In France, non-religious motivations
Published in Le Monde Diplomatique in August 2008.
school violence, inefficiency of the national education system, the risks of "cultural contamination" in the playground: these themes have long since crossed the Atlantic. And with them the temptation of home schooling. In 2000, the Ministry of Education were approximately one thousand children educated by their parents. In 2006, the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Abuses (Miviludes) were over two thousand eight hundred. At present, there are five thousand children of school age but whose parents have chosen home education.
The fact that the school is not compulsory in France remains unknown. The instruction is only a duty but it "may be given either in institutions or public or private schools or in families with parents or one of them, or any person of their choice," as indicated in the Education Code (art. L.131-2).
Proponents of this latter method, however, are obliged to declare to Authorities earlier this year and to comply with annual audit inspectors of National Education. They do not benefit from the allowance for school, to the chagrin of advocates of this system, claiming equal treatment with families choosing public or private.
Three associations share the field of home education in France. The oldest, Children First, includes four hundred and fifty families and this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. "Legislation tends to go wrong, it is difficult to say that the French community of homeschooling will continue to grow, "says MmeMarianne Dethier, board member of the association. She herself was educated for his two toddlers, she says, "could lead a nomadic lifestyle."
Unlike the U.S., the religious factor is not a determining factor in France. "Most parents take their children out of school because they feel that the institution no longer complies with the rhythms of the students. Many feel they can do better than school. Others invoke motivations philosophical or violence related to school, "says Sylvie Humeau. Regretting being "systematically accused of bigotry," the advocate of free association to learn and teach other theories refers to alternative teaching. As, for example, Maria Montessori (1870-1952), Italian physician who developed a teaching system based on self-determination and the natural curiosity of children. "We seek to give meaning to education and reject the model of learning for learning," claims Ms. Humeau.
Brygo Julien.
