• Emmanuel Macron announced last Thursday, during a visit to Marseille, the return of mathematics "optional", "not compulsory", in class of First, and this from the start of the next school year.

  • A news that comes late when many second students only have one week of lessons.

  • Some, having chosen the maths specialty in 1st, could change their plans and take another, by enrolling in the maths option in parallel.

    Which begs the question.

A news that takes the principals and high school students of course.

Emmanuel Macron announced last Thursday, during a visit to Marseille, the return of mathematics "optional", "not compulsory", in 1st class, and this from the start of the next school year.

“This teaching will allow non-specialists to consolidate the learning and mastery of fundamental notions and to continue, if necessary, with the complementary mathematics option in terminale”, specified the Ministry of National Education in a press release.

Problem: this information falls while many second high school students have already had their class council and they have often already returned their dialogue sheet, in which they have determined which specialties they wish to take in 1st.

However, some of those who have chosen the maths specialty, but without having an excellent level in the subject, could be tempted to change their tune: "They may tell themselves that the maths option will be enough for them for the rest, and finally choose another specialty in which they are more comfortable,” says Eric Labastre, general secretary of the FCPE.

Difficult to advise students...

Some principals have already sent an email to students to encourage those enrolled in the math specialty (reputed to be very demanding) to revise their choice.

But others bet on caution, like Christelle Kaufmann, principal of the Louis Rascol high school in Albi: "It's difficult to advise them to abandon the maths specialty in favor of the option, because we don't know not yet the program of the latter, which will not be published until the end of June.

We just know that it will address statistics, probabilities and data processing.

We wouldn't want them to find themselves blocked later in the choice of their higher education”.

According to Mélanie Guenais, vice-president of the collective of learned societies and associations of professors and scientific academics, "to think that the maths option will be enough to move towards management, economics, Staps, the health sector, psychology, even even the right, is very risky.

Because in these sectors, we give more preference, on Parcoursup, to the files of candidates who have followed the math specialty, ”she says.

What about the complementary maths option in Terminale?

Another question: if the maths option can provide access to the complementary maths option in Terminale, will the students have the level to follow the latter?

Because originally, this Terminale option was intended for students who abandoned the maths specialty at the end of 1st but who still needed to maintain a certain level in mathematics for their further studies.

“Pupils who will have done 1h30 of maths option per week in 1st grade will find themselves with classmates who will have done 4 hours of maths per week.

The groups are likely to be very heterogeneous”, stresses Eric Labastre.

“However, math requires regular practice.

This is how you acquire automatisms.

So following 1h30 per week in groups which will perhaps be made up of 40 students, this may not be enough to achieve this, ”underlines Mélanie Guenais.

“Ideally, high schools should set up refresher sessions in Terminale so that students who have just taken the maths option can catch up with their classmates.

But will they have the means to do so?

asks Christelle Kaufmann.

Will all high schools be able to offer the option?

High school students who have not chosen the maths specialty will have fewer questions to ask.

“In my school, they represent 30% of 1st year students.

I really hope that many will take the maths option,” says Christelle Kaufmann.

“But still it is necessary that the information passes well, since the second pupils finish the courses Friday”, adds Eric Labastre.

“The challenge is above all to know whether girls and high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in other specialties will want to follow this option.

Because the reform of the baccalaureate has increased inequalities with regard to access to mathematics, ”adds Mélanie Guenais.

Last but not least: it remains to be seen whether all establishments will be able to offer this optional education.

“There is such a shortage of math teachers that we will have to play on the overtime that teachers can take”, underlines Eric Labastre.

“In some high schools, we will most certainly use contract workers to ensure every hour,” adds Christelle Kaufmann.

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