The president of the association spoke to our colleagues at RTL Radio on Tuesday morning, also discussing the topic of the European and International Schools in Luxembourg and their effects on language and education.
Inequalities in the school system remain very present and must be tackled, says Massen, citing language, migration or social differences as the main reasons. He argues that it is important to learn more skills at school rather than just knowledge, naming life skills, conflict resolution or dealing with emotions and bullying as examples.
The new curriculum would be drawn up in the coming years, among other things, together with the National Representation of Parents.
Read more: Are bullying and violence on the rise in Luxembourg’s schools?
European and international schools, “which grow like mushrooms out of the ground”, are an eyesore for the parents’ representation, because they can only educate a small proportion of all students, says Massen. They lead to a form of “ghettoisation” as many students there do not come into contact with Luxembourgish at all. “I still have friends from the European school who still don’t speak Luxembourgish,” says the president.
Massen calls for the ‘ordinary’ school system to be structured in such a way that every student can find their place in it and that all languages, whether that is Luxembourgish, French, German or English, are put to good use. This would avoid having to build structures like the European or International schools.
The very first National Representation of Parents was set up three years ago amid the pandemic. There was quite some scepticism from all parties, who feared that the parents would interfere in education. Since then, the group has been included in discussions surrounding education in Luxembourg.
The objective of the organisation is to strengthen the culture of cooperation between the school and the parents, acting as a spokesperson for parents and the council with the Minister of national Education.
It does not, however, want to act as a trade union to address claims and complaints on behalf of parents, but to “fuel the debate and bring the experience of parents to the table,” says Massen.
The president would like to see more parents getting involved: “It’s often the same parents still.”
A new National Parents’ Representation will be elected this year and the outgoing President, Alain Massen, would accept the mandate if elected once again.
