That she must reveal herself means that she is no longer considered an individual subject of her identity group, but an autonomous person, free from any obligation other than to learn, to think for herself, to exercise critical thinking—and she is not. is that why we go to school?
I believe that every time we are considered as a person and not as a simple element of any group, we gain freedom. Because the community limits us to a role – how to dress, how to eat, what to believe, whom to marry… While an infinity of possibilities opens up before a person whose uniqueness is irreducible to any assignment.
Unfortunately, among students and very young teachers, the North American model of “tolerance” (everyone does what they want) is beginning to replace the model of secularism, this emancipatory principle guaranteeing freedom of conscience.
Among students and very young teachers, the North American model of “tolerance” (everyone does what they want) tends to replace the model of secularism.
The case of the high school principal, Maurice-Ravel, who resigned from his position at the end of February in order to preserve his life and the safety of his business, must be of doubly concern to us. He asked the young girl to remove her veil as required by law. She claimed he assaulted her. This lie makes one shudder: the young girl behind the affair that led to the beheading of Samuel Paty also lied. Falling victim to a lie today can have tragic consequences…
The departure of the principal from Ravel’s high school suggests that he did not trust the institution capable of protecting him. This is a common fear, and it is also why around a hundred school principals gathered at the Place de la Sorbonne to express their concern. This is also why, surveys tell us, most teachers now self-censor in their classrooms for fear of retaliation.
Because apart from violence and dealing with it very well, there is a widespread feeling that school is a supermarket where you have to find what you want (what you believe in). We should therefore not show pictures of nude women, which offend some: this was the case in the facility in Yvelines, where a teacher was asked to present a Renaissance painting to her students. But we also shouldn’t teach the theory of evolution, a subject of broad scientific consensus, in the name of creationist beliefs (God would have instantly created all species in their current forms)…
Ah! I wish I was more cheerful at Easter. This celebration has beautiful symbolism. Like all the months of March, it represents transition (the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt through the Red Sea) and rebirth (the resurrection of Christ). But here it is: Easter Monday, which should represent a new age and hope, falls this year (for the 7th time since 1900, it seems), on April 1, a holiday of jokes and mystifications. That’s probably why we’re a little worried despite the rebirth of spring.