The morning was devoted to lessons and the afternoon, my mother gave us free time to learn on our own. I was watching documentaries, for example. This year I had to go back to high school and I regret the freedom I had before. I have not yet delved too deeply into what I want to do after high school, maybe go to law school. “
It should not be assumed that those who work from home are unrelated to other children of their age.
A: “He returned to high school in the final year because my knowledge had become too limited for his level. But also because it has become very complicated to enroll in higher education without going through high school because of the Appearance of Parcoursup. The teachers, who take our children back after a period of IEF, find that they are very autonomous. I do not want this freedom to be taken from me to home school. “
P: “We must not believe that those who work at home are unrelated to other children of their age. The meetings they make, through sports associations or through families who also choose the IEF , often lead to real friendships, sometimes stronger than with children they only see at recess.With social networks, it has even become very easy to integrate a network of parents in the same situation as us. ”
Yannick, Aurore and Pascale
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© Martin Fort / France Televisions
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Caroline and her daughter Sheila, 12: “in middle school, there was too much homework written even though I didn’t memorize things like that”
C: “My daughter was uncomfortable in college, she couldn’t concentrate, that’s why I decided to home school. Finally, organizing this work time takes less time. time than when it came to getting her to do homework. She would come home very tired and we were less efficient. “
S: “I didn’t like the atmosphere in college, I found that there was too much written homework when I didn’t memorize things like that. I also dislike the grades because I always felt like I was I had to do better than what I had done I did two years of elementary school in a school that I liked but once I got to college it didn’t suit me anymore I hesitate to try at another college. I do lots of activities like archery, circus, hip-hop and theater. “
Caroline and her daughter Sheila (right).
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© Martin Fort / France Televisions
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“People who do not know the IEF think that we want to put ourselves outside of society. This is wrong
Catherine, mother of two educated children: “we do not want to abolish school”
“People who do not know IEF think we want to put ourselves outside of society. This is wrong. We just want our children to learn in joy and pleasure. Some are made for it. school, others don’t. We do not want to abolish school. Personally, I teach my children on the basis of Unschooling, that is to say that we follow the centers of interest of child, there is no formal learning. Right now, for example, we are working on emotions. “
For the moment, nothing has been finalized but a bill, which will have to be voted on by Parliament, could see the light of day during the Council of Ministers on December 9.
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