"With Olympism week, we make school a perpetual party"

Lisa Kamen-Hirsig is a teacher and columnist.

“

”.

These are the words of the beginning of a press release, published Monday, April 3.

In essence: “hear, hear, good people: me, minister, I do with the back-to-school week what I want!”.

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Let us remember: about ten years ago the Ministry of National Education, seized with an uncontrollable digital fever, equipped the classes with interactive whiteboards, provided the pupils with individual tablets and tried to train thousands of teachers to new technologies in order to fight against the "digital divide".

Entire sessions are now devoted to research on the internet then… to the dangers of the internet.

We even provide connected watches to middle school students, as was done in Sarthe at the start of the last school year.

Yet these are the same civil servants who now deplore the deleterious effects of a sedentary lifestyle on the health of children and their immoderate passion for screens.

But far from opting for regulatory sobriety, far from admitting their mistakes and considering that after all, it might be good not to impose from above any more practices that should be decided closer to each child , in each establishment, they began to demand that the school talk about sport, play sport, celebrate sport with a unanimous national spirit.

There are a thousand possible lessons around the Olympics at school, but unilaterally “

 ” the back-to-school week “

 ”, as the press release says, is a new manifestation of the omnipresence of the State.

Lisa Kamen-Hirsig

Sport has its place at school: it promotes a sense of effort, the transmission of a culture, its own terminology and values ​​such as mutual aid, fair play and respect for the environment. 'opponent.

Pupils should be offered the opportunity to try out as many different disciplines as possible and allow them, if necessary, to adjust their schedules to be able to practice those of their choice.

This must be done while respecting the specificities of each establishment, its ability to invest in good quality equipment and its teaching methods.

There are a thousand possible lessons around the Olympic Games at school, but unilaterally "

" the back-to-school week "

as the press release says, is a new manifestation of the omnipresence of the state: once again, it invites itself where it should not intervene.

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The school year, which has only 36 weeks of class, is already infested with dozens of celebrations, commemorations and other moments of civic sharing: fortnight of equality between girls and boys, days for biodiversity, then against bullying, weeks school democracy, climate, commitment, heritage, music, press and media, women's entrepreneurship, innovation, "general fraternity", gardening, etc.

Teachers, invited to consult on these subjects are inundated with "pedagogical proposals": they are provided with briefcases, posters, speakers and "tutorials".

Commitment and enthusiasm are required of them.

They know, however, that the teaching time of the fundamental disciplines is inevitably burdened by these activities.

Caught between the civic hammer and the organizational anvil, they try, through trans- or interdisciplinary approaches, to limit the damage.

But they do their best: it is very complicated to study the work of Victor Hugo through gardening or to learn to multiply fractions while keeping the general fraternity alive (which must be "a constant concern"

tells us the National Education website).

With this “Olympism and Paralympism” week, Pap NDiaye continues the work undertaken by his predecessors: to make the school a “school of leisure”, a perpetual party.

Lisa Kamen-Hirsig

In this case, the back-to-school week is a decisive and busy week for the pupils, their families and their teachers: between preparing notebooks, discovering lessons, class organization and getting back on my feet, it has already its particular color.

But our minister is obviously too disconnected from the field to take this reality into account.

So he decides to do with it what he wants.

We will soon have World Cup, IPCC or Harry Potter returns.

With this week of "Olympism and Paralympism" - which in this press release are promoted proper names by the inappropriate addition of capital letters - Pap NDiaye continues the work undertaken by his predecessors: to make the school a "school of leisure », a perpetual party.

Our children are transformed into Pinocchio by “festivocrates”.

And they better have fun!

We do not sulk his pleasure!

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The press release ends with a soothing formula of which only the ministries have the secret:

.

“All” academies, “all students”.

Let's hope that a large majority of schools will decide to ignore this new state rambling.