They were hoping for an acquittal, but on Tuesday afternoon, Mathilde and Thomas Rodriguez were each sentenced to a suspended fine of 300 euros by the court of Foix (Ariège). Their fault: refusing to ask the Toulouse school district for permission to homeschool their daughters, aged 3, 5 and 7. For this couple, who risked a maximum of six months in prison and a fine of 7,500 euros, homeschooling (IEF) is a philosophy of life. A practice that would concern about 62,000 children today in France out of just over 12 million students.
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"We are committed to using a wider range of pedagogies and offering our children extracurricular time to read, draw, etc. outside the hours devoted to instruction," explains Mathilde, the mother of the family. As a general rule, the curriculum of the Ministry of Education is followed in its broad outline, with books and notebooks as support. We do formal. But we do not rule out the use of innovative methods such as the one in Singapore in mathematics, which is now favoured by Gabriel Attal (the former Minister of Education appointed Prime Minister on Tuesday). We have been using it for a few years because it fits well with our eldest daughter. That is why, today, we are disappointed and frustrated by the court's decision. »
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