Philosophy for kids?

Are we living to be happy? Is language only a tool? Is art pulling us out from reality? Is happiness a private matter? Can we fight our own prejudice?

At the end of high school every kid in France has to write an essay to answer those type of questions. Philosophy is a mandatory subject for "le bac" (the equivalent of HSC in Australia) as it is in other countries in Europe such as Italy, Spain and  Portugal. 

"There are better and worse answers, but there is no clear answer", is advocating Dr. Sara Goering in this TEDtalk about philosophy for kids. This might be the reason why philosophy could be so valuable in kid's education today. It can't fit into a standardized multiple choice test template.

What I like about back to school Down Under

Last week the kids went (finally!) back to school after a long 6-weeks Summer holiday.
Schools in Australia have a lot of autonomy in the way they operate compared to schools in France ruled by the almighty and centralized* "Education Nationale" (our Department of Education). My experience as a parent might not be applicable everywhere in Australia, but here are a few random things I like about our local school :

• Proper handover : for their first day, kids go in their classroom from last year where they are picked up by the new teacher. Just like a rite of passage, this is a great way to symbolize the entrance into a new year.
• Modern communication : the school has my email address and provides us updates on critical things to do before school resumes.
• Books in one click : hooray. Books can now be ordered and paid on-line and they get delivered to the school too.
• Uniforms : shopping for new clothes is fairly easy as with uniforms you don't have to think about colour (blue), fabric (synthetic) and shape (loose). 

* centralization in France doesn't have only downsides, it gave us Versailles Palace, conceived by Louis XIV to rule the nobles by attracting them to the most magnificent palace ever built (as the say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer)

Have a great school year everyone.

More than just a princess

More then just a princess is the motto of a new toy company called GoldieBlox. This video went viral and reached millions of views in a few days. The idea behind it is girls tired of being considered only as princesses and encouraged to use their brains. And become, why not, engineers !

As much as I love pink, every time I walk into a toys r us store I am appalled at the girls section. Once again I don't have a particular allergy to pink bikes or to princess costumes. What bugs me is the lack of variety offered to little girls until now.

What do you think?

My reconciliation with foregiveness and gratitude

Term 4 has just starter for parents Down Under. So has the countdown to Christmas and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. So when my daughter handed out a flyer with the first reconciliation program after her scripture class, I must admit (or maybe confess) I showed limited enthusiasm initially.
We are not regular churchgoers. Too busy this year, we can push it back to next year, right? Hang on, what will make things different next year? Term 4 will still be short and busy.

So on the closing day of enrolment I filled in the form on the parish website. My daughther is going to do her 1st reconciliation in 2013. It will happen end of November, so we are only at the start of the program.
I can already tell it was a great decision. It forces us as a family to slow down, reflect more, talk about important topics. And shall I say, pray.

My favorite prayer with the kids is the thank you prayer.

Lord you are so good

Thank you for the gift of life,

for our world, the sunshine and the rain.

Thank you for our family and friends;

our health, our wok, our home, our food

and all the good things that you give us.

We are truly grateful.

Amen.

Holidays are now !

We travelled to Paris recently to catch up with family and friends. Parisians (including me) are constantly running around, stressing out and moaning. Everybody is dreaming about getting a week off in South of France or spending a weekend in the country side.

Australians have only 4 weeks off per year, much less than the French who get 5 weeks (plus "les RTT", which are extra days off in lieu of payment when you work more than the basic hours in a week). Yet Australians are so relaxed. They try to balance up work and personal time. Now. Everyday. Which might be a little easier I reckon when you have the most beautiful beaches at your doorstep like in Sydney.

This picture was not taken in sunny Sydney but in Calvi, Corsica. If you are looking for a nice spot for your next trip to Europe, Corsica has lots to offer : pristine waters, gorgeous mountains, typical villages and amazing food. Think smelly sheep cheese, lovely wild boar salami and of course Corsican wine.

Happy weekend everyone !

Are you smart?

« Mum, I am smart », explained my son while drawing another Ninja. As a proud mother I rather agree with his statement. Yet I challenge him: “How do you know that? How do you know you are smart?” To what he replied: “Because I find lots of solutions.”

SolutionS with a plural. Not “a” solution.

Yes sweetie, you are smart. When I attended school it was all about finding THE solution. THE right answer so you can pass exams, enrol in a highly regarded school, find a stable job and climb the corporate ladder. With the unemployment rate rising after what was called in France “les Trente Glorieuses” (Glorious Thirty), this model was shaking on its feet. Yet we were blindly following the principles built to educate for the industrial age.

This time is over.
In the school of the 21^st century, it is all about how to find lots of solutions.

This was inspired by a previous post on my French blog. 

Public Speaking Competition : are my kids really French?

My blog from last week is taking an interesting turn. The whole point was the French couldn't be really good at Public Speaking cause we were too literary and focused on beauty instead of entertaining and convincing our audience.

I was wrong. My son in Year 1 made it to the final. So I was half wrong actaully since my older one didn't (and I was so proud of her and all the effort she put in rehearsing her speech).