While the level of French was considered worrying by the Minister of Education in the latest national assessments, several dozen French establishments now organize a quarter of an hour of reading.
Published
Reading time :
1 minute
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How can we give or restore a taste for reading to middle school students? Several French establishments impose a quarter of an hour of daily reading on their students. An idea supported by the Silence on lit association, notably set up at the Wanda-Landowska college in Saint-Lu-la-Forêt in Val-d’Oise.
For three years, all the students and staff of the establishment have stopped every day at the same time: 3:58 p.m. The bell, different from that of recess, kicks off. The change in noise level is radical, emphasizes principal Isabelle Mortagne, as is that of the school climate: “We really have more concentration, a general calming after recess.” For Yasmina in 3rd grade, the benefit is even more important: “I’m dyslexic, I have difficulty reading. But over time, it’s easier now. As I’m being followed by a speech therapist, she’s the one who tells me what my level is. I can read more quickly. interested in reading a book now than before.”
All reading styles are allowed
Everything is allowed: novels, magazines, mangas or what Amaioas prefers: comics. Issue, “It’s too heavy to carry in the bag, so I prefer to take small novels.” It was their French teacher who wanted to set up this quarter of an hour of reading. Without the Silence on lit association, Emilia Belat would have given up: “Motivating 35 teachers so that they all do it at the same time, changing the schedules of an establishment, it’s complicated.” Today, the entire establishment shuts down at 3 p.m. Coming to class without a book is punishable by one hour of detention.
