November 10th 2024
Reflections on Education by Olivier Camino
After more than a year of meetings, reading, and in-depth reflection, we have decided to bring to life a project that is close to our hearts: the creation of our foundation. This marks an important step in our commitment to education and equal opportunities. In this spirit, we believe it is important to share the observations that have struck us, as well as some of our convictions. These ideas, far from being set in stone, serve as a foundation for reflection, open to dialogue and questioning. We carry them with humility, fully aware of the maturity we still need to develop and of the complexity of the subject. These convictions are not only a guide for our actions. They also serve as an invitation to our partners, current and future, to better understand us, grasp our positioning, and seize our ambitions. Together, we aim to build strong and impactful collaborations, staying true to our vision of a world where education becomes a true force for emancipation and social transformation.
Transformation
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A System at a Crossroads
France can be proud of the quality of its higher education. We are internationally recognized for our analytical skills, critical thinking, creativity, and ability to synthesize complex ideas. Companies worldwide, particularly in the United States, are eager to recruit our talents.
Furthermore, the French Education Ministry has successfully achieved its goal of democratizing education, set in the 1960s, by supporting our youth on the path to obtaining their baccalaureate.
However, our system has stalled, failing to transform itself in time to address the new challenges of a post-industrial age. As blue collar jobs decline in favor of service-oriented positions, new professions emerge, bringing unprecedented demands for skills to which our system has not always adapted.
Beyond international studies such as PISA, which reveal a clear decline in the academic performance of French students, the growing inequalities in access to academic success are particularly striking. France is currently the OECD country where social, economic, cultural, and geographic background most heavily influences academic outcomes.
This reality is stark: 600,000 young people aged 20 to 24 are neither employed nor in training, representing 19% of this age group in France, compared to an OECD average of 15%. Each year, 80,000 students leave the education system without a diploma, over half of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children of manual workers, for instance, are four times less likely to earn their secondary school certificate than children of executives. These inequalities, far from being mere statistics, threaten our social cohesion.
What should be the mission of our National Education system?
In the face of these challenges, we must redefine the mission of our National Education system. Educating enlightened citizens who are aware of economic, environmental, societal, cultural, and global issues is an essential goal. However, this must be complemented by a more tangible ambition: equipping our youth with the skills needed for employability, both now and in the future.
It is crucial to address the issue of skills and integrate it into the education of our children by embedding it into school curricula through deliberate and thoughtful public policy. Work is not merely about earning a living; it is about becoming part of a collective, contributing meaningfully to society, and finding purpose. In an increasingly complex, uncertain, and interconnected world, public education must transform into a lever for success for all.
It is crucial to address the issue of skills and integrate it into the education of our children by embedding it into school curricula through deliberate and thoughtful public policy. Work is not merely about earning a living; it is about becoming part of a collective, contributing meaningfully to society, and finding purpose. In an increasingly complex, uncertain, and interconnected world, public education must transform into a lever for success for all.
There is no doubt that schools must empower everyone to master the fundamental skills that underpin our shared foundation: French, history, sciences and mathematics in particular. These subjects are not just academic; they are pillars of active citizenship, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the world. Mastery of our national narrative, language, and cultural works enables participation in our shared community. Furthermore, these fundamentals are essential for developing other key skills applicable to real-world tasks. Communicating effectively—both orally and in writing—fosters dialogue, active listening, synthesis, and the articulation of ideas. These abilities are indispensable for avoiding snap judgments, cultivating a critical perspective on fleeting narratives spread via social media, and understanding our increasingly global and complex world.
Schools must also foster the development of essential soft skills: collaboration, analysis, creativity, dialogue, and initiative. These qualities are critical for addressing the challenges of a world disrupted by rapid technological advancements and emerging professions yet to be defined.
The moral authority of schools must also be restored—an authority that inspires, motivates, and provides direction. Achieving this requires significant investment in our teachers: enhancing their training, equipping them with modern tools, and creating an environment that nurtures their professional growth and fulfillment.
Re-enchanting Schools
Restoring Meaning and Prestige to the Teaching Profession
Today, the teaching profession—despite the talent, energy, and dedication of its practitioners—has lost much of its prestige and its central role in society. This decline is accompanied by a weakening of authority, which is essential for inspiring and guiding students. On the one hand, daily challenges, a lack of tangible resources in classrooms, and the isolation of teachers managing increasingly diverse classes have dimmed the initial passion of many educators. On the other hand, our schools are no longer socially diverse, due to avoidance strategies that deepen inequalities. Simultaneously, teachers often lack robust pedagogical training, tools to effectively track student progress, and sufficient time for their own professional development. The culture of feedback—critical for growth—is nearly absent.
The current teaching model remains shaped by approaches inherited from the industrial revolution: top-down knowledge transmission, standardized and siloed, planned hour by hour. This framework fails to meet the modern challenges where collaboration, creativity, and interdisciplinarity are essential.
Valuing Diversity and Unlocking Each Student’s Potential
It is time to rethink our approach to education. Greater emphasis should be placed on arts, sports, and manual work within an integrated curriculum that values technical skills as much as human qualities. Schools must become spaces where every child can discover and nurture their unique potential. Success does not follow a single path. In a world of constant evolution and uncertainty, practical skills—such as seeking, understanding, explaining, executing, and sharing—are far more valuable than the accumulation of static knowledge.
Reintroducing Diversity to Enrich Learning
Social and academic diversity is an invaluable asset. Experiments conducted since 2015 demonstrate its effectiveness, provided an adapted pedagogy supports this diversity. How can we prepare young people to live together if they don’t share the same classrooms from the start? Diversity fosters respect, openness, and mutual learning. It is a cornerstone for building a more inclusive and cohesive society.
Adopting a Strategic Approach to Digital Transformation
Our education system suffers from significant delays in digital integration. Where digital tools are introduced, their implementation is often fragmented, with a proliferation of poorly integrated learning platforms. This not only complicates the work of teachers but also burdens students’ learning journeys. Furthermore, inadequate digital infrastructure in schools limits opportunities for pedagogical innovation.
We urgently need a coherent and well-thought-out strategy for new technologies. Digital tools and artificial intelligence must be harnessed to reduce administrative workloads, enrich teaching practices, and foster connected communities among teachers, students, and families. These tools should not be passively endured but actively mastered, equipping students with the critical understanding to use them wisely.
AI, in particular, requires careful problem framing: asking the right questions to elicit meaningful answers. By strategically leveraging these tools, we can alleviate the burden on educators while preparing students to navigate a digital world with confidence and responsibility.
Combining National Vision, Local Actions, and Consistency
To meet today’s educational challenges, we must rely on a bold, ambitious public policy that is rooted in long-term commitment. This policy must establish a renewed ambition for the Education System while remaining grounded in local realities.
This approach requires the courage to conduct a sincere and unflinching assessment of the system and to start from the ground up to create tailored solutions. Teachers and students alike must be fully heard and involved in the process.
Solutions must be both global and local. Global because only public policy can define a clear mission, establish a structured framework, allocate appropriate resources, and create rigorous evaluation mechanisms. Local because each school and region has specific needs that cannot be captured by averages alone.
On the ground, solutions often already exist, driven by inspiring initiatives. Engaging with local stakeholders reveals that many answers are already there but require a national framework to move from isolated experiments to systemic implementation.
From Experimentation to a Unified Vision
In France, experimentation has become a constant. While this reflects a willingness to innovate, it also reveals a reluctance to establish a coherent and comprehensive educational policy. Multiplying small, isolated projects often serves to avoid making bold choices or committing to clear, transparent goals.
Other countries have faced similar challenges and found solutions. Ontario (Canada), Finland, China, Singapore, and Japan have all identified their weaknesses, conducted localized and shared assessments, and implemented clear public policies. These initiatives, anchored in strong national visions, were executed over a decade or more with consistency and rigorous follow-up.
Why couldn’t France follow this path? There is no inevitability to our difficulties. Claiming that these successes are purely cultural is an excuse for inaction. These countries succeeded because they combined local diagnosis, collective engagement, and a unifying national vision.
Leveraging the Associative Sector to Transform Education
Our National Education system already benefits from the active and supportive engagement of many associations and, occasionally, businesses. There should no longer be a rigid divide between the education sector and the professional world. Educational success also depends on aligning with future skills and labor market needs, ensuring a clear pathway toward full employment for our youth.
In the face of widening inequalities, we must harness the potential of the associative sector—not as a parallel effort to schools but within schools, working in close collaboration. Associations play a vital role in supporting at-risk youth and addressing issues early, starting as far back as preschool, since dropout tendencies often emerge in the earliest years of schooling.
Associations have the unique ability to deliver the shocks of confidence that some young people so desperately need—helping them discover their "Element," the hidden talent or potential that lies dormant within them. This involves rebuilding self-confidence and reestablishing trust with parents and teachers. These targeted interventions can break the cycle of self-doubt that derails so many promising futures.
To fulfill this role effectively, associations must provide support that is distinct from, yet complementary to, what schools offer. They must act as guides—illuminating paths, awakening awareness, encouraging growth, and sometimes challenging students—with clear expectations and high standards.
However, the associative sector itself must evolve. To achieve systemic impact, it needs to move beyond the experimental stage, adopt a mindset focused on efficiency and measurable outcomes, and learn how to scale its initiatives. This transformation requires fostering a culture of partnerships and mergers, pooling resources, eliminating duplication of efforts, and working toward a broader, collective impact. A concrete example would be consolidating efforts to develop best-in-class tutoring and mentoring applications, transforming them into powerful tools for collaborative learning and meaningful exchanges among students, teachers, and professionals.
Investing in Structural Change
For associations to transition from experimentation to widespread implementation, they require sustainable funding and robust structural support. This effort is not just about financing direct beneficiaries but investing in the foundational changes that will multiply their impact. Strengthening these foundations enables us to reach more young people and make significant strides toward equal opportunities.
This vision hinges on balancing a passion for social impact with entrepreneurial discipline. By combining solidarity, frugality, and efficiency, we can maximize outcomes for our youth. This philosophy lies at the heart of the Altitudes Foundation.
The Mission of the Altitudes Foundation
The Altitudes Foundation is dedicated to empowering associations to scale their efforts effectively, with a focus on fostering equal opportunities in education. Our contributions include:
- Expertise in leadership, human resources management, and technology.
- An entrepreneurial perspective, driven by clear and measurable objectives.
- Long-term financial investment, targeting structural changes rather than direct beneficiaries alone.
Our mission is to be a humble yet demanding partner, collaborating with inspiring associations and social entrepreneurs. Let's "rope up", progressing together toward a shared goal: to transform education sustainably and offer every young person a real chance at success.
On the same topics
Fondation Altitudes is under the aegis
of Fondation Caritas France
of Fondation Caritas France