Nice Premium: Luc Ferry, you are going to release a book “Combatting Illiteracy” next September in collaboration with Admiral Béraud where you have conducted research on the statistics of illiteracy. What are your conclusions?
Luc Ferry: The results are concerning and are deteriorating at an accelerated pace. 80% of children who do not learn to read in the preliminary class never learn to read. Mastery of both written and spoken language, as well as civility, are in crisis in schools. It is a global phenomenon that, unfortunately, affects Western countries. Until we identify the causes, we will not have effective remedies.
NP: What do you think of the educational methods employed in recent years?
LF: For more than forty years, our teaching has been based on hyperactive methods. It values the spontaneity and creativity of our children. The idea is appealing but wrong. Education is a cultural heritage. If we let our children create and be spontaneous, it results in grammatical and spelling mistakes.
NP: What, in your view, are the failings of the school system?
LF: To begin with, fill-in-the-blank exercises are a scourge. These are worthless exercises that make teachers’ work easier. As for the teaching method of Xavier Darcos’s tutoring program, it has never worked. Children end up more discouraged. However, if the child is relocated, it can be much more effective.
NP: According to you, what remedies should be employed?
LF: We must return to intelligent dictations, meaning those with a specific grammatical theme. Also, they should study some fundamental rules of grammar and not perform analysis at age seven. They need to practice the language (reading and writing) for at least two and a half hours a day. The main remedy would be to split introductory classes to address students’ difficulties on the same day. Additionally, evening classes should be given to parents to enable them to assist their children.
NP: What is your best memory from the preparatory class?
LF: (He smiles) I was a very bad student and have more bad memories than good ones. What I truly appreciated was when the teacher would read us stories like Marcel Aymé’s “The Perched Cat” before the end of the day. We were all mesmerized and amazed. I believe in those reading moments that captivate children.
