Arnaud Riou
It is partly at school that children learn to develop their relationships with others and learn about humanity. It is also at school that they will discover the social landscape and their vision of the world. Children will fit in, feel inspired or excluded, more or less creative depending on the level of self-confidence and self-esteem they have developed.
My experience reminds me every day of the extent to which self-esteem, self-confidence, vision and optimism are the foundations of a rich and magnetic personality.
A child who believes in himself, who trusts himself, who looks at himself and the world in a positive and benevolent way will succeed in creating, even if he has weaknesses in certain school subjects. He will certainly succeed more easily than a child who has absorbed knowledge without learning to love himself.
Every child has genius. It’s not a question of filling them with knowledge like a vase, but of revealing a talent that is already within them.
All too often, traditional forms of education are based on competition, comparison and averages. While some children shine in this respect, more and more of them feel unhappy in these old paradigms.
L’École de l’Optimisme integrates this fundamental vision into its educational project: to enable children to build themselves on a foundation of benevolence, inner peace and optimism, and to draw from within themselves the resources for creation, innovation and perseverance. That’s why I feel so strongly about supporting her, and why I encourage you to take an interest in her programme.
The world is changing. We are experiencing a veritable societal metamorphosis. All our systems are affected and are preparing to be reborn: the ecology, the economy, education, culture and spirituality. We can no longer teach our children to maintain our old, moribund system.
We need to relearn how to build bridges between all areas of humanity. Now more than ever, we need to relearn how to create links, reinvent and reenchant the world. It’s time for poetry, optimism, creativity and love to regain their rightful place among the younger generations. And we can each do our bit to build a society based on love and awareness. That’s why I’m supporting the School of Optimism.
Our inspirateurs
Every day, men and women build the path of their lives. Some have the opportunity to design a path that we can all decide to take. These inspirers are guides, forerunners and initiators of change.
Bertrand Piccard
To deepen his understanding of the “inner world”, Bertrand Piccard studied medicine, specialising in adult and child psychiatry and psychotherapy. A “savanturier”, he knows how to translate the intensity of his experiences to pass on the lessons he has learned from them. “The greatest suffering is the lack of confidence in the inner resources we can develop to cope with life”.
Maria Montessori
A medical doctor and psychiatrist, Maria Montessori was a pioneer in the observation and understanding of children. One of the first pedagogues to devise a science of education, she developed her teaching methods throughout her life, evolving in line with her training, travels, encounters and, above all, her observations of children.
Martin Selligman
Founder of positive psychology in 1998, Martin Seligman talks about psychology as a field of study, but also about his different and unique approach to each patient and each practitioner. Going beyond the question of pathologies, he looks at what modern psychology can contribute to everyone’s personal development.
Isabelle Peloux
Isabelle Peloux is a school teacher and founder of the Colibri primary schools in Les Amanins, and a researcher in education and cooperation. She provides children and adults with practical tools to help them learn to live in peace with themselves, with others and with their environment.
