Building the Future: the Children

In the post-war years, children became a priority for reconstruction. The future of the nation was at stake. The nation’s depleted ranks had to be reconstituted. Some saw even further and believed that a complete renewal of the educational system was necessary to guarantee peace.
In Lille and in the Nord, great effort was placed on developing physical education with the aim to rebuilding the nation.
The Dannes-Camiers summer camp in the Pas-de-Calais welcomed hundreds of children in the British Army’s former barracks on the coast. They were supervised by sports instructors from the American Army: on the agenda, medical visits, outdoor activities, overfeeding, singing, cinema, etc. The prototype for a new educational system.
In Lille, a municipal physical education department was created with a physical education director. Physical education was teamed with new educational methods in the open-air schools. In Roubaix, the open-air school was established in 1921 in Hauts Champs, an elevated and spacious area. Classes took place outdoors: physical activity, hygiene, singing, cinema, learning-by-doing, gardening for the boys, and household activities for the girls.