Teaching French children to think outside the box Special

Paris - A French graduate institution is encouraging children to think creatively and to question ideas in science. The ‘Festival of Errors’ challenges traditional French teaching methods which rely on teaching facts only.

“Error is just as important a condition of life as truth.” Those words were spoken by Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of analytical psychology and a man who realized before many that, in simple terms, the way we learn is influenced by our analytical make-up. Without going so far as to plunge into Jung’s studies of the human mind however, those words come to mind if one considers why a growing number of people working within the education system in France are dissatisfied with what they consider to be outdated and demotivating methods of teaching at all levels of education, from primary schools to university, and they are beginning to make their voices heard. These critics say that children’s curiosity and learning abilities are being stifled and handicapped by a system which accepts little or no questioning of accepted wisdom and knowledge bases They say that putting the accent on finding the ‘right’ answer to a question or a problem rather than exploring the thought processes which lead to the formulation of conclusions and the creative approaches which can be adopted to solve problems is leading children – and the teenagers and university students that they will later become – to be afraid of taking initiatives for fear of being accused of making what are considered to be mistakes. Elite Parisian graduate school and research center L’Ecole normale Supérieure has decided to tackle that issue head on this summer by organizing a series of workshops for young people in order to show them that learning can rhyme with satisfying natural curiosity and asking questions without worrying about getting the ‘wrong’ answer. Ingeniously called ‘Détrompez-vous ! Un festival d’erreurs’ - ‘Make no Mistake! A Festival of Errors’ - the workshops, which are being held this week at the Ecole, were organized by the ‘Science Festival’ association headed by festival President and biology doctorate post-graduate François Mallard, who discussed the festival and its objectives with me in a phone call. “The Science Festival is now in its fourth year of existence” says M Mallard, “and it is dedicated to showing youngsters what new approaches to teaching and learning can do to encourage their analytical abilities. There are a lot of stimulating activities to be found there which go far beyond normal classroom activities” One of the festival’s slogans invites children to ‘Challenge your logic and question your own common sense.’ M Mallard explains that “These activities are aimed at children of all ages from mainly suburban areas and they are based upon the world of science. The idea is to put the fun back into learning and to instill the principle that it’s OK to make mistakes. Children should be encouraged to ask questions about the world around them without fear of having their ideas ridiculed, because if they can’t do that they will be unwilling and unable to innovate in their careers later on.” Traditional teaching methods go back a long way in France agrees M Mallard, who quotes the example of the long-established and extensive use of the ‘cours magistrale’ as an example of how not to do things. The French equivalent of a university lecture, the cours magistrale has been a central pillar of French education for many years. Consisting of a long lecture on a given subject, the student listens, takes notes, but has very limited means of questioning the content. This type of lesson is also given often in college. Does this have a negative effect on children’s perceptions of those who educate them? “We run training sessions put on by researchers for children and it is true that children generally don’t have a particularly positive idea of researchers and the world of research when they arrive, but that opinion soon changes. It changes more quickly in younger children, but teenagers, who have been exposed to the “right answer” mentality for longer, find it harder at first.” We remind them that this is a festival of errors and they slowly get used to the idea of being asked for opinions and encouraged to be inquisitive. We try to encourage interactivity by creating work formats which demand dialogue. They don’t necessarily understand all the possibilities at first, but they get more and more into the swing of things as time goes by. Finally they become very motivated and hopefully they take that motivation with them when they leave.” Opposition to the status-quo and an active desire to change things have led to what is now a general debate on the fundamental principles of education in France, and M Mallard is confident that the lines are shifting. “Yes, things are moving in many areas of the debate, which has now become an accepted component of the reflexive process on the future of French education. As an example, one of the association’s members is researcher François Taddei. He is one of many people who have been studying the question and has been asked by education authorities to submit a study of the issues involved.” The Festival of Errors runs until Saturday, and will close with an afternoon of various activities and events in a festive atmosphere. Open between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m, the event is free of charge and is open not only to children, but to the public at large. So if you are in Paris on Saturday and have children (or even if you don’t) you are cordially invited. Details are available on the festival’s web pages.