REPORTAGE
Following the spread of the coronavirus epidemic throughout the world, and in particular in Northern Italy, the most affected European country, school children in France who return from the affected countries should not come to class for 14 days. But how do you educate children about the new virus in schools without scaring them? Teachers must answer their students' questions without panicking.
In this Parisian school, the children are not too worried. "A lot of dead people, everyone who wants to buy masks so much that there are more. Fortunately, that does not affect us," considers Élise, in CM2 class. And when we talk about the coronavirus, she does not need to convince her comrades, Marius and Louane. They are not too afraid either. "Me, I don't think it's really dangerous," said Louane. "I am not going to wear a mask because there are not many people who are contaminated. There is no point in panicking before time"
Avoid panicking students
Elio is worried about a part of his family who lives in the North of Italy, in Lombardy. "There are many cases that have been detected in Italy, right next to where my grandparents live. I am a little afraid for them," said the little boy.
Since their return from vacation on Monday, their teacher Benoît Golitin has had no questions about the virus. "Since we don't have too much information, at school, it's the kind of information that can degenerate a little, stigmatize too," he notes. "It can be worrying for that but there, no, nothing at all, so much the better." On Tuesday, the children had to write a note for their parents in their correspondence book on people returning from the affected regions. The opportunity for this teacher to talk about it and especially to avoid panicking his students.