Is homeschooling experiencing its final days? On Monday, April 13, President Emmanuel Macron announced the gradual reopening of nurseries, schools, middle schools, and high schools starting May 11 under certain conditions.
Subsequently, his Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, specified that these reopenings would not happen overnight and would not occur without precautions or “sanitary measures.”
Dr. Jean-Paul Hamon, president of the Fรฉdรฉration des Mรฉdecins de France, urges the authorities to exercise caution to avoid reigniting the epidemic.
A reckless decision?
“It is anything but serious to reopen schools when we know it is a place of high transmission, high contamination,” immediately reacted Francette Popineau, general secretary of Snuipp-FSU, a primary education union.
Is reopening schools reasonable given the current health context?
The debate has begun between those who favor the resumption of economic activities and social life and those who prioritize health safety.
Because if we open all the floodgates, it poses a great risk to the population. Be it to teachers, parents, their respective circles, or even the children themselves.
Following the subtly critical intervention of Vanessa Siegel, vice-president of the department and a teacher by profession, who questions whether “all the conditions are met,” certain mayors from the Cรดte d’Azur are calling on the Minister of National Education on the matter.
David Lisnard (Cannes), Jรฉrรดme Viaud (Grasse), Christian Estrosi (Nice), Lionnel Luca (Villeneuve-Loubet), and Michelle Salucki (Vallauris) are asking Jean-Michel Blanquer, as well as the Minister of Health Olivier Veran, for clarifications “on the measures that will be taken, with what resources and according to which principles for opening classes.”
Failing which, they warn, “we could not expose the children, their families, and all those who work in schools to the risk of a new spread of Covid-19.”
A potential rebellion from the mayors acting as “dux generalis” of their own territory? It is true that many parents have expressed doubts about this government decision and would prefer to keep their children at home.
