A five-day school, but in a different way
For several months, 150 randomly selected citizens have been working on a question that concerns every parent: how to best coordinate the child’s time (school, free time, sleep, family) without tiring him? Their proposal: re-establish a week of five school days, from Monday to Friday, but rethink the very content of the days.
The mornings would remain dedicated to fundamental learning (reading, writing, mathematics), while the afternoons would be dedicated to so-called “practical and cultural” activities: sports, art, nature, discovery of professions, group projects… A way to open the school to other forms of intelligence, often overlooked in a system that is still very academic.
For Convention members, this model would avoid endless days and better spread learning. “ It’s about giving each child time to learn differently, but also to breathe.”summarizes a participant.
Rethink your child’s overall time
Beyond the school organization, the Convention affected the child’s entire time: the rhythm of his days, his recreational activities, his sleep. The discussions highlighted a shared observation: our children are overworked.
Between travel, homework, extracurricular activities and screens, free time has been drastically reduced. According to the EESC’s first findings, many children sleep less than what is recommended by doctorsespecially because the days were too long. Hence the need, according to the members, to rethink timetables: later start of courses, more breaks, and above all better coordination between school, extracurricular activities and family life.
The goal is not just to “fill” the child’s time, but to give it meaning again. Citizens insist on the importance of real rest time, equal access to cultural activities and support that does not depend on parents’ resources.
Territorial inequalities to be filled
Because the question of children’s time is also that of inequalities. Between rural communities and big cities, between families with modest incomes and those who are better off, the gap is evident.
Some municipalities have a dense association network and the means to offer varied afternoon activities, when others struggle to fund extracurricular activities. “Without human and financial resources the reform would remain a great idea on paper”recognize different participants.
This is why the Convention supports for strong national leadership, accompanied by sustainable funding for communities. The Ministry of National Education would be invited to work side by side with local stakeholders – associations, parents, educators – to adapt timetables to the realities of each territory.
A political debate has already begun
These proposals, presented to the EESC on 20 October, should fuel public debate in the coming months. The government has promised to study its feasibility, without committing to a timetable for the moment.
But the topic risks being explosive. We remember the protest sparked by the 2013 school timetable reform, which reinstated lessons on Wednesday mornings, before being largely abandoned. Between organizational constraints, teachers’ fatigue and additional costs for the municipalities, the five-day week did not only make the citizens happy.
This time the project leaders hope that citizen consultation can change the situation. By involving parents, teachers and early childhood professionals, they want to demonstrate that another rhythm is possible.
A school that makes you grow differently
Behind this reform, an educational philosophy is emerging: that of a school less focused on performance and more attentive to well-being. A school where learning times do not conflict with those of play, creativity or discovery.
“We don’t want a school that takes up all of the children’s time, but a school that takes care of them”summarizes a participant. It remains to be seen whether this vision will be taken up by the ministry and the teachers’ unions.
Meanwhile, the Citizens’ Convention on Children’s Times continues to work: its final session is scheduled for the end of the year, with a series of recommendations for the government.
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Source: Madmoizelle

Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.