Our goals for education

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 actors 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”. 1ii

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.

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.

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 whose thread is the reference to the notion of general interest”.

Therefore, in the general interest and to put our stone in the building, our association Comment Apprendre (Learn how to learn) has this global vision of education, in which parents, learners and teachers share the main role, well served it is true by all other educational professionals.

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 base of knowledge, skills and culture. This foundation of equal opportunities in terms of acquired knowledge makes it possible to acquire future skills, as the question of school failure is the major issue facing the school today.
• The necessary correction of inequalities of departure, 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 it a clear mission based on a stable and sustainable foundation. It is for the teacher to receive a complete initial training, to give him / her possibilities of self-training and continuous training, and thus to offer him / her possibilities of improvement in a context of pedagogical continuity or to acquire expanded skills for professional retraining. We want to restore the role and function of the teacher and restore his image. We want each teacher to feel empowered and feel confident enough to cope with and manage a variety of individual situations of level, difficulty, failure, stall, discipline.
• Ensure by an independent body the piloting of all forms of pedagogical experimentation on the basis of international and common criteria (CNESCO p145)
• Recommend the generalization of successful experiments and give up on the spot experiments giving little or no significant results.

We add it:

• Guarantee each student to master the common core. (L111-1- of the 2013 Code of Education) and to acquire a recognized qualification.
• Complete the basic training of teachers and support them with continuing education and pedagogical training to become a highly qualified and recognized profession.
• 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 …
• Seek consistency of action on the part of teachers, educational teams and school administration in the treatment of special needs students and students with disciplinary problems in institutions; a key element to restore the confidence of students, parents and teachers.

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 dissemination of a key element hitherto unknown or ignored.

It’s a missing ingredient, it’s easy for me to sum it up in one sentence, as it was revealed to me by a second-class student who seemed a little lost and upset but perfectly lucid “We never learned how to learn”.

Teachers should be made aware of the Study Technology because they will gain as much as the students and this could make their task less painful, less ungrateful and more interesting, with daily satisfactions to gain serenity and evolve in the future. professional plan by feeling useful, listened to and respected.

Once these methods are acquired and their course adapted, they will be able to transmit them to their students and teach them how to learn. Let’s put the stakes of today in the context of the knowledge economy, in which the acquisition of knowledge is done throughout life and more and more in self-training numerically .. 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 teachers profession.

We estimate that it would take a maximum of 15 years, starting by reasserting students aged 6 and 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.

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 base constituted of a whole knowledge and competences qu ‘It is essential to master to successfully complete your schooling, continue your training, build your personal and professional future and make a success of your life in society.’
Let’s learn how to learn as the core competence of the common core.