The four-day school week
This in from France: 
Xavier Darcos, the French Minister of National Education, has announced that there will be no more school on Saturday morning.
You're probably raising your eyebrows right now wondering why on earth French children were ever going to school on Saturday morning in the first place. The Frenchman explains it this way: historically, the church in France put a lot of pressure on the state to close schools on Wednesdays so that children could go to catechism (the idea being that if catechism was held on Saturday, no one would attend). And so, to this day, in many communes of France, there is school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8h30 to 16h00 or thereabouts, and on Saturday morning from 0830 to 12h00. In other communes, there is school on Wednesday morning (but not the afternoon) and no school on Saturday.
But as of September 2008, there will be no more school on Saturday morning, in any school in France.
So the million euro question becomes: what about Wednesdays? And much to the delighted surprise of many parents and to the annoyance of many other parents, the Ministère de l’Education Nationale has decided that there will be no school on Wednesdays either, and children will have a four-day school week.
I'm thinking that the four-day school week will further ingrain the cultural affinity of the French for as much leisure time as possible. Forget the 35-hour work week so cherished in present day France. This generation of French children will be pushing for the four-day work week once they are adults...
The Italian system (at least in Rome) is interesting on school schedule front: school Monday through Friday from 0800 until 13h20, then home for the day. But I think that Italian kids go to school for thirteen years instead of twelve years (not counting kindergarten). The four-day school week could also be a good idea, if there are activities on Wednesdays that children can do. To me, either system sounds better than the traditional North American system of school Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM!
And I have no idea what this means for the Bambina's school next year (it being an accredited French school but in Italy).
4 comments:
I like that idea. My dad was transferred to The Netherlands when I was in first grade and I attended Dutch school once a week and my mom worked with me at home the rest of the time and I was ahead when we came back home. So I don't think it's the quantity of time as much as the quality.
And I'm totally jealous that you're living in Europe.
I guess working parents might have a different take on it...
Oh if you work, it is no problem at all. You just send your kid to the centre de loisirs all day (provided free of charge in every neighbourhood). Welcome to the socialist republic of France ;-)
Italian liceo has a six day week, 8-1:00 (or even 2:00) and the kids (and teachers) get tired! I think this is why they tend to have student strikes and occupy the school etc every year in late November -- they all need a break.
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