He is holding, resting on his forearm, a dead snake. “Its head is almond-shaped, its tail is very thin and pointed at the end, it is a grass snake,” declares, with an expert tone, Nolan (who did not wish to give his name). The 14-year-old intends to bring his trophy back to the finish point, a little further down, in the village of Aumessas (Gard) and impress his parents. With sneakers on his feet and a cap screwed on his head, he took part in a disconnection stay organized at the beginning of June by the Gaston-Doumergue establishment, his college, located in Sommières (Gard). Objective of the mission: walk four days in the Cévennes to relearn how to live without a connected device in your pockets.
In the last hours of this digital break, the pace of the ten walkers (two abandoned along the way due to health problems), schooled in 5e or in 4e, did not weaken despite the 10 kilometers covered per day on average. Under the southern sun, their strides follow the pace of Pacotille, Maestro and Aïssou, the three donkeys who accompany them on this funny adventure and who guide them through the Cevennes terrain.
Inspired by Stevenson, who went walking with the help of a horse in the Cévennes to forget a heartbreak, this initiative, called Ados d’âne, aims to keep young people away “from their cell phone”, explains the organizer, Wadi Benjou. This technology teacher and digital referent at the college imagined this hike in the hope of raising awareness. “For them, it’s an immersion in nature. They did everything: managed the animals, set up their tents, prepared meals. Their social network was donkeys! This reconnection to reality could help them to organize themselves better and allow themselves screen-free time. We’ll work on that when we get back. »
“Times of contemplation”
On January 16, the head of state declared that he wanted “determine the proper use of screens for our children, at home and in class”, and then instructed a committee of experts to take up the subject. But how to do it ? Nothing has yet been concretely announced, but the Gaston-Doumergue college, very involved in media education notably through its web radio, has decided not to wait. “We identified young people with a hyperconnected profile and asked parents to find out if there were problems at home, if their child’s attitude had changed. From there, we imagined this course with volunteer students,” the professor continues. A first in the Montpellier academy. “We are not anti-screens, he specifies. But, when it has effects on students’ ability to concentrate and learn and on their relationships with others, it becomes a problem that concerns us all. »
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