Macron confirmed his announcement just last week, making France the first EU country to enforce schooling at such a young age.
Those of you following my journey will know I am currently living in France. My son Esteban is just a few weeks away from turning three and the thought of sending him away makes my stomach turn.
Reality check
Is it okay to enforce the disintegration of the family unit when a child is just three years old? My stomach has already answered this question for me but I am left wondering how it is that the people of France are not banging on the doors of their President this week in disgust?
On the contrary, since the announcement many people here have casually enquired where we will be sending Esteban to school like it's no big deal.
The move is said to reflect the president's desire to make school the place of "real equality", a place where the playing fields are levelled for the disadvantaged communities.
This statement makes no sense because those disadvantaged communities he speaks of already had the right to send their kids to government pre-schools at age 3 if they chose and it has been this way since 1989. The only change is that this supposed equality is now compulsory.
How to enforce vaccination without enforcing vaccination
French law doesn't permit non vaccinated children to go to school. But now that school is obligatory by age 3, so too by default is the full vaccination schedule... unless of course you have the time and inclination to take the education of your children into your own hands as we do.
Both our kids have never received a vaccination and it is unlikely they ever will. So homeschooling is the only option if we are to remain legal in France.
Macron followed the announcement with a playful tweet, listing in his own handwriting all the things children believe to be the most beneficial about more time at school.
For all these reasons and many more, school will now be compulsory from 3 years (and not 6 years). Macron
Let's hope the "many more" are a little more persuasive than the reasons listed above which include:
- learning to speak
- learning to dance
- using modelling clay
- painting & drawing
Call me crazy, but don't these things happen naturally if we provide a stimulating environment at home?
Reliance on the system
It seems to me that we are fast becoming more and more reliant on the system to provide for us that which we once provided for ourselves. If we were to start sending our children to school at six months, how long would it be before people had forgotten children don't need school to learn to walk?
The same thing has happened with these basic life skills. Children don't need to be forced to explore their creativity or to learn how to read & write. Given a calm environment, the basic tools and a little guidance they are naturally inquisitive & more than capable of learning these things without the help of government institutions.
A close-up on (the non education of) Esteban
I refer to it as non education because there is no separation between his enjoyment of life and that which he is learning.
Michel Thomas (the language expert)
I am following the guidance of this man to learn French. He speaks a total of 12 languages and teaches them very well, even in the form of recordings. He is famous for his unconventional approach in which he turns classrooms into living rooms. After years of trial and error he found that the best way for people to learn was in the more relaxed settings.
As such, Esteban's education began a long time ago...
He is able to answer questions and communicate what he wants in both French & English, though his preferred language (when given youtube time) is currently Russian... for reasons I am yet to understand!
He knows his left from right and can navigate an ipad with ease.
He can recognise and name the numbers 1 to 10 in French, English & Indonesian (thanks to 2 years in Bali).
He only wears nappies at night and knows how to use a urinal.
He is able to sing the alphabet (just in English) and is able to recognise some of the letters.
He knows how to hold a pen and has been drawing and paining daily for over a year already.
He is currently learning water colours & acrylics and with his huge protective top he can go as crazy as he wants!
Music and dancing is a daily thing for him, but the musical instruments drift in and out of his life as do the countries & cultures.
Our daily walks introduce him to new things every time.
No matter where we are.
But what about friends & social interaction?
I believe it is our role as parents to seek this out for him.
In Bali it was easy. They would come to us because he is a cute looking white kid!
There is a popular buffet restaurant with a decent play area situated next to our supermarket of choice here in France, so whenever we shop there we also stop to eat... and watch him play with the other kids.
And there are plenty of other children in the village who (if we make the effort to enquire) are always available to play with.
Home schooling RULES
The new regulation here in France is set to start in September 2019 which means we are okay for now, but to avoid problems, come September next year we will have to either declare him to be in home schooling (which will mean regular check-ups from the authorities) or simply leave France altogether.
These are the current guidelines for the few families in France who do choose to go for home schooling:
This seems like a reasonable list to me and I feel sure it will be covered. This and so much more, including subjects you won't find in too many schools...
- ESP games
- mediation
- plant care
- food & nutrition
- Reiki
But that's not really the problem. The idea of registering him with the education authorities and subjecting ourselves to their inspections doesn't sit well with me. What if we do something wrong? What if we find ourselves in a position where we are legally obliged to send him to a school? Not an option.
Final thoughts
In the end I expect Esteban to point me in the direction of that which he wants to learn and it is my job to recognise what this is and make every effort to teach him the skills required to research and develop his knowledge & intuition, with or without me... in any country he happens to find himself.
I do not expect him to be the same as me. Nor do I expect him to fit into any pre-set categories, certainly not those dictated by government institutions.
Just as I cannot see the full perspective of my mother or father he will not be able to see mine and to him I will most likely appear a relic of the past.
No matter the various mad laws being enforced on us and our children, Sabrina & i will never stop striving to provide the kind of life adventure which cannot be compared to a childhood spent at school.
Our love to you all π±
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