school reform in France

[FarFarAway]

So from September DD2 and DD3 will be going to school Saturday morning. No parent in our communes wants a saturday morning (or a wednesday for that matter either but Saturday is worse). The mairie's are aware of this but say they do not have the budget for Wednesday. The Wednesday increases the costs and there is no money.
The afterschool club is costing 40€ a term per child and no activities are yet in place. Kapla building has been suggested.
It just looks like a total disaster to me and very expensive for working parents. The children spend the same amount out time out of the house and now have to get up Saturday morning too where DD1 at college has Wednesday morning.
The teachers don't want it either and 4 out of 6 teachers in my school have left and are moving to schools that do the Wednesday. So far only one of these teachers has been replaced and she is part time.

I know this system has been in place in Paris for 2013/2014. What have your experiences been? I am feeling powerless and fed up. By my calculations I will be spending just over 53€ a week for garderie, periscolaire and cantine per child and I see no benefits for anybody. For separated families like mine there is chaos with 1 weekend in 2 contact time. My DD's like most children are going to be shattered.

So what are the benefits of this new reform?

[Bonsoir]

There aren't any benefits at all. It's a nightmare. Rumour in Paris has it that it is a vicious exercise by the Ministère de l'Education Nationale against the Catholic Church that was the instigation for Wednesday morning school.

[FarFarAway]

All the catholic and private schools round here already had wednesday morning school. Was it done as an exercise to be the same as the private schools? Then why offer the choice of Wednesday or Saturday. Surely it should be the same day al over France.
In our area approx half are doing Wed and the other half Saturday. So I could in theory move my DD's to another village school - but then what is the point of having a school in the village if you don't use it and drive to another village?
It is the shortening of the school day too that is so ridiculous. Instigated to bring us in line with the rest of Europe I think? But the working hours of the parents have not been changed so the children just stay in the classroom building Kapla rather than real lessons and then get up on Saturday morning too.
Surely this system can not continue. Our area is talking about boycott because the school can not mark absentism if no child turns up. But not sure how I feel about that as legally now they are required to be at school Saturday morning and could miss vital learning.
I heard that all Paris schools have done wednesday morning. Not sure if this is correct.

[jenpetronus]

Poor you, it sounds like a disaster. DS2 is in ecole privee, will go into CP at the Rentree, but as they are privee they had the option not to implement the reforms last year, so it starts in September. Fortunately they have gone for Wed am, not Saturday. However, the TAP sounds ridiculous - as we are a tiny village (700 inhabitants) there is no mediatheque or other activities, it relies on voluntary helpers. I've been moaning about it, but compared to you it sounds like a dream

[Bonsoir]

DD's école privée sous contrat managed to negotiate a get out... so we will continue as before, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:00 to 16:30. Phew! As she only has one more year of primaire to go, we are saved!

[FarFarAway]

I think a lot of the private school have managed to get out or are not obliged to implement. The Mairie has the option to say we can not do this year and postpone but won't as they say they will be refused money for the commune as non compliant.
Lucky for you and your DD bonsoir. Yu have managed to escape. DD still has 3 years min is he doesn't redouble at all at primaire.
Jen our mairies asked for volunteers but you can not run a system like this on volunteers to be there without fail every day. And at this age nearly 100% of the parents work so can not finish early to volunteer at the TAP. It has been suggested to me that I could do english...for free. I had to decline because I am at work.

[alteredimages]

We had Wednesday morning school last year. DD was PS though, so we had nothing to compare it to. The teachers and ASEMs were not happy and were on strike a lot and the periscolaire activities were pointless and just songs and stuff they were doing in school anyway. No one could find good specialists to do more interesting activities and we didn't have any information on what the kids were doing til the end of the second term. It was "mixed activities"

I remember receiving a letter from the Ville de Paris about the new schedules which said the aim was to introduce the children to a wider range of activities to give a broader education, but the general feedback was all it did was to tire the little ones out. Any idea why they are so insistent on carrying this reform out despite near universal opposition from teachers and parents?

[FarFarAway]

Bonsoir has suggested the reasons are political against the catholic church. Maybe I am a little naive but how can a politician wreck so much havoc just for a political end. Not sure how or why. Perhaps Bonsoir has more info.

I think the big problem is there is no organisation for the TAP. No animater is going to travel and work for 45 mins. It was suggested right at the beginning that is should be volunteer led. But how can the government suggest such a huge change based on volunteers. No extra budget is supplied to the mairies for the TAP so it has to be paid for by the parents or tax d'habitation increases.

An information of 'mixed activities' screams nothing useful. At the maternelles here there is no avtivities planned but a garderie service (payant of course) supplied by the assistants. I think the teachers have been asked to stay and superivse the activities in the primary (and they are not obliged to say yes and we have no confirmation from the 2 out of 6 who are left that they will do this) because no animaters have been found. What happens if the teachers leave at 15h45 as is their right. Who is going to step up? As i said nearly 100% of both parents work here and can not pick up. Are the handful of parents at the school gate going to have to organise something as the last moment or will the mayor himself arrive to manage the activities?

Sorry to go on...as you can see I am a bit obsessed at the moment as nobody has a clue what is going to happen.

[Bonsoir]

I don't really want to go into rumour-mongering here. However, the fact that this so-called "reform" is nothing of the sort because there are no resources (money/space/qualified adults) to do anything of any educational benefit with the DC and is deeply unpopular would tend to back up the hypothesis that political rather than deeper social motives are at play.

[Bonsoir]

IMVHO the Education Nationale is, in parts (fortunately not everywhere) a complete shambles.

[alteredimages]

We had a very good garderie at DD's school and they did some reading activites, lots of art, guided play etc.

The ASEMs were made responsible for the periscolaire activities with help from animateurs once they were available, hence the "mixed activities". I wasn't too bothered since DD is 3 and we were happy for her to do anything so long as she was being exposed to and using French. There was lots of singing and art, and some reading/drama too I think. I can see how this is a problem for older kids though.

As you say bonsoir, it does all seem very strange, especially last October and November during the strikes when the Mayor of Paris was so insistent that the new system would continue regardless.

[Bonsoir]

I expect the "reform" will be undone as soon as we get a new President. Instant popularity guaranteed!

[FarFarAway]

I agree with the idea of the reform being undone. As the saying goes 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. If the curriculm is lacking singing and art then surely it can be added into the traditional school day.
But it is the Saturday morning that gets me the most. It takes away family time and destroys the idea of a weekend. I notice it was Sarkozy, a divorced man, who abolished the saturday/wed school in 2007 to encourage family values and family life. Perhap he was a bit more in touch with the reality of modern families in modern society. That lots of children spend weekends with alternate parents, that familes are geographically distant now and use the weekend to visit grandparents and such. What century does our president think we are in?

[Bonsoir]

Holland appealed to the part of the electorate that cannot cope with the idea globalisation and would like France to be forever prosperous, easy-going, with a huge welfare state, long holidays and a short working week.

The school "reform" is one of the most outrageously ludicrous actions by the French political class that I have seen. So totally out of step with any sort of reality.

[Chachah]

I haven't followed this at all, but I was under the impression the idea was to have shorter school days for children, since the French school days is longer than in other countries? and to compensate by adding the wednesday morning? (or apparently Sat morning? ugh that's terrible)

sounds like a decent idea in principle to me, although of course it raises all sorts of question regarding details and costs. I can see how it could be a mess in practice.

how is it supposed to be an ideological move against the church? Not saying that's wrong, I just don't really see the link right now.

[clearsommespace]

That was the idea Chachah and to have more time for academic lessons in the mornings when children learn best. The problem is there are so very few families with a parent that can pick up at 3.45 p.m. and there isn't the money to provide stimulating clubs after formal lesson hours. So the children are going to be in lessons and then after school child care (often just being 'kept safe' rather than pursuing interesting activities) for the same amount of time on Mon Tue Wed and Thur. And they'll have an additional morning of school on Wednesdays or Saturdays.

At our school, if your child isn't signed into Wednesday afternoon club, you have to pick your child up at 11.45 a.m. There are a lot of teachers at our school who finish at that time the other side of the city or at 12 noon as they teach in collège. Which means that the children will have to stand and wait for 15-25 minutes to be picked up or walk home alone. Not so good when it is pouring with rain or the child in question is only 6.

[Chachah]

probably showing my age here, but I definitely had class on Wednesday morning when I was little. (of course my mother was a teacher at the same school, so it wasn't a problem for us...not sure what the other children did)

[Bonsoir]

"Kept safe" is kind: "kept prisoner" would be more accurate I many instances.

This "reform" is one of the most absurd instances of institutional failure I have seen in France (and there are other strong competitors!).

[FarFarAway]

I completely agree Bonsoir. I feel as if we are being taken prisoner. I can do nothing. Despite manifestions, protests and surveys I, the teachers and the whole of France have to follow the rules. We have no choice. And for no benefit in fact the reverse! It is pretty hard to swallow.

yes Chacha this was the romantic ideal. A short day for children. The reality is due to the current economic crisis most parents are both working. And the working hours for parents have not changed. Our garderie is open til 19h15 so a lot of children, and often mine depending on my hours, have a long wait to go home. 3 and a half hours now after school waiting to be picked up.

[Bonsoir]

Yes, everyone with or working with primary aged children are hostages to the government on this. It beggars belief and I am very sad for your DDs who spend so much time in garderie that they will now lose Saturday morning to school.

[alteredimages]

It is shocking, especially as it doesn't take a genius to work out France isn't full of stay at home mums waiting to pick up their kids at 3pm. It makes for very long days.

On the other side of the equation, DD will be starting school at a French run school abroad, where the hours are 7.30am until 12.45pm so I am not sure how I can possibly go back to work. No garderie, no meals. I miss DD's school in Paris!

[FarFarAway]

that has to be somewhere hot alteredimages. Dubai maybe? Life there is geared towards one working parent, usually the papa. I think working is out of question unless you can have a nanny or similar.
but what time will you have to get up to be at school by 7h30? A nice long siesta in the afternoon to compensate!
Thanks bonsoir, I feel sad for my DD's too and pretty damned angry at this reform.