Publish at December 11 2024 Updated December 11 2024
In the race for diplomas and honors, our education system sometimes seems to forget its primary mission: to train fulfilled, creative and responsible citizens. The "dictatorship of the grade", this obsession with academic results, generates increasing pressure on students' shoulders.(1) From an early age, they learn that their worth is measured by their report card. Every test, every exam becomes a stressful ordeal, decisive for their future. In this constant competition, many end up losing the taste for learning, losing sight of the meaning of what they do. They work for good grades, not to develop their talents and passions.
But doesn't school have a wider role to play? Beyond imparting knowledge, shouldn't it also help each child to build his or her identity, develop social and emotional skills, and unleash creative potential?
By reducing school success to academic performance, we're missing out on essential aspects of young people's development. We format docile, conformist students, rather than nurturing their critical thinking and originality. We encourage them to fit into a narrow mold, instead of valuing the diversity of their intelligence and aspirations.
What if we were to change the paradigm? What if, instead of sanctifying the grade, we gave more room to other forms of success? Some pioneering schools have taken the plunge, emphasizing skills such as creativity, cooperation and civic commitment. They have reinvented their spaces and teaching practices to promote the well-being and fulfillment of their students. Their inspiring initiatives are opening up new perspectives.
This article explores these promising avenues, to restore meaning and wonder to learning. Because it's by cultivating the pleasure of learning, by valuing the progress of each individual in all its dimensions, that we'll create accomplished and happy citizens.
In our education system, grades reign supreme(2). From elementary school onwards, pupils learn that their grades determine their academic worth. This pressure to perform generates stress, competition and fear of failure. Many students develop cramming strategies to get the best marks possible, to the detriment of in-depth learning. They retain only what is graded, and quickly forget the rest. This race for marks distracts them from the pleasure of learning and understanding(3).
This obsession with performance has deleterious consequences for students' motivation and well-being. The pressure of exams and the need to get the best grade can lead to a worrying increase in stress, anxiety and depressive disorders among young people(4).
Faced with what are sometimes inordinate demands, many become discouraged and feel they are constantly failing. They no longer see the point of what they're learning. School becomes a place of suffering rather than a place of fulfillment. And this malaise has a direct effect on their performance and commitment to school.
By focusing almost exclusively on academic performance, schools miss out on other essential missions. Its role is not only to instruct, but also to educate, to socialize, to help each young person become an autonomous and responsible citizen.(5) Yet the development of social, emotional and creative skills is often relegated to second place. In a utilitarian and short-termist vision, soft skills are considered less important than fundamental knowledge. Yet they are crucial to success at school, at work and in life(6).
Rather than valuing a single type of intelligence, namely logical-mathematical and linguistic abilities, schools would do well to recognize the plurality of forms of intelligence and talents. As Howard Gardner has shown, each individual has a unique profile, with more or less developed intelligences: spatial, interpersonal, kinesthetic, etc.(7) Highlighting this diversity, enabling each individual to express and cultivate his or her specific talents, helps them to build a positive self-image and find their way.
To engage students, it's crucial to show them how what they learn at school can help them understand and act on the world around them. Too often, learning remains disconnected from real life, locked away in a school bubble.
By linking lessons more closely to real-life issues, and by multiplying interdisciplinary projects and partnerships with outside players, we help young people to perceive the meaning and usefulness of what they learn. We develop their ability to mobilize their knowledge to solve complex problems.
Our ultra-connected, ever-changing world demands skills that go far beyond traditional academic knowledge.(7) To fit into tomorrow's society and professional world, young people will need creativity, adaptability, critical thinking and interpersonal intelligence. They will need to be able to learn throughout their lives, to work collaboratively, and to commit to meaningful projects. These key skills need to be nurtured and developed at school, to prepare tomorrow's citizens.
The work of Daniel Goleman and other researchers has demonstrated the crucial role played by emotional intelligence in success at school and in life.(8) Knowing how to identify and manage one's emotions, showing empathy, cooperating harmoniously and resolving conflicts peacefully: these are all skills that promote well-being and personal effectiveness, and are highly predictive of future personal fulfillment. But these skills are not innate; they can be learned and cultivated, notably through dedicated programs.
Some schools, aware of these issues, are setting up programs to develop students' socio-emotional skills. Talking circles, non-violent communication workshops, meditation sessions, cooperative games: the initiatives are multiplying, with positive effects on the school climate and young people's well-being.
In some schools, personal development is becoming an integral part of the curriculum, alongside traditional subjects. Interpersonal skills are spelled out, worked on regularly and valued in assessment.
There are many tools available to help teachers cultivate emotional intelligence in their students: role-playing games, writing workshops, video support, etc. Children's literature also offers wonderful opportunities to explore emotions and human relationships.
Turnkey programs such as PATHS(9) offer sequenced, progressive activities to develop intra- and interpersonal skills. The challenge is to integrate this socio-emotional learning at the heart of classroom practices, in a cross-disciplinary and coherent way.
In a complex and uncertain world, where ecological, social and economic challenges are piling up, we need creative and innovative minds more than ever. Faced with unprecedented problems, we need to be able to imagine new solutions, to think outside the box. Yet our education system, with its standardized curricula and cult of the right answer, often tends to format minds rather than unleash their creative potential. Pupils learn to apply procedures and transfer knowledge, but have little opportunity to create, invent or give free rein to their imagination.
Yet all children have creative abilities, and if given the chance, they are more than happy to express them.(10) Some schools and teachers are transforming their teaching methods to stimulate pupils' creativity.
On the program: regular artistic activities, creative writing workshops, time dedicated to personal passions... The idea is to multiply the opportunities for young people to create and express their singularity.(11) This also requires a benevolent classroom climate, where mistakes are downplayed and risk-taking is encouraged. Because it's when we feel confident that we dare to venture down side roads, exploring the unknown, that innovative ideas emerge.(12)
Valuing students' creativity also means rethinking assessment. Rather than penalizing errors and deviations from the norm, we can reward originality, boldness and perseverance in creative projects. Some teachers are experimenting with innovative evaluation grids, in which the ability to generate ideas, the quality of the work and the student's reflective approach are noted.
Others are involving students in the design of assessment criteria, so that they can play an active role in their own progress. The idea is to value the creative process, not just the finished product(13).
In addition to providing instruction, schools have a civic education mission: they must train enlightened, responsible citizens who are committed to the life of the community. This means acquiring knowledge of democratic institutions and values, but above all putting them into practice.
Students need to experience citizenship in concrete terms, by taking part in debates, public-interest projects and representative bodies, at school and beyond. It's by acting for the common good, by getting involved in causes that affect them, that they'll become active and responsible citizens.(14)
Many young people are already involved, at their own level, in social, environmental and humanitarian issues. But their involvement is often invisible, with little recognition from the school system. Some schools have chosen to value student involvement by making it an integral part of the curriculum and assessment process(15).
In some lycées, out-of-school citizen projects could earn points towards the baccalaureate.(16) A certificate of commitment could also be awarded, equivalent to academic skills. This institutional recognition would send out a strong message: getting involved in causes is just as important as getting good grades.
But civic commitment cannot be decreed. It presupposes democratic skills: knowing how to express one's point of view, listening to and respecting that of others, managing conflicts peacefully, taking part in collective decision-making... These are all skills and attitudes that can be learned from an early age, through experience of life in a group.
The classroom is a formidable training ground for civic and social skills, provided that the teacher establishes a genuine "democratic climate", based on the co-construction of rules, freedom of expression and a culture of cooperation. Measures such as clear messages, student councils and cooperative teaching develop listening skills, empathy and a sense of responsibility. Active citizenship is forged on a daily basis.
Reinventing an educational model which, without abandoning the transmission of knowledge, is more concerned with the overall development and fulfillment of the child. A model where performance rhymes with creativity and commitment, where students can build their identity by cultivating their multiple forms of intelligence.
This aspiration is not utopian, as many promising initiatives, here and elsewhere, demonstrate. Starting with the needs and talents of each individual pupil, offering stimulating challenges and involving them in meaningful projects: these are all levers that can be used to stimulate the pleasure of learning and the desire to progress. When assessment values achievements rather than penalizing shortcomings, and covers a wide range of skills, everyone can enjoy the gratifying experience of academic success.
Of course, this paradigm shift will not come without obstacles and resistance. It presupposes far-reaching changes in the training of teachers, the organization of studies and the methods of guidance. It requires convincing parents of a broader concept of success, beyond rankings and diplomas. It's a long-term project, requiring the mobilization of all players. But the stakes are high: the health and future of our young people are at stake.
At a time when ecological and societal challenges have never been so acute, we need citizens who are fulfilled and creative, armed with multiple skills to imagine new solutions. And this starts at school. We're committed to an education that reveals and values each child's unique potential.
References
1.abolish grades at school: "I know how stressful grades can be for students", reveals Pierre Rondeau, [no date]. [online]. Available at: https: //rmc.bfmtv.com/actualites/societe/supprimer-les-notes-a-l-ecole-je-sais-combien-la-note-est-un-pouvoir-stressant-pour-l-eleve-devoile-pierre-rondeau_VN-202411250603.html [Accessed December 6, 2024].
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