In a move to enhance the status of the teaching profession, French education unions undertook a one-day strike this week to shed light on the important role education plays in building strong values.
Unions issue a strong message for quality public education
French teachers’ unions affiliated with the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU) reiterated calls for the values of secularism, togetherness and freedom following the January attacks in Paris to be conveyed strongly and more effectively in classrooms. “Much has been said, but little has been done in practice,” said Frédérique Rolet, co-general secretary of the SNES-FSU. Educators pushed their message during a one-day teachers’ strike on 3 February.
Rolet noted with regret that there few steps have been taken to boost the status of teachers, to enlarge the roadmap for priority education, or of an assessment of secondary school reform. She also noted that the school year began without the means to cover growing classroom sizes, and as a result personnel management was still focused on increasing the workload.
Providing teachers the means to ensure student success
The SNUipp-FSU also wants to see real measures to improve the working conditions, pay and training of teachers, all vehicles for improving students’ success.
“Teacher training - both initial and further training - is a core issue for a school and ensuring the success of every pupil” said Sébastien Sihr, General Secretary of the SNUipp-FSU. “It must be developed – urgently!”
The way to achieve this, say the trade unions, is to increase wages to recognise the value of the profession; improve working conditions to improve the learning conditions for students, notably by making primary schools a priority, taking concrete measures to improve the daily exercise of the profession in the classroom and urgently giving renewed stimulus to teacher training.