We all dreamed of it: the Zurich schoolchildren did it. The canton’s Youth Parliament is asking, in the most official way, to change the timetables of the secondary school, so that students can sleep longer in the morning and enjoy three free afternoons per week. They have submitted a postulate to this effect to the Zurich City Council.
Well, the chances of success are minimal. The city’s elected officials may be predominantly center-left, but it is difficult to see them leading this revolution alone. But if we don’t dream when we’re teenagers, when do we do it?
What is the Youth Parliament?
These assemblies are not Parliaments in the first sense of the term. These are organizations bringing together young people interested in politics, which allow them to exchange ideas and carry out joint projects. Membership in a political party is not necessary and everyone operates as they see fit. Some hold elections, others do not. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, there are around 80. In French-speaking Switzerland, there are notably in Geneva, in the city of Neuchâtel, in Valais, in the canton of Vaud and in Fribourg.
-Concretely, the postulate requires classes to start at 8 a.m. Lessons would last until 1:20 p.m., with a maximum of one hour break at noon and 10 minutes in the afternoon. This way, schoolchildren would only “need” to go to class two afternoons a week, with three off. Bingo! And as a bonus, the text provides that the time necessary for homework be included in the school timetable, or that it becomes optional.
According to the Youth Parliament, these modifications would better fit the “biological rhythm” of adolescents. These would be “exhausted” in the afternoon, especially at the end of the year, and the text adds “that with shorter school days, there is more freedom to organize your time and your life” . The Municipal Council will now have to examine these proposals and decide on their possible implementation.
On the French side, we have less panache, but some ideas have also emerged within these Youth Parliaments. In Geneva, in 2022, for example, the idea was born of teaching children, from primary school, the basics of sign language, in order to be able to “all communicate together”. A mandatory citizenship education course at the national level is also under consideration.
