Moral and civic values ​​start very early! Interview with NumeriKinstit, primary school teacher.

NumeriKinstit has been a primary school teacher for almost 18 years in the South of France. She taught for 1 year in CE2, 14 years in CM1, and she is starting her 3rd year in CM2. She mainly teaches Cycle 3. Very active on Twitter, @NumeriKinstit shares her daily life as a primary school teacher with her community. A big supporter of our games since always, she gave us the gift of organizing a competition with our games when she reached 5,000 subscribers on Twitter. We meet her today to talk about the values ​​of inclusion that she has always carried in her classes.

You have been a school teacher for 17 years. What new challenges do you see emerging?

One of the new issues that is close to my heart is gender equality. Since I became a teacher, I have been very careful to ensure that this is respected in my class. In Moral and Civic Education, we teach children to respect the rules related to the class and we have major themes that are proposed there. For example, there are rules related to citizenship, the Republic, France, sustainable development and there is also a section on gender equality, and respect for differences not only racial but also physical (different disabilities, deafness, etc.). There is a Twitter account called @EMCpartageons*, which offers program ideas and examples of lessons each year to teachers who register with them, this can give teachers some ideas.

More generally, what tools do you use to approach these subjects?

I use comics a lot, especially with the “Max et Lili” books which allow me to approach many themes of “living together”, but also Asterix, or Tintin with Captain Haddock to approach the subject of politeness or respect. I use this entry either in comics, or by reading images to then open an oral debate where we get the children talking, we exchange points of view and we bring out a group consensus.

I also have a lot of posters about women, scientists who have made history. Katherine Johnson who calculated the orbit of Apollo 11, I have her poster in the classroom and we are going to study a book about her life this year. She had to fight not only against stereotypes of skin color, the fact that she is a woman AND a mathematician AND brilliant… I have several posters, like that, to inspire my students and teach them stories that they know less.

More concretely, let's talk about gender equality. How do you approach this subject?

It is a daily job, both in the classes I teach and in all aspects of classroom life. We must live these notions on a daily basis, so that the children feel a coherence between our speech and our actions on a daily basis in classroom life.

I took the time to read a lot of things on the subject because I wanted to position myself in a neutral way, without favoring either girls or boys. The goal is not to put down boys obviously by saying “It’s the girls who have the power”. We have to find a balance, and as a woman, I was a little afraid of unconsciously favoring girls. I read on the subject, I saw that even school teachers had attitude biases depending on the subject, like questioning boys more often in geometry, or girls in literature. Because preconceived ideas are still very present in the collective unconscious, like for example, that girls are less good at maths. These are things that are still too widespread and that I wanted to fight against. In everyday life, I am therefore very careful, for example, to let girls go as much as boys on the board. I alternate, one time a boy, one time a girl. The children noticed it pretty quickly. Some time ago, a boy said to me, “Teacher, but in your class, we often go to the board, and in any subject.” I was glad that it was a boy who noticed it, because I tell myself that if they start to notice it, it must have changed something for them. So we almost have to impose a general rule on ourselves, so that it takes over and we stop with our stereotypes or unconscious reflexes.

Another example, I have a scheduling system for registering for games, and really, anyone can play anything. So I have boys who register for jump rope for example. At first, they asked me if they really had the right to register (the possibility seemed almost incongruous to them). It took me confirming and talking about great male athletes who do jump rope training (boxers for example) for them to agree and realize that it was indeed their first impression that was wrong.

We also have small debates about jobs. Recently, we talked about chefs who were excellent and the fact that there are a lot of male chefs, so it's not necessarily the woman's job to cook. I also like to bring equipment, objects that are a bit "gendered": a drill, a sewing machine. The girls systematically tell me "At home, it's dad who does that" when they see the drill. I tell them that in my class, they are the ones who will learn to use it. They don't believe me at first. But I explain to them that it's important to learn to do it on your own. I have similar reactions with boys and sewing machines. However, the great couturiers learned to use a machine one day! They enjoy it and are very proud, they compare the pedal to a racing car pedal!

These debates, this sports schedule, these tools, these are small actions which allow things to evolve little by little and make them obvious to children.

And in the context of EMC courses, what do you do on the subject of gender equality?

I have an IWB (Interactive Whiteboard) with a little game on gender equality. The children come and put in circles what they think is reserved for girls or boys and what they think both sexes can do. In fact, everything can be done by both sexes! Very quickly, some say “but no, why did you put that in this circle…”. They start the debate themselves. I explain to them that in reality, everyone can do what they want, as long as they don’t disturb others. It’s the same for girls and boys: as long as you don’t disturb anyone, you have the right to take up combat sports, extreme sports, etc. If you’re a girl, you have the right to do anything. And boys are the same: you can dance, you can jump rope, etc.

For religions, it's the same, we discuss it too. I think that from ignorance fear is born and from fear hate is born. My goal is to deconstruct stereotypes, to teach them things, to arouse their curiosity. The goal is to make them understand that as long as we don't disturb the freedoms of others, we are free to do what we want. The notions of respect and consent are very important in my class.

Let me give you an example: the subject of consent. I was pushed to address this notion following a behavior that deeply marked me in my class. One day, I heard a student screaming in my class. I asked him why he screamed, and he answered that he had hurt himself with his chair. I asked him to show me, and he had like a strip of skin, all around his wrist, that was very red. Children sometimes “play” what they call “Indian burn”, they rub a strip of skin in opposite directions until the victim hurts and screams. I did not believe for a moment that he had done that to himself with a chair, and asked him who had done it to him. He ended up giving me the name of the student who had hurt him. So I asked this student why he had done that. And he answered me: “He didn’t say no to me.”

“He didn’t say no to me.” This sentence stayed with me until the evening, and I decided that even if they were young, I had to talk to them about consent. So I prepared a lesson on the subject, inspired by a video, Consent explained with a cup of tea . I couldn’t show them this video which is clearly for a more adult audience, but I used it as inspiration to explain to them that sometimes, you can’t say no, but that doesn’t necessarily mean yes. You can be afraid, afraid of being rejected for example. I also used a video with drawings by Elise Gravel as a support , which depicts situations where children have the right to say no. Without addressing the topics that revolve around sexuality too directly. We watched this video, I talked to them about consent, we opened the debate by talking about other situations, other examples. This is how I approach important topics during EMC lessons. They can understand everything, if the words are chosen and within their reach.

Sex education is also included in the EMC curriculum. How do you approach it?

In CM2, we mainly talk about human reproduction. We rather address the “technical” aspects. I show them videos, validated by the national education system. Once again, in my class, respect is the most important thing, and I want to remain respectful of the beliefs and traditions of the families who entrust their children to me. We talk about puberty, first emotions, but it remains focused on the technique of reproduction. So we talk about periods and what they represent and I take the opportunity to talk about respect again. To say that, when they are in middle school, if they have a girlfriend who has her period, they should avoid making fun of her, criticizing her, but rather help and support her. I explain, with words that are accessible to them, since they are in CM2, that the rules are actually the baby's nest that is evacuated, that there was supposed to be a baby in the uterus, that this blood was supposed to make a cozy nest for the baby, and since there is no baby, the nest is evacuated... We don't have to make fun of it, we all come from a nest like that. These are really the words that I tell them, in CM2, they are very receptive.

I don't know what happens when they're teenagers, if they still remember my words, but I figure if there's one or a few in the group who remain nice, kind and compassionate, that'll be something.

What do you think is the most important point to address with this audience, while respecting their age?

I make them very aware of the dangers of the Internet. The Internet is great, but it also presents dangers, risks of meeting malicious people and dangerous behaviors when you use social networks incorrectly.

I bring a police officer into my class to talk to them about the dangers of the Internet. He was in the child crime squad, so not only does he know his subject well, but he knows how to talk to children. We bring him into our classes for an hour, the children can ask questions anonymously, we gather them in a box, and sometimes shocking subjects come up, thanks to the anonymity. Because even if they are not supposed to be on Instagram ( Editor's note: the minimum age for Instagram is 13 ), or Facebook, or Tik-Tok, or Snapchat, they are still there. Parents sign them up without really knowing what is going on there. We talk to them about the dangers, for example, of sending photos of themselves to others. About the fact that you can't control what will happen with this photo. Once again, we adapt the language to their age. We tell them that we don't send a photo of ourselves in a swimsuit at the beach, for example, because we can't know what others will do with this photo. I tell them: "Imagine that you are arguing with a friend and he draws a moustache on you, adds a ridiculous hat and shares this photo with other people". I try to prepare them, to do prevention. There have been children who have committed suicide after seeing their photos everywhere on social networks, often girls, who had sent their photos to their boyfriends, they felt guilty. I explain to them that in reality, it is punishable by law to do that and that it is those who publish without permission who are at fault. My duty is also to educate the Internet citizens of tomorrow, and once again, if I can influence even one person to act better in the future, I will have participated in this mission.

This is a generation that was born with social media, but doesn't know how to use it. My parents, and I, are pretty much the same generation, and we learned to use social media little by little. But for them, it's part of their lives, it's natural, and they don't realize the dangers at all.

On EMC topics, do you involve parents in your work?

This year, we launched a new initiative. Our “internet speaker” is a former police officer and reminded us that there is no point in educating children if we do not also explain certain things to parents. So we set up an online chat and we will offer a debate in the evening after the children have gone to bed. Parents send questions to the speaker, who answers them live.

We talk to them about parental filters, and we give them examples of navigation, how children, by looking at perfectly innocent photos, can come across horrors through hashtags for example.

I often tell stories to parents, in meetings with them, to make them understand all this. They are horrified and they want to ban everything. But I don't believe in this method either. The more we ban, the more children want to defy the ban. I think it is better to educate, to make things understood. This is where, as educators, we have our stone to bring to the building.

I use Twitter a lot, I am very active on this network. There are a number of classes on Twitter, who for example play chess games from one end of France to the other! Networks open up possibilities, we find inspiration there. I read a lot of articles. It is really a melting pot of culture. We take each other's ideas between school teachers and I also share my ideas with others. Even if it is not necessarily revolutionary, I often get feedback "Oh yes that's great, we're going to do that." It creates mutual support. So, introducing young children to be careful and use social networks safely is important, rather than depriving them of the opportunities they offer.

How do you recommend raising children's awareness of ecology without it being traumatic?

I wrote a blog post about this, asking myself the following question: how can we, teachers, participate in protecting the planet? I had, and found, lots of ideas that I pass on to my students, such as on the use of plastic, how to use less or use biodegradable plastic. For me, the message is rather “what civic attitude should I adopt in my class or my everyday life, to try to do good for the planet”? I avoid falling into the catastrophic discourse. We change certain tools, we switch from plastic to recycled cardboard, we buy more durable felt-tip pens, etc. These are small gestures, but which, taken together, make a difference… I try to avoid falling into an anxiety-provoking or guilt-inducing discourse, and rather talk about civic gestures.

* EMC Partageons is an association whose purpose is to develop the training of citizens at school, as part of the student's citizenship path and more specifically the Moral and Civic Education programs, taking into account the evolution of ministerial directives, through sequences and sessions prepared collaboratively and through remote support for teachers. It also aims to promote an inclusive school, through the design of specific tools and supports, accessible to the greatest number of students.