France, discipline and authority in high schools: "At first I was amazed"

ParisAlba Arjona is 30 years old, she is from l'Ametlla de Mar and she has been a primary school teacher in a public school in Roda de Ter (Osona) since this school year, but until last year she was a Spanish teacher in a college (the equivalent of a public secondary school) in Paris, the city where she settled immediately after finishing her university studies. "I was so keen to start working as a teacher in Catalonia or abroad, but I had the feeling that if I started in Catalonia I would stay there forever. I wanted to see the world," she recalls.

She packed her bags and headed to Paris, where she began substituting at a Spanish school, then moved on to a private primary school, and finally settled as a teacher at a college public school in the 17th district, where he earned 3,000 euros gross for 25 hours a week. "I lived much better than I'll ever be able to in Catalonia," he says.

"What surprised me most is that in France, academic results are what matters: they strive for individualism and competitiveness," she explains. According to Alba, in the Catalan education system, "emotions are worked on more, other things are taken into account more." In France, starting in secondary school, students not only have weekly assessments, but also have access to the average grade for each assessment, for each subject, and their own overall and subject-specific average. "That's unthinkable in Catalonia. When I saw it in Paris, I was quite outraged," she says.

Deep-rooted discipline

Another thing that surprised Alba the most was the discipline in French classrooms. "They have a deep-rooted discipline. The difference is abysmal," she says. In France, students (and parents) must address teachers by their last name, address them formally, and get up from their chairs when the teacher enters the classroom. Teachers are generally more authoritarian and punish students who have broken the rules (talking in class, not doing their homework, fighting, etc.), as well as staying at school an hour after school, making phone calls, etc. school ivy. "In Catalonia, respect has been lost and families question your work at all times," she says. "It's reached a point where, by not having problems, you let many things slide."

However, Alba warns that in France, the figure of the teacher is also becoming more fragile. In fact, there is a whole social debate about how the authority of teachers is increasingly questioned and, although there are no official figures, the feeling among the French is that violence against teachers has skyrocketed in recent years, especially in neighborhoods with greater social tension, such as in suburb from Paris.

Mallorcan Spanish teacher

Janna Garí, a Mallorcan graduate in translation and interpreting, has been living in Paris for six years. She moved to France to improve her French, and upon arrival, she completed a master's degree to become a teacher and passed the secondary school exams. In France, studying teaching is not mandatory to teach preschool and primary school, nor is it mandatory to obtain a master's degree to become a secondary school teacher, although she decided to pursue it.

She is now a Spanish teacher at a college Public school in Bagnolet, a town on the outskirts of the French capital, where he earns around €3,000 net for teaching approximately 21 hours a week. "In France, you get paid more, but the working conditions are worse. The system is capitalist, and you can work a lot of very well-paid overtime: the more hours you work, the more you get paid," he says.

When Janna first started teaching, she was also shocked that students would get up from their chairs when she entered the classroom and that teachers would force the boys and girls to stay an extra hour at school as punishment. "At first, I was amazed," she confesses. college It is located in the suburb from Paris and recognizes that sometimes "there are discipline problems and it takes a lot of energy to manage it," but assures that he never punishes students with school ivy. "It doesn't give me anything. Authority is established in the classroom," she says.

One of the biggest differences between schools in Catalonia and France is the holidays: in France, students have two weeks of vacation every six or seven weeks throughout the school year. In summer, the break is shorter, about eight weeks. Alba and Janna agree that it's one of the most positive aspects of the French system. "It's very necessary to take a break every six or seven weeks, because the pace is so intense that if it weren't like that, it would be difficult to keep up, for both teachers and students," Janna assures.

Two teachers from Girona, observers in Paris

In primary school, the situation is generally quite similar to that in secondary school. All the country's schools follow the same curriculum—with no room for innovative pedagogical projects—and discipline is one of the cornerstones of the schools' operations. Dolors Turbau and Isabel Bravo are teachers at the Pericot public school in Girona. They spent a week in France at the end of March thanks to an Erasmus+ program for teachers. The stay allowed them to observe preschool and primary school classes at a public school in Paris, the Louis de Funès Comprehensive School, located in the eighth arrondissement. They rate the experience very positively. "We are very happy; they treated us very well and everyone has been very kind to us," they say.

What surprised them most was that in France, far from carrying out projects like they do at their school, they dedicate many hours to spelling, grammar, and reading exercises. "We do a more globalized work," explains Dolors, a specialist English teacher. Isabel confirms this: "In France, they teach many hours of language and math. We also teach both subjects, but in a much more cross-curricular way."

They were also surprised that they don't work with tablets or computer equipment and that there are practically no specialists, neither for English, math, nor language. The tutor teaches all the subjects, except for music, art, and physical education. "The students are with the tutor almost all day," explains Dolors.

What they liked most about the Paris school—located in a high-income neighborhood—is the good atmosphere in the classrooms. "The teachers maintain a very good atmosphere, and when the children want to speak, they have to raise their hands. We've always seen the teachers and children very calm, and this working environment is very positive," says Isabel. "It's more difficult for us," admits Dolors.