These All Saints’ Day holidays which are starting, they were waiting for them as a release. The 4,500 new contract teachers hired for the start of the school year, due to the lack of tenured teachers, have experienced marathon days since September. “I’m exhausted, I’m going to take a big break during these holidays and I’ll only work three days before going back to school”, confides to 20 minutes Benjamin, contract teacher in primary school in Seine-Saint-Denis.
A state of fatigue which reflects the enormous challenge he had to face: “I was assigned to three schools, to a class of CM1 and to two classes of CP-CE1, because I complete the service of teachers who are part-time,” he explains.
“Some were thrown without a net in the classroom”
For newcomers like him, the Ministry of Education had promised four days of training to introduce them to the BA-BA of the trade. “This training had the merit of existing, even if it was not sufficient. The majority of new contract workers followed it and also had access to modules on pedagogy via the Canopée platform,” says Dorothée Crespin, national delegate in charge of contract workers at SE-Unsa. But Guislaine David, secretary general of the SNUipp-FSU, has other feedback from the field: “The training did not take place everywhere and some were thrown without a net in the classroom”. Like Lyne, who responded to our call for witnesses: “I started with zero days of training and having to discover everything by myself”. Benjamin, he was entitled to a sprinkling: “I followed two days of training, including one dedicated to secularism and the other to practical aspects, such as the management of the call book. »
To be supported during their first steps, new contract workers should also benefit from the tutoring of an experienced teacher. “But there weren’t enough of them, especially because the teachers already have a fairly heavy workload,” observes Guislaine David. Claire, a contract teacher in a vocational school, was one of the lucky ones: “I have a tutor, that is to say someone I can ask questions to without feeling excessively guilty. Benjamin did not have this privilege. “As a result, I learned a lot by surfing on teacher forums and asking questions in the teachers’ room. Some colleagues have helped me, others have not, because they see contract workers as a form of job insecurity. »
Thumbs up which are more frequent in the first degree, according to Dorothée Crespin: “Because a contract worker will often meet his colleagues, whereas in college and high school, they do not necessarily have the same schedules and are less likely to exchange . »
“Personal work until 1 a.m.”
To be ready to start a lesson in front of their students, the new teachers had to spend many hours preparing their sequences. According to one note from Depp out this week, half of teachers say they work more than 43 hours a week. But according to Guislaine David, “for beginners, it’s a lot more because they start from scratch. This is the case for Claire: “I teach subjects that I don’t master and whose content I discover as I go along, slightly ahead of my students. Despite working on my own until 1 a.m. every night in September, I still haven’t caught up or gotten ahead.” Lyne also had a very steady work pace: “Sometimes I collapse from fatigue at 8:30 p.m., so I get up at 2 a.m. to work until 6 a.m. and then start my school day. »
Benjamin, who has three different classes, must therefore prepare three different sequences each week. “I spend at least two hours there every day. Not to mention the coordination work that I have to do with the teachers I replace on certain days of the week,” he explains.
“I am lobotomized, but I really like this job”
Faced with these difficulties, some are doing better than others: “This is the case of former AED (educational assistant), candidates who have taken a teaching competition and have not passed it or people who previously worked in animation”, observes Guislaine David. And after two months of effort, some contractors do not regret their choice, like Lyne: “I’ve been brainwashed, but I really like this job,” she quips. Same enthusiasm for Benjamin: “Working with children is really exciting. Previously, I worked in finance and I wanted to give more meaning to my professional life. It’s been successful,” he said. Claire also has the impression of finding her bearings little by little. “I have faith anchored in my body, and the encouragement I receive helps me to hold on and to tell myself that I am perfectly in my place in teaching. »
The break period could be decisive for some: “Those who come back after the All Saints holidays will stay until the end of the year,” says Dorothée Crespin. “Some contractors resigned in the first weeks because they were completely lost. And the trial period of others, who were not at all in their place, was not validated, ”adds Guislaine David. Asked about the number of resignations, the Ministry of Education did not communicate on the subject.