Teachers from the Gérard-Philipe college in Bagnols mobilized against the “shock of knowledge” reform, “it’s social discrimination”

Les enseignants bagnolais ne sont rassemblés dès 8 h devant le collège avec des pancartes à la main. Midi Libre – C.L.

Teachers from Bagnolais gathered this Thursday, April 25 at 8 a.m. in front of the Gérard-Philipe establishment. They demand the withdrawal of the "shock of knowledge" which will be introduced at the start of the next school year.

Around fifteen teachers from the Gérard Philippe college in Bagnols-sur-Cèze gathered at dawn this Thursday, April 25, in front of the establishment for a college action death. This operation was launched by the trade union organizations: FSU, FO, SUD and CGT. Teachers protest against reform "the clash of knowledge" wanted by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal for the next school year. In this reform project, it is indicated that mathematics and French courses will be organized in level groups throughout college. The 6th and 5th grade classes will be affected next September. For 4th and 3rd, you will have to wait until the 2025 school year. Concretely, there will be three level groups for two classes, including a group "weaker" with only 15 students.

A reform which calls into question "pedagogical freedom"

"It’is social discrimination !, annoys a French teacher. Psychologically it's very bad for kids. How will a sixth grader react when we tell him that he is in the lowest level group?? Entry into middle school is already an upheaval, but here we will lose them all in one week." For the staff of the Bagnolais college, this reform also calls into question "a  pedagogical freedom with obligation to progress and common assessments". "They will never have the same level at the end of college. How to pass a patent that suits everyone? This is unthinkable! We are initially against it ideologically then from a practical point of view, we don't see how to get everyone moving forward at the same level."

Only ten students in class at 8am

This system also puts an end to project classes for teachers of French and mathematics. "It will also be impossible to be the main teacher of a class in suitable conditions given that we will never have the entire class< /em>, laments a mathematics teacher. The timetable constraints are going to be hellish." And the Bagnolais establishment will not be able to count on reinforcements in the teaching staff."As the college is well rated compared to the national average, we are one of the 12 establishments in Gard who will not have additional means to implement this reform", annoys the representative of the college's FO union.