Our objectives: To serve education and the general interest
In a 700-page book, devoted to the relationship between education, public interest and public action, some 40 top-level contributors, researchers, institutional managers, civil society players in direct contact with the world of education and research, expose the results of a research conducted between 2017 and 2018 and offer “an accurate diagnosis and strong recommendations on the French education system and its mutations”. [i]
Acknowledgment
It seems that thanks to this work, people of very different sensitivities have been able to establish a consensus on what is the general interest in education.
We are extremely grateful to them for the work they have done because they give us a clear vision of the educational situation in France and of the steps that could be taken to bring about its recovery, and nothing is more important to us than harmonious development. and sustainable of our children that we train to be the citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
Vision of the Association
However, as noted in the general introduction to this volume, “the pedagogical aspects and syllabuses of the different teachings are necessarily mentioned, but they do not constitute the subject of the book which common thread is the reference to the notion of general interest”.
In this way, the association Comment Apprendre (Learn how to learn) wants to contribute tothe general interest with a global vision of education, in which parents, learners and teachers share the main role, well served it is true, by all professionals in the educational community.
The points of general interest appearing in the Code of Education and to which we contribute with particular attention:
- The right to education for all and to equal opportunities. To this we add an obligation of means so that each student acquires the common core of knowledge, skills and culture. This foundation of equal opportunities in terms of acquired knowledge makes it possible the acquisition of future skills, as the question of school failure is the major issue the school has to solve today.
- The necessary correction of initial inequalities, preparation for social and professional life, and the contribution to the influence of our country in the world.
Other points of general interest:
- Make the function of the teacher attractive but also highly qualified and give him a clear mission based on a stable and sustainable foundation. We want to restore the role and function of the teacher. We want each teacher to feel empowered and feel confident enough to cope and manage a set of individual situations of level, difficulty, discipline, failure, dropout.
- Pilot all forms of pedagogical experimentation on the basis of international and common criteria.
- Recommend the generalization of successful experiments and abandon straight away experiments giving little or no significant results.
We add to it:
- Guarantee each student to master the common core. (L111-1- of the 2013 Code of Education) and to acquire a recognized qualification.
- Add to teachers basic training and support them with in-house training ( pedagogical and on curriculum) to make it a profession highly qualified and recognized as such.
- Seek consistency of action on the part of teachers, educational teams and school administration in the treatment of special needs students in trouble and students with disciplinary problems in institutions; a key element to restore the confidence of students, parents and teachers.
- Facilitate home schooling for families who want it or have no other choice, as long as the offer of an inclusive school is not strong enough …
The missing ingredient
It seems interesting to mention here that achieving these objectives of general interest – in short, equal opportunities through the widespread acquisition of basic knowledge, and allow the development of the capabilities of each in the areas he has chosen – requires the general distribution of a key element hitherto unknown or ignored.
This missing ingredient is easy to summarize in one sentence: here it is as it was revealed to me by a student of 10th grade who seemed a little lost and disappointed but perfectly lucid “We never learned how to learn”.
An unequivocal affirmation
Study Technology exists and is available. Teachers and students can learn it and use it. As they will see, Study Technology will make their task less painful, less ungrateful and more interesting.
Their daily satisfactions will help them to gain serenity and to evolve on a personal and professional level by feeling useful, listened to and respected. The teacher can complete his initial training with in-house training and thus be offered development opportunities in a context of pedagogical continuity. Others may acquire expanded skills for professional reconversion and may become very valuable teachers or trainers.
Education and future
Let’s put the current issues in the context of the knowledge economy, in which the acquisition of knowledge is lifelong and more and more in numerically self-training: It is therefore imperative that students learn very early how to learn.
Our experience shows that issues of discipline, absenteeism, dropping out, decrease as students’ understanding, interest, participation and autonomy increase, thus narrowing the gap between theory and practice of teaching profession.
We estimate that it would take a maximum of 15 years, starting by getting back on track students aged 6 to 12, to see that the school plays its role of lever of social transformation and see an evolution on a society made up of individuals less individualistic and more oriented towards the common good, more tolerant and respectful, more competent and able to build a sustainable future.
Conclusion
Thus, we are moving in the direction of the major axes of UNESCO’s educational policy for 2030 to “transform life through a new vision of education as well as bold and innovative initiatives”.
And precisely we will conclude on article 9 of the law of May 5, 2005 “the compulsory schooling must at least guarantee to each student the means necessary to the acquisition of a common core constituted of a set of knowledge and competences that is essential to master to successfully complete one’s schooling, continue one’s training, build one’s personal and professional future and to succeed in society”.
Let’s establish know how to learn as the basic skill of the common core.
