France had 16,018 confirmed cases as of 11:00 A.m. In Paris, ranking fourth in Europe. The writer is the mother of a young mixed-race baby and lives in Paris with her husband. A week ago, all schools in France were closed. It was this time of studying at home with my daughter that made the author more deeply understand the true meaning of French education: knowledge is important, but it is more important to build a child's underlying core ability.

At present, the novel coronavirus outbreak has spread to Europe. As of the evening of 19th local time, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in France has exceeded 10,000, the whole country has been placed under martial law, and the borders of the EU have also been closed.

In fact, the virus has been spreading in France since the end of February, but the liberal French have not taken it seriously enough.

It was not until the evening of Thursday, March 12, that President Emmanuel Macron announced that all French nurseries, kindergartens, schools and colleges would be closed from Monday, March 16, until further notice.

So, in contrast to the situation in China, almost all schools in France had only Friday to respond and were caught off guard. Many schools did not even have a distance learning program.

In this way, the French version of "School without suspension" burst into life with a sudden gesture. Meanwhile, kids lost their best ways to learn French. 

I never thought I would experience such a moment in France. However, after the initial panic, after this period of time with my children, I found the true meaning of "suspension of school" :

Knowledge is important, but building a child's underlying core competencies is even more important. I would like to share these experiences and feelings with you. I hope to share them with you.

Although the French government is belatedly aware of the situation, Chinese people in France have long been wary of the epidemic.

In the first week of March, when the total number of confirmed cases in France was only over 200, many Chinese mothers around me in Paris were already worried about the risk of their children being infected at school.

Many Chinese parents who experienced the peak of the epidemic in China were like me when they returned home for the Spring Festival but stayed at home. So several Chinese mothers around me have asked for leave from school to keep their children out of school.

At the time, some parents complained angrily that teachers had repeatedly called parents to ask why their children were absent and to return to school immediately. Some strict schools have sent emails to parents saying that by law they can be fined 750 euros for failing to educate their children.

One Of my Chinese mothers who spoke Good French even wrote a letter to the principal to explain that the school should be closed as soon as possible based on her knowledge of the epidemic in China.

But the principal read her letter, directly advised her not to panic, compared the outbreak with the annual French flu infection figures, and comforted her in return:

"Kids with the flu can still come to school. This virus is similar to the flu. There's no need to worry." (At least two million people get the flu in France each year, and there were about 9,900 deaths last year.)

The Chinese mother fumed when she failed to persuade the headmaster and then tried to close the school together with the parents' council.

In French schools, the parent committee has great power. They can collect all kinds of parents' opinions and reflect them to the school. Sometimes, some reasonable requirements can even change the teaching methods of the school.

But this time my friend's request was clearly outnumbered. The parents' committee at her child's school is dominated by French mothers, and if a few express a little concern, the rest are surprisingly consistent:

"If schools are closed, who will look after the children? We all have to work! It's just flu-like symptoms. There's no need to panic."

I also asked my daughter's teacher, worried, if the school had started any special measures in response to the pandemic. The teacher told me easily, "Don't let us know what we should pay special attention to. The kids have a good habit of washing their hands, and we haven't changed anything."