A School without Rituals or Symbols: The School Crisis & the Crisis of Thought

Of the existence of the school crisis in France there can be no doubt; quite apart from the extremes of violence, drugs, illiteracy, & other degradations, the number of students & teachers that dread Monday morning & anticipate the end of each day with unrestrained eagerness grows with each passing school year. This article presents the diverse theoretical approaches to the problem from various schools of thought. For instance, the teachers' unions' stress the economic aspect of the problem: students may live & study in situations that are socially & materially unfavorable for learning, & therefore it is the establishment of infrastructural systems for social aid that will arrest the present tailspin. & while the educational perspective is preoccupied with the adaptation of teaching methods & strategies to the reality of students' lives & today's society, the psychological outlook focuses on the life of the student & how family influences aid or hinder learning. W. A. Butler