School bullying, social isolation… the news is full of these scourges that are affecting young people more than ever this school year. Determined to respond decisively to these unfortunate social phenomena, the Minister of National Education has turned to those who, for many years, have chosen to educate their children from a very young age within the framework of their school curriculum: Denmark.
Inspired by this Danish tradition, the « Année Lumière » organisation makes this theme an essential pedagogical element. In addition to supporting professional projects, the association offers a programme to acquire essential human skills for living together.
« At Année Lumière, it’s a question of taking the time to build your future project, which is certainly a professional project, but also a personal and civic project. » explains Claire Bleton-Martin, founder of Année Lumière.
« Beyond this set of proposed activities (on the ‘doing’ side), there are above all meetings, discoveries, experiences… which not only allow you to know yourself better, but also to open up to others and work on empathy (on the ‘being’ side)! A skill that goes far beyond the limits of the curriculum vitae and allows everyone to reflect and work on their humanity and their relationship with others. »
While the French Ministry of Education has declared a state of emergency in the fight against bullying in 2023, Denmark has made it a top priority in the school curriculum for all young people for 30 years (Act of 1993). « Klassens tid », a weekly lesson dedicated to the development of empathy, is offered to all students aged 6 to 16 within the school framework. Pupils discuss their individual or collective problems together, trying to respect all points of view and find a solution, allowing everyone to be recognised and heard as part of a larger community. Far from solving the problem of bullying by itself, it is one of the building blocks proposed by the Danish government to combat this scourge in a sustainable way, from childhood to the end of adolescence.
Convinced of the benefits of these « empathy lessons », Claire Bleton-Martin has made various educational tools for social cohesion and mutual respect one of the pillars of the Année Lumière programme.
THE OPINION COLUMN BY CLAIRE BLETON-MARTIN, PHD IN EDUCATION SCIENCES AND FOUNDER OF L’ANNÉE LUMIÈRE, REGARDING SCHOOL BULLYING CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.
Source: L’Année Lumière, press release of 27 September 2023.
Read on the same subject : « Well-being at school and combating bullying : a central theme in Erasmus+ projects«
