Guest of Jean-Pierre Elkabbach in Repères this Sunday, February 6 on CNEWS, Jean-Michel Blanquer spoke of the delay in France in the teaching of mathematics at school. In this context, the Minister of National Education considered that it would “probably” increase the learning of mathematics in high school in the common core of the classes of Première and Terminale.
Jean-Michel Blanquer was challenged by the fact that teachers are alarmed by the drop in the number of young people in Première and Terminale who follow this subject, in particular among girls.
Since the high school reform, which put an end to the traditional series (L, ES and S) in 2019, maths has been taught as a specialty, outside of the common core.
They are no longer compulsory from Première, and can be followed as a specialty (of which there are three in Première, two in Terminale) or with the “complementary mathematics” option in Terminale.
“I am very open to proposals”
“I’m not saying it’s a non-issue. It is a serious subject, and I am very open to proposals for improvement,” said Jean-Michel Blanquer.
“We put in the common core of Première and Terminale a scientific education of two hours” weekly. “It probably needs to evolve so that there is more mathematics within it, for the mathematical culture of all the students,” he added.
He also invited “to compare the mathematics program of (the old) Terminale S and that of today (for a student who took the specialty, note). It is much more demanding, some complain about it,” he said.