Célestin Freinet
Encyclopedia
Célestin Freinet was a noted French
pedagogue
, and educational reformer
.
as the fifth of eight children. His own schooldays were deeply unpleasant to him, and would affect his teaching methods and desire for reform. In 1915 he was recruited into the French army and was wounded in the lung
, an experience that led him to becoming a resolute pacifist
.
In 1920 he became an elementary schoolteacher in the village of Le Bar-sur-Loup
. It was here that Freinet began to develop his teaching methods.
, originally to assist with his teaching, since his lung injury made it difficult for him to talk for long periods. It was with this press he printed free texts and class newspapers for his students. The children would compose their own works on the press, and would discuss and edit them as a group before presenting them as a team effort. They would regularly leave the classroom to conduct field trip
s. The newspapers were exchanged with those from other schools. Gradually the group texts replaced conventional school books.
Freinet created the teachers' trade union
C.E.L. (Coopérative de l'Enseignement Laïc) in 1924, from which arose the French teacher movement Modern School Movement (Mouvement de l'École Moderne). The goal of the C.E.L was to change public education from the inside with the co-operation of teachers.
Freinet's teaching methods were at variance with official policy of the National Education Board, and he resigned from it in 1935 to start his own school in Vence
.
, is based on Freinet's teachings.
The Freinet classification
("To organise everything") is used in the libraries of some elementary schools, and was invented by Célestin Freinet to facilitate the easy finding of documents, and the use of the "Bibliothèque de travail".
The Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres (teacher training university) of Nice
bears the name of Célestin Freinet.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pedagogue
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, and educational reformer
Education reform
Education reform is the process of improving public education. Small improvements in education theoretically have large social returns, in health, wealth and well-being. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed.A continuing motivation has...
.
Early life
Freinet was born in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
as the fifth of eight children. His own schooldays were deeply unpleasant to him, and would affect his teaching methods and desire for reform. In 1915 he was recruited into the French army and was wounded in the lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
, an experience that led him to becoming a resolute pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
.
In 1920 he became an elementary schoolteacher in the village of Le Bar-sur-Loup
Le Bar-sur-Loup
Le Bar-sur-Loup is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-Population:-Personalities:It was the birthplace of 18th-century Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse.-Sister city:...
. It was here that Freinet began to develop his teaching methods.
Educational reforms
In 1923 Freinet purchased a printing pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, originally to assist with his teaching, since his lung injury made it difficult for him to talk for long periods. It was with this press he printed free texts and class newspapers for his students. The children would compose their own works on the press, and would discuss and edit them as a group before presenting them as a team effort. They would regularly leave the classroom to conduct field trip
Field trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
s. The newspapers were exchanged with those from other schools. Gradually the group texts replaced conventional school books.
Freinet created the teachers' trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
C.E.L. (Coopérative de l'Enseignement Laïc) in 1924, from which arose the French teacher movement Modern School Movement (Mouvement de l'École Moderne). The goal of the C.E.L was to change public education from the inside with the co-operation of teachers.
Freinet's teaching methods were at variance with official policy of the National Education Board, and he resigned from it in 1935 to start his own school in Vence
Vence
Vence is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France between Nice and Antibes.-Population:-Sights:...
.
Concepts of Freinet's pedagogy
- Pedagogy of work (pédagogie du travail): pupils were encouraged to learn by making products or providing services.
- Enquiry-based learning (tâtonnement expérimental): group-based trial and error work.
- Cooperative learningCooperative learningCooperative learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively...
(travail coopératif): pupils were to co-operate in the production process. - Centres of interest (complexe d'intérêt): the children's interests and natural curiosity are starting points for a learning process
- The natural method (méthode naturelle): authentic learning by using real experiences of children.
- Democracy: children learn to take responsibility for their own work and for the whole community by using democratic self government.
Legacy
Freinet's work lives on in the name of Pédagogie Freinet, or the Modern School Movement, practised in many countries worldwide. Finland's school system, which was first in math, reading, and science in the international OECD examination PISAProgramme for International Student Assessment
The Programme for International Student Assessment is a worldwide evaluation in OECD member countries of 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance, performed first in 2000 and repeated every three years...
, is based on Freinet's teachings.
The Freinet classification
Freinet classification
The Freinet classification is used in the libraries of some elementary schools, and was invented by Célestin Freinet to facilitate the easy finding of documents, and the use of the "Bibliothèque de Travail"....
("To organise everything") is used in the libraries of some elementary schools, and was invented by Célestin Freinet to facilitate the easy finding of documents, and the use of the "Bibliothèque de travail".
The Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres (teacher training university) of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
bears the name of Célestin Freinet.
Publications
- 1946: L'École Moderne Française.
- 1994: Œuvres pédagogiques, 2 vols. Paris: Seuil. (Edited by Madeleine Bens-Freinet, introduction par Jacques Bens:
- Tome 1 : L’éducation du travail [1942-1943] - Essai de psychologie sensible appliquée à l’éducation [1943].
- Tome 2 : L’école moderne française [1943. Autre titre : Pour l'école du peuple, 1969] - Les dits de Matthieu [1954] - Méthode naturelle de lecture [1963] – Les invariants pédagogiques [1964] - Méthode naturelle de dessin - Les genèses.
- Touché ! Souvenirs d'un blessé de guerre, récit, Ateliers du Gué, 1996.
Further reading
- H-L. Go, Freinet à Vence. Vers une reconstruction de la forme scolaire, Rennes, PUR, 2007.
- Guy Goupil, Comprendre la pédagogie Freinet. Genèse d'une pédagogie évolutive, Mayenne, Éditions des Amis de Freinet, 2007.
- Michel Barré, Célestin Freinet, un éducateur pour notre temps, 2 tomes, PEMF, 1995 et 1996.
- Patrick Boumard, Célestin Freinet, Paris, PUF, 1996.
- Henri Peyronie, Célestin Freinet. Pédagogie et émancipation, Paris, Hachette éducation, 1999.
- Alain Vergnioux, Cinq études sur Célestin Freinet, Caen, PUC, 2005. (bibliographie complétée le 2 mai 2010)
- Ginette Fournès, Sylvia Dorance, La danseuse sur un fil: une vie d'école Freinet, Éditions École Vivante, 2009 http://ecole-vivante.com/pedagogie-freinet.html
External links
- Website on the history of Freinet Pedagogy
- Overview of Freinet movements worldwide (in French)
- Database for Literature Freinet-Pedagogy with languagefiles