Workshops and seminars

 

This year, late January, we had a special “careers advice” workshop for our students who will end high school by June 2015.

Representatives of higher education institutes as well as professionals took time to attend this meeting to give information, details and answer our students’ questions about their future choices of studies and careers.

 

This was an enriching and positive experience because some of our students decided to go and visit some schools during their open days to form a better picture for their studies next year.

 

We also developed further links with these schools, especially ESC in AMIENS. That is why we decided to contact them for a lesson in English and they warmly agreed to satisfy our demand asking an  English teacher to give us a talk about fraud in English when we hosted our Portuguese partners in May 2015 !

 

This is a very good example of enriching relationships !

 

 

We also had the opportunity to welcome Alain LION, the head of St Pierre vocational high school in Abbeville who gave us elements about early school leaving.

“ Can you tell us more about early school leaving in your school ? “

“ I have been the head of this school for quite a few years now and I have noticed the profiles of early school leavers are different.”

“What do you mean ?”

“I can give you 4 examples. The first is about a boy who studied for several years in our school and finally left. He felt badly integrated, had discipline problems, was strong-tempered but in fact, quite an outsider and a loner. A few years later, this year precisely, he decided to start back where he had left but unfortunately and in spite of teacher support and mentoring, could only stand the demands for a term … I was sad to see him leave this way because it felt like a second failure for him and now, I really wonder what he will become …

I have another different quite unexpected  example of failure. Another boy in our school decided to leave school just a few weeks before sitting  his final exam this year ! When asked to account for this decision, he simply said he had struggled with difficulties for too long and that was more than he could bear … Even if I did my best  to talk him into trying once more, he gave up.

“ Do you have other experiences of early school leavers who eventually resumed school ? “

“ Some students I know did go back to school and succeeded ! The first example is a boy who hadn’t attended school for 2 years and who decided to go back at 18, yielding to family pressure. He eventually did well and got his degree ! Better late than never !

Let me give you a final example. This year, we had  a new student. She had a degree in hairdressing, had worked as a hairdresser for a few months but because of various problems with her boss, decided to go back to school, at the age of 20, to get another diploma. She is now doing very well and says that , in spite of the age gap, she has regained some self-esteem thanks to supportive teachers and feels better !

“ What can be done to reduce early school leaving ? “

“ From what I have seen, prevention is better than intervention : I mean the earlier potential leavers can be noticed, the better ! Students facing difficulties in coping with traditional schooling should be given extra time and attention from the very start if we want a majority of them to be rescued !”

 

 

Another expert is giving us his feelings about school failure.

“What’s your name ? “

“I am Eric DELANNOY, in charge of DELANNOY VOYAGES. “

“ How can you give early school leavers  an opportunity to start again ?”

“ It is quite easy in our company  ! Only a  public transport driving licence and a specific training are required ! Of course, other qualities such as  good relationship with others, autonomy, team work and basic knowledge of English can be an asset. In fact, anybody willing to get involved can manage in our company and start afresh ! Every potential driver is also accompanied by a senior driver and can rely on this more-experienced  driver. It is a real opportunity for young people to get back into the world of work, without a degree.”

 “You said qualifications don’t matter but do you  pay any attention to grammar and spelling skills when recruiting your future drivers ? “

“Yes, of course ! First, I must admit I don’t know the applicants so grammar and spelling  are revealing of some basic school knowledge ! It is part of the selection process of our drivers. Moreover, our drivers will have to fill in forms on a daily basis so good writing skills are paramount.”

“ What do you advise young people to do ?”

“ School is a chance for their future even if they don’t see it that way ! Don’t neglect basic knowledge and skills  : it will always be useful for their future life  and it will make them stand out from the crowd ! Degrees  aren’t always a passport for success !”