I'm not a psychologist, a teacher, or an education expert. I'm just a mom. A mom who juggles notebooks, pencils, assessments, and a semblance of a social life (well, mostly on WhatsApp with other distressed moms).
I sit down and look at the mess left behind the day before: scattered felt-tip pens, notebooks open as if they were going to correct themselves overnight, revision drafts that look more like hieroglyphics than worksheets. We haven't tidied up. Laziness? Yes. Tired? Also. A frozen moment of life, in "we'll see tomorrow" mode... except that tomorrow, it's always the same.
Evenings? A real Koh-Lanta ordeal: homework, bath, meals, piano (even if sometimes we'd like to throw the piano out the window), all that between 6:30 p.m. and... 10:00 p.m. Yes, 10:00 p.m.! When we finally reach the moment when we can collapse on the sofa... except that at this point, we just want to hibernate until the end of the school year.
This explains that. Why I created Pamplume, a creative refuge where I imagine tools to help children... and incidentally save the sanity of parents. But hey, that's beside the point.
Every day, I observe my children and their daily challenges. The older they get, the more academic pressure mounts. Grades become a matter of state, the fear of failure creeps in like an intrusive roommate, and time slips through our fingers. We can never have enough.
And then there are the tests. Ah, the tests! That little piece of paper where every mistake is underlined in red as if it were a war crime. A spelling mistake? BAM. An incomplete definition? BOOM. A "name forgotten" on the paper? -3 points. Seriously?! My son has been diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A fad, apparently. But honestly, when you have to memorize an Earth Sciences lesson, a Latin lesson, a French assessment, a Spanish lesson, and a Chinese lesson all in the same day... who wouldn't end up with their brain in saturated hard drive mode?
School education has invaded our home. All my thoughts are focused on homework, grades, and school notebooks (those little books from hell where bad news accumulates). And then, as if that weren't enough, there's also etiquette: speaking well, behaving well, eating well, saying hello well, breathing well (without making too much noise)... In short, I feel like a conductor in a circus during a performance.
I think back to my childhood. I experienced that too, but differently. I was average in school, and that "average student" label still sticks to me. As if the GPA from my report card was tattooed on my forehead. Yet, I have talents, right? But I still have that little voice telling me it's never enough.
And today, I see my child, this little being in the making, who is under the same pressure. School shapes his self-esteem, one test after another. As if a grade could define his full potential.
So no, it can't go on like this. Our children deserve better than this. They deserve to know that they have value, beyond their academic achievements. They deserve to be reminded that being a good student isn't everything. And above all... that they also deserve, sometimes, to just be kids.
Come on, I'm going to put the markers away. Or not. We'll see tomorrow!
Yuko, Founder of Pamplume