"We are not in a messianic world where school can save society"

INTERVIEW

In tribute to Samuel Paty, France 2 broadcast the film

, released in 2014. A feature film in which a teacher enters a difficult class in a national competition on deportation and resistance.

Anne Anglès, professor of History-Geography and associate of History in a Parisian high school, is the teacher who inspired the character of the film.

On Wednesday, she was at the Sorbonne to pay tribute to her colleague, murdered after a course on freedom of expression.

At the microphone of Patrick Cohen, on Europe 1, she returns with emotion to the drama that shook the world of education and recalls the place of school in society.

"A space for reflection", not a "sanctuary"

"This ceremony was marked by immense sorrow. These written words Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, projected with a child's handwriting, this photograph which referred to humanist photography, that is to say which restored it in its room class, in black and white, in his humanity, the look he posed on his students, his hands open to transmit, it was very beautiful ", she breathes.

"This close-knit family so broken down, it was overwhelming."

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During the ceremony, the President of the Republic paid tribute to Samuel Paty and his teaching profession.

Unifying words, greet Anne Anglès, who is keen to re-situate the place of school in society.

"I don't know if the school can save society, I think that we should not ask it that, it is not its mission. We are not in a messianic world where the school can save the society, ”she explains.

"The school already has the privilege of being a place where we build knowledge and knowledge together and it is already immense. It is a space for reflection, which is intended to be as serene as possible, but it does not 'has never been a sanctuary either. "

Working together between teachers and parents of students

Anne Anglès may have been confronted with sometimes delicate situations facing her students, recounted in

, but tries to make sense of things.

"We must not give up culture, knowledge. We must accept to take a step aside sometimes, but also sometimes to go."

"I believe in separating what is expressed in the classroom from what is worn by people who do not attend class," she adds, returning to the role of parents.

"School cannot be done without the support of parents. The pupil is educated by different bodies, we must succeed in working together."

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"The school is now adorned with enormous expectations from families. It should settle everything, it is the springboard, it is the solution", explains the professor.

"In Créteil, when I worked with parents, I was very rarely questioned. The parents I met, whatever their origins, their income levels, their ways of dressing, are parents who have always been strong, who supported us, who presented us as having authority. "

The teacher co-wrote a column in

underlining her desire to continue her profession entitled "Me, professor, on November 2, I would have only one idea in mind: to continue".

"The majority of our pupils are frightened by such violence", underlines Anne Anglès.

"They will have to have the opportunity to express their sadness, their empathy, their questions as they did the day after November 15".