Contents
The reform of school rhythms is struggling to take hold
Problems of organization in nursery school, children tired by alternating school and extracurricular time, teachers “dispossessed” of part of their missions … new school rhythms are finding it difficult to settle in schools.
School reform: the grumbling of teachers
Teachers voice their concerns loud and clear faced with an organization that they find “catastrophic”. In Paris, in order to lighten school days, children finish Tuesday and Friday at 15 p.m. They participate in free extracurricular activities until 16 p.m. and, in return, have lessons on Wednesday mornings. According to SNUipp “ children in small kindergarten would be by far the most disturbed “. The main concern is the organization of rest time. Kindergarten nap time is generally scheduled between 13:30 p.m. and 16 p.m. With the new extracurricular activities starting at 15 p.m., this time is therefore reduced. Another major problem, according to the union: extracurricular activities take place in the classes, which does not please the teachers. They worry about seeing their mission with the children become common to that of the animator who arrives in the same place.
Teachers also complain about hygiene and the mess when they pick up their class the next morning. There would be fewer staff to clean the classrooms and the cleanliness would be poor.
Finally, the SNUipp points to a concern in terms of security. No one would know exactly how many kids are staying in daily activities, parents are checking them in or taking them out at the last moment. As the lists are not up to date, there is a risk of letting a child go by mistake.
School reform: the FCPE more nuanced
For its part, the Federation of parents of pupils remains on its reserve. She first of all recalls that ” at each start of the school year, the teachers know it, the children are very tired. Little ones starting kindergarten, first grade, all children need time to find their rhythm. At the same time, the Federation launched a large national survey of parents to get their feelings about this new school year and the new rhythms. The results will be known at the end of November. Regarding the concerns of teachers, the FCPE thinks “that we should not be alarmed and maintain a climate of anxiety. Everyone is stressed and this is not good. “The Federation explains that on the side of the educational team,” a complementarity between school time with the teacher and extracurricular time with the facilitator must be found. There must be a sharing of class and material in the best conditions so that the child feels good and everyone can apply the reform as best as possible ”.
School reform: the government remains on its line
On October 2, in the Council of Ministers, a progress meeting on the start of the school year and school rhythms was organized, three weeks after the start of the school year. The President of the Republic, François Hollande “reaffirmed the merits of this reform entirely dedicated to the success of children and their well-being”. The Minister of National Education, Vincent Peillon, meanwhile, defended the success of his “undisputed good reform”. He nevertheless admitted that some efforts were necessary, in particular in the recruitment of animators and in the supervision of the children.