Should we ban Advent calendars at college to respect secularism? | EUROtoday

The heads of institutions, recipients of this letter, expressed their dissatisfaction to the senator of Aisne Pierre-Jean Verzelen, who wrote to Minister Anne Genetet, saying “they do not understand the reaction of National Education [car] this calls into question the freedom of teaching of school teachers.” This was additionally questioned by the president of the Hauts-de-France area, Xavier Bertrand, who deplores an “incomprehensible” resolution on X.

An remoted initiative, in response to Anne Genetet

Anne Genetet assures that it’s a private and remoted initiative of an inspector. According to an SMS despatched to Xavier Bertrand, and consulted by France Info, this request for a “ban” comes from “an individual initiative”. According to the identical supply, the rector of the Amiens academy additionally despatched a letter to Anne Genetet, during which he specifies that this e-mail “written by an inspector” is “marred by errors both on the educational level and on those of history and law.

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To reinforce her feedback despatched to Xavier Bertrand and put an finish to the controversy, the Minister of National Education additionally recalled, in a letter despatched this Monday, that Advent calendars at college are “fully compatible with the principles of secularism”. It is a “societal and educational” object linked to Christmas which, definitely “comes from the liturgical calendar”, however which right this moment represents a “largely secularized” celebration whereas “Christmas is recognized as a legal holiday and public holiday, registered in the Labor Code.

According to the minister, Advent calendars are useful for “teaching students the structuring of time and the management of waiting, particularly in cycles 1 and 2”.