“What a pleasure to see the toothless smile of my students! We observed the mouths of the friends today to count the number of fallen milk teeth. At 6-7 years old, the site is often sizeable”, jokes Delphine Rimbaud- Le Borgne, at the head of a CP class in Essonne. Like all the children of France, his little students were finally able to drop the mask on March 14, both outside and inside. “In my class, only two of them kept them at the request of their parents”, continues the teacher who confides that she had to fight a little to get everyone to resume good habits. “When they talk to each other it is more audible and, above all, I can see their lips move. Easier to detect talkers”, continues the author of the blog “La classe de Define”.
Even if the virus is still circulating and the pandemic has still not said its last word, French students and teachers are beginning to see the end of the tunnel. At last ! The shocking announcement of the closure of all schools, on March 12, 2020 by President Emmanuel Macron, marked the start of a long marathon: implementation of distance education, to say the least chaotic, return of students drop by drop from May 2020, multiplication of health protocols, numerous adaptations or even cancellations of the patent and baccalaureate tests… But, over these two years, France is one of the OECD countries which will have the most kept the establishments open. A feat regularly highlighted by the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer who has never deviated from his compass.
Does this mean that the students are doing better than the others? In terms of learning, the first confinement had caused a lot of damage. At the start of the school year in September 2020, Jean-Baptiste Labrune, who teaches in a school classified as a priority education network (REP) in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, did not hide his concern. “The first few days, some of my CE2s gave the impression of coming out of CP!, he confided at the time. Little by little, they are getting back on the road. But it will take a little time to fill the gaps”. The national evaluations of CP, CE1, 6è and seconde, carried out last September, show that the delays have largely been absorbed since then. At the start of the 2021 school year, “among CP and CE1 students, we find levels of results equivalent to those of the 2019 school year. Even higher with regard to certain skills such as letter recognition (+5 progress points) and the comparison of numbers”, explained Fabienne Rosenwald at the head of the Department of Evaluation, Foresight and Performance (Depp). Our education system is nonetheless unequal since only 35.8% of 6th grade pupils in REP+ reach the expected level in reading, and more than 31% do not even have the level of a CE2 pupil.
“A side a little extinct or even disillusioned”
“The results of these national assessments only provide partial information. For example, these data do not take social skills into account”, however warns Guislaine David, co-secretary general of SNUipp-FSU, the main primary school teacher union. However, feedback from the field reveals certain difficulties caused by the lack of socialization of children in recent years. “Many kindergarten teachers find that their students have more difficulty working in groups, interacting, listening,” continues Guislaine David. In secondary school, the situation is a little different. Young people had to face both the effects of the health crisis but also the new high school and baccalaureate reform. “Which is a lot at once”, recognizes Jean-Rémi Girard, president of the National Union of high schools, colleges, schools and higher education. “We see a form of resignation, a lack of joie de vivre and a somewhat extinguished or even disillusioned side”, he continues before pointing out the glaring lack of doctors and school nurses likely to detect the most fragile cases.
The shortage of hands and means does not only affect the school. For child psychiatrist Patrice Huerre (1), the pandemic will have brought to light the dysfunctions around the care of children and adolescents. “The impact of this health crisis on the mental health of these age groups is very significant. Consultations have been increasing for two years, warns the specialist. However, there are only 600 child psychiatrists currently in France, half of whom are over fifty years old. Even with the end of the numerus clausus, it will take at least 15 years to train the next generation”. Christèle Gras-Le Guen, president of the French Society of Pediatrics, evokes the deceptive beginnings of the health crisis in March 2020. “We thought that the first confinement had been rather well experienced by most of the children. Pediatric emergency services were deserted. It was incredible!”, she recalls. The backlash was very violent. “As of October 2020, we have seen a massive arrival of small patients with major symptoms of anxiety, suicidal, some having even taken action”, continues Christèle Gras-Le Guen. In liberal medicine, some have consulted for sleep disorders, attention, food, or manifestations of stress. The trend is still continues today.
Many doctors have found a huge sense of guilt in children. The fact that serious forms of Covid-19 primarily affect older people, and that young people have long been considered important vectors of the virus, has led to a feeling of collective mistrust. Sometimes relayed by the public authorities: at the end of 2020, a television prevention spot depicts two teenagers kissing in front of their high school. The boy then goes to his grandmother’s birthday party. The following plan shows the latter in the resuscitation room. The scope starts ringing… Cardiac arrest. “Many children have taken this type of image in the face!, denounces Christèle Gras-Le Guen. Many have become afraid of contaminating their grandparents, their little brother or any other member of the family. suffering from a chronic illness. This only heightened their level of anxiety”. Added to this are the cases of abuse and domestic violence which also exploded, especially during the first confinement. Schools can no longer play the role of interface. Keeping them open as much as possible will undoubtedly have avoided an even heavier toll.
(1) Author of “How the school is moving away from its children. The alert of a child psychiatrist” (Nathan, 2022)