Enrolled at the Janson high school in Sailly, where classes can reach 40 students, Elia had the impression of “being a number”, in a “factory” atmosphere which did not suit her. “I was always a good student, but I no longer wanted to work, I had poor results,” says the young woman, whose departure of her best friend, her “only benchmark”, will further accentuate her difficulty -be.
To answer this, in second grade, she joined the Gusdorf school in Paris, a school which only accepts HPI (High Intellectual Potential) children, after an interview and psychological evaluation. “I took a test in 9th grade, to understand my difficulties relating to others,” explains Elia. Arriving in Gusdorf is a liberation for her: “There were 20 of us per class, with personalized support.” Her schedule is even adapted so that she can continue her theater classes outside. “In this school, we do tailor-made work, we adapt to what is important, to the student. In class, there is a real exchange with teachers, particularly in philosophy. There is room for debate, we are not just passive in front of a sheet of paper. ".
“We are encouraged to get involved in the lessons. And the teachers support us. »
Sarah, in bachelor's degree after studying at Cours Montaigne
Sarah was also looking for a cocoon, by joining Cours Montaigne in 4th grade, after two bad experiences in public colleges. “There, we were in small groups, of 15 students maximum, with only one class per level. Everyone knew each other. I stayed with the same class until the Terminale”, rejoices Sarah, today in a Bachelor at ESCE whose pedagogy “puts the student at the center: there is a lot of group work and the student is really at the forefront. We are encouraged to get involved in the lessons. And the teachers support us. »
A need for the school to adapt to its students which greatly appeals to middle and high school students as well as their families, who are generally well-off: some of these schools cost several thousand euros per year. “Families are rather critical of public schools, which offer the same thing to everyone. They want something tailor-made and have significant educational ambitions,” explains Ghislain Leroy, lecturer in sociology at Rennes 2 University, author in particular of “Sociology of alternative pedagogies”, which notes that the alternative pedagogies which have the most of success are those who “do not put academic objectives at a distance”.
“We painted, we did sculpture, modeling, sewing and even blacksmithing”
While some schools offer various alternative pedagogies and are based on a desire to adapt, others emphasize skills that are less exploited elsewhere. Oskar spent all his schooling in a Steiner-Waldorf school and completed a CAP Charpente supplemented by a professional title in wood construction. “I have always had this manual side and when in 12th class, which is equivalent to the final year, I had to work on my masterpiece [end of study work, Editor's note], I knew that I wanted to build something with my hands.”
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It will be a wooden cabin, and a revelation which will push him to continue on this path: “I wanted to create things in wood, in which people live, therefore in the framework, or construction”. At the end of his final year, he began a one-month internship in a wood construction company in Meudon. From the following school year, he joined a CAP in carpentry with the Compagnons du Devoir. In these schools, throughout the longer one-year course to meet the school curriculum, high school students can follow numerous artistic activities.
Giulia was enrolled in the same school as Oskar, until first grade. “There was always a search for artistic sensitivity whatever the course. To talk about photosynthesis, we went to pick plants, we made watercolor sketches", illustrates the one who is today a lyric singer, and was touched by the place given to artistic subjects: "All the students played a musical instrument, we sang in a choir. We painted, we did sculpture, modeling, sewing and even blacksmithing! This school allowed me to channel my creativity. »
A lifestyle choice observed among many former students of Steiner-Waldorf schools, “more of whom are moving towards artistic, cultural and social sectors,” notes Rebecca Shankland, university professor of developmental psychology and author of a thesis on “new pedagogies, help with adaptation or factor of marginalization in higher education”. “Students from alternative schools are more interested in engaging in studies related to their values or passions,” notes the researcher.
Damaged students
But alternative schools also welcome another public, often damaged in a traditional path, a movement which raises the question of the reception of fragile populations, sometimes weaker academically, in the traditional system and "pushes them to seek a sometimes illusory refuge », Estimates Ghislain Leroy.
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“I wasn't really in the mold of the successful student,” confides Pierre-Lou, who arrived in his final year of high school at Archipel, a democratic school in Drôme, after an “average student” background. , oriented towards an STMG sector “which I didn’t like that much”. An orientation felt as “a way of putting him in a place” without really knowing if it suited him. Suffering in the traditional system, after a “mentally difficult” first year, Pierre-Lou “does not want to start again” at the start of his final year. One of her friends then joined the Archipelago. He is seduced by the academic freedom promised by the establishment.
The principle of democratic schools is “to make children actors in their learning and not consumers of school”, explains Pauline Pelissier, co-founder of the Archipel. The basis of this pedagogy is to trust the child, not to impose choices of activities or schedules on them. “Except that in France, it is not possible to leave this choice entirely to the students,” she explains. At Archipelago, inspected like all non-contract schools, 5 hours of lessons are now compulsory each week.
“I found myself in a general sector, like in a factory. The teachers didn't know our names even though we saw them every day of the week. »
White, at the democratic school The archipelago
Blanche, who arrived at the Archipelago at the same time as Pierre-Lou, is relieved when she joins this “community” where “we are an individual in our own right” after a complicated school career. “For me, things went badly from high school onwards: I wanted to go into the ST2A sector, but I wasn’t taken. I found myself in a general sector, like in a factory. The teachers didn't know our names even though we saw them every day of the week. » Blanche's family even moved so that she could arrive in the Archipelago, after a depression in second year in the Jura and a first in Paris.
“In the morning, we decided what we were going to work on”
“The idea is that the learning comes from them, but it must be nourished. These democratic schools can spend years not learning much,” warns Ghislain Leroy. A warning shared by the National Secular Action Committee. In a 2022 investigation into non-contract schools, the committee combed through academic inspection reports and found numerous inadequacies.
“It is complicated to know what in the young person’s trajectory is linked or not to what the school did”
Ghislain Leroy, sociologist
Thus, in Montessori schools, trainers, who are not teachers, “have educational deficiencies due to fragmented training”. In Steiner schools, “practices that do not comply with the requirements of the common core take place” and “rituals and conditioning seem to contradict the secular display of these schools and do not respect the freedom of conscience of children”. As for democratic schools, two were closed for “concerning failings”. For Stéphanie de Vanssay, one of the authors of the survey, although interesting elements may exist in these teaching methods, the problem of lack of control is glaring. “The quality of learning will differ greatly depending on the establishment,” summarizes a former Montessori educator, who worked for ten years in these schools.
For her part, Rebecca Shankland, emphasizes that there are few studies comparing different schools with alternative pedagogies but notes that former students and parents report different skills, on creativity in Steiner schools, or development autonomy in Montessori schools. Whatever the pedagogy proposed, “it is complicated to know what in the young person's trajectory is linked or not to what the school has done” adds Ghislain Leroy.
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Pierre-Lou takes advantage of the freedom granted to him to fuel his passion for music in the establishment's recording studio. For the rest, “autonomy is not easy to acquire. There, no one pushes us. So we have to do it ourselves. » Blanche is also destabilized at the beginning: “autonomy is scary, we have the impression that we are not going to achieve it. » The support of adults is decisive in this learning of freedom: “In the morning, we were the ones who decided what we were going to work on. We had access to books, apps, videos to prepare for the baccalaureate. If necessary, we asked adults to help us. They were also there to remind us of important dates not to be missed! »
Return to traditional courses
Passing the baccalaureate was not easy for Pierre-Lou, alone in STMG. “There were still quite a few times when I didn't do anything, which is questionable given the price and the opportunity I had to be there. » Finally, after his baccalaureate and a gap year, Pierre-Lou began studying sound designer at the Studio M school in Grenoble. “What I did at the Archipelago helped me get there because I really discovered the work around sound. » And if he loves what he does, the return to the traditional system is not without problems: “I find a very high school framework in the operation, with a number of hours to follow. I had to get back to work and push myself hard, whereas before I could just abandon what didn't appeal to me. »
“I only wanted one thing: for the teachers to leave me alone! »
Blanche, student at L’archipel
Blanche, at the Archipelago, has progressed in her artistic practice: “I repainted the ceiling of a room, it gave me a big boost for my portfolio.” After her baccalaureate, she joined the Art prep at Rosa Park high school, in Montgeron (91). The experience is difficult. Return to informality, where, in its establishment, informality was the rule even for adults. And constrained framework. “No freedom,” she sums up. I only wanted one thing: for the teachers to leave me alone! » Finally, Blanche has since joined the Annecy art school and found “listening teachers who let us go at our own pace”.
The transition between alternative and traditional teaching can sometimes be difficult. “Students move from a system where they are used to taking decisions, initiatives, making choices regarding their learning, to a system where these aspects are more imposed,” explains Rebecca Shankland. The personalized relationship with the teacher becomes more distant, exchanges decrease.
“I was surrounded by people who had had a normal education, while I had not”
Thomas made the choice of continuity when he opted for his higher studies: at the Catholic Institute of Paris, he kept “a cocoon” in a class of 12 in M2 letters. An obligation for him, who overcame a school phobia by integrating the Pont de Pierre school into high school, after a journey that he describes as "chaotic", in "elitist" Catholic schools, which left those who had difficulty side ".
Arriving at a point of no return, after a repetition of harassment, “I had to change something to respond”. During the Stone Bridge, he regained his taste for school in a small structure, with supervisors “who have a lot of empathy”: “I needed affection, to feel understood and safe. I had failed my certificate, lost all hope for the baccalaureate, but they managed to convince me to take a literary baccalaureate. At the ICP, Thomas experienced “a transition phase”, marked by his “imposter syndrome”: “I was surrounded by people who had experienced normal schooling, while I had not. I needed to prove to myself that I was worthy of being there just like them. »
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Studies on the future of former students in higher education are few in number, but some show better success in the first year. An observation which can be partly explained by “greater autonomy in work and stronger motivation thanks to a choice of sector adapted to their intrinsic motivations” according to Rebecca Shankland. Elia's return to the classical system illustrates this autonomy: a very good student, she had no problem entering prep school at Fénelon, before joining a double philosophy and sociology degree at Paris 4.
Giulia also returned to public education without much difficulty in 1st grade to pass her music option baccalaureate and also because she “needed some fresh air”, after 8 years in the same class: “At first, it was a shock , to go from a school of 300 children to a high school of 3,000 students! In the canteen, the self-service had shelves of trays as far as the eye could see, whereas before, we cooked, we swept the broom…” Academically, she has no trouble keeping up and has no lag in her learning . She obtained her baccalaureate with very good honors, continued with a performing arts degree while continuing at the conservatory. She became a concert pianist in baroque singing after a diploma in musical studies at the Paris Conservatory.