It is with great interest that I read Mr. Marco Jean’s article of January 5, entitled “Literature and philosophy as scapegoats”, even if my reflection has somewhat drifted from the initial subject.
I am freshly retired from education. I have worked for 26 years with children and teenagers, from kindergarten to 5e secondary, especially in underprivileged areas. I have loved my job throughout these years, some of which have been easier than others. There has always been a student, a project or a group that made me get up and go to the front!
This preamble leads me to the following observation. I was able to notice that, among my fellow teachers, directors, parents and students alike, the quality of French was very rarely a reason for pride. On the contrary, a large part of all these people did not understand the image projected by a memo, a text, a letter, an e-mail or a writing stuffed with mistakes of all kinds. In short, in general, we didn’t really care.
I know that written French is very difficult to master and that many people will never succeed. But we have to strive for it, especially with current tools. I was raised by parents with very little education, who were aware of their shortcomings and who were ashamed of them. My mother, who had to stop going to school in 3e year because she had to help her mother at home (she was the second of 14 children), wrote practically without fail.
She was very proud of it.
Maybe that’s what it is, after all, about well-placed pride.