"A happy morning in a wonderful school: I give my time like all families do, I am in my eldest's class, to accompany him and his friends in their "I compose" or their "problem of the week", Louis explains everything to me, shows me his accomplishments, the comments of his teachers with whom I also have the opportunity to exchange. I love it! I love seeing each of these children bent over their work, helping each other, asking questions. I go downstairs after my involvement to spy on my youngest, Charles, who has just turned 5! In his kindergarten class, 3 dads are helping the teacher. WOW!!!! Charles is as involved as his big brother and I am the happiest. Last night: "Mom, thank you for creating this school, I love it". Thank you life!
Following this status, or the others I post here and there on Facebook, you ask questions and wish the same for your family. Every day that I sit in this dream school for the past 5 years, I marvel, I am moved ... every time. Just yesterday, I exclaimed: "how beautiful it is." The day before, I met Paula, a teacher who seemed to be daydreaming at the end of class: "how serene you are!" "I thought about the students in the reading period, it was so beautiful. It is like that, moment after moment. I could not have dreamed of so much.
" I saw your Charles today at the library and he was the same sunshine he is in his house. "
When I thought of a different school for Louis, I wanted him to keep the sparkle in his eyes, his wonder, his desire to learn (natural to children before we impose performance, stress, adult schedules, etc. on them). When Marie-Pierre told me about the brilliance of Charles, a new schoolboy, I was instantly fulfilled. Isn't that what every parent's heart desires? A natural extension of home. Alexandre, at the daycare, remarked to me on the 2nd day of the school year: "no child cries, no child is torn." So it's true. Should we stop to observe that even my Charles, whom I found far too young to start (he was still 4 years old), has taken possession of the place as comfortably as his living room? Surrounded by exceptional beings, devoted parents, teachers by vocation. If I am uncertain, I can be sure of it by following him, by staying with him and his new friends, always welcomed by his teacher.
Start of production:
After noticing the loss of light in children who had started kindergarten, crying day after day, I had a revelation eight years ago. My son was three years old, I was doing breathing routines and then letting myself be, lying down, relaxed. This way "ideas" could come. Thus, the image of a different school entered my mind. I saw a small, row school, a teacher chatting with his students, sitting directly on the wooden floor, also stretching, or enjoying reading a story. In the playground, a pig. The children were running around, happy... as one should be a child before becoming an adult.
I want this school for my son. The wish is there, I am going on his path.
I tell people around me, they advise me to focus on my career.
I don't hear, I'm stubborn and focused on my new dream.
The next day, I was shooting a film and I met Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge's mother. During a conversation, she told me that she, along with other parents, had founded a school for her son some 30 years earlier. :) !!! :) (If you have read my book "Breathe Happiness", this is a clear clue from life that invites me to continue my quest!)
"Oh? So that's possible?" "Yes, all it takes is getting together with parents who want a different, alternative school."
An alternative school. I've vaguely heard about it. What is it? So I'm going to visit one quickly. As soon as I enter its walls, I notice the sparkle in the children's eyes, the color on the walls, the presence of the parents, the hubbub of life, schoolchildren everywhere, in the hallways measuring distances, or even monopolizing another corner focused on a file, asking for help from the older ones for a project. WOW! I'm dazzled.
I meet Monique, the director: "I wish my son had a school like this."
She sighs and exclaims, "Oh! It's not easy, it takes time."
My hope grows, I don't hear the obstacles, I see the open door and the path that is taking shape! (Chapter 10, still in "Breathe Happiness." :) I have time. At worst, I will teach at home while waiting for my dream school.
Following this visit, Josée, a teacher, contacted me: Monique told me: "I'm joining you." (Life is speaking to me very loudly and sending me very clear clues!) I'm no longer alone. It's better together!!!
So, we visit other alternative schools to get inspired by the possibilities. We interview Pierre from the Network of 32 Alternative Schools of Quebec. Other teachers join us, and I take advantage of a TV appearance to talk about my dream of a school where children are allowed to be children, where every skill level is valid and respected. Dozens of parents write to me. From then on, I gather those from the region at my home, on my balcony, in my kitchen. Always by the dozen, we discuss our desires for our loved ones and we visit the commissioners every month to remind them of our need for a different school. The weight of numbers is important. The school board is elected and must respond to the needs of the population.
Does it take energy? Yes. But the passion of other parents and teachers keeps it going. Can we get discouraged? No. Not if we focus on the needs of our children. It requires an investment of time and passion. I've made it my life's mission (rightly so) to bring together more and more parents, to investigate, to answer questions, to hold information evenings with experts in the field, to not give up on the school board... even if...
A cheerful commissioner (among the thirty or so to be convinced), after 18 months of such passionate investment, raises his hand and says: "There is a need for a different school, Jacynthe and her list of dozens of parents demonstrate this well. But why not an international school?" My heart stopped. Excuse me?
But the commissioner had spoken. They're the ones who decide, after all. And performance is in fashion. So why not international competition? To hell with children's needs, let's reassure parents instead in an era where overstimulation is the order of the day. Let's organize a debate. What a great idea.
So, the amphitheater fills to bursting with hundreds of parents wondering what's best for their child. And Jacynthe, we'd ask you not to take the microphone during the debate. Sorry? Wasn't I the one who initiated this process? Don't they want to know why? What are my motives, after all?
I obviously took the microphone, pregnant and emotional as one can be when it comes to the environment and the fate of our protégés. I explained that I was an international graduate. However, my studies did not allow me to learn about myself. I did not know, with my BAC in hand, what I liked (drama of several adults) or how to get by in society, exchange... the basics. I wanted for my sons to learn, through their initiative, to develop within a mini-society, also through simple experiences (as opposed to a one-way tutoring system). To see the different personalities emerge, unique characters come to life. To suggest learning tools, and not impose them. To let them choose, to offer the possibility of being responsible, autonomous. The child is interested in learning, naturally, the adult accompanies them. This is an extremely powerful mode.
My heart broke through the wall of prejudice of several courageous parents on site who took the risk for this non-traditional approach (unfortunately) and these natural values. They won the vote. Lucky because it was very close. We don't question ourselves enough. We follow the trend, the fashion of always more, of bombardment of stimuli, a question of getting our money's worth. But we don't talk about what is really good for the child (for the parent yes, continually), the foundations to consolidate conducive to their development ( confidence, love, attention, rhythm, calm, etc.) . Did you know that 70% of elementary school children are tired and that 30% have insomnia? In elementary school! Caused by the performance required. No but, where is life?
These are dozens of testimonies that I received in the weeks following the opening of the Railway Workers' School in Delson. Families transformed, returned to nature, to harmony. Children who were slowly learning to open up, to flourish, and even children saved.
I obviously encourage you on this path and wish you a sky as starry as ours, because what makes the difference in this wonderful environment are, yes, the invested parents, bursting with shared diverse talents, and above all, the teachers who do things differently by taking the time.
To remember:
- bring together parents (invited with the help of regional media for example) who want a different school;
- visit the commissioners often, do not let them go (this can take 2 years);
- to question, to visit, to dream;
- When the school board accepts your project, the creative process begins and the magic happens: you will be able to actively participate in the values and policies of your school (give yourself a year to design it).
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