The dropouts, “those who leave the school benches much too early”, Rachid Zerrouki, alias “Rachid the teacher” on Twitter, name them Dropouts*. In his book, which appears this Thursday, he draws up a gallery of portraits of young people who have broken with the school system. A way of demonstrating that dropping out of school is multifactorial.
Rachid Zerrouki, middle school teacher in Segpa (Adapted general and professional education section, intended for students in difficulty), also describes the stigmatization suffered by these 80,000 young dropouts. For 20 minuteshe explains how society’s view of them could change and suggests measures to better support them.
You prefer the term “dropouts” to the word “dropouts”. Is it to emphasize that these young people suffer from their school failure?
Yes, because by dint of talking with young people who have left school, I noticed that they were suffering from a situation that they had not wanted. The idea is not to absolve them of all responsibility in this break with National Education, but to show the facts of life that led them to leave the institution. It can be school bullying, school phobia, a family drama… Very often, they didn’t choose to leave school, they were forced to.
Your book clearly shows that it is the accumulation of academic, social and personal difficulties that leads to dropping out… Which is not always mentioned when we talk about “dropouts”. Have they been caricatured too often?
Absolutely. We are often painted the portrait of a youth who no longer wants to make an effort. It is a cliché that does not take into account the complexity of the phenomenon.
You describe the process that leads to dropping out: blank papers, words in the notebook, alarming reports, absences, behavioral problems, disciplinary advice… How do you explain that with all these alerts, the school system fails to help young people before it is too late?
If a pupil does not show up at his establishment for several days in a row and does not justify his absences, the school dropout detection cell of his rectorate is alerted. But in most cases, the pupil has pearly absences, which makes his progressive estrangement less detectable. We should also hire more school psychologists, so that dropout prevention is more effective.
Do overcrowded classes in secondary school make it impossible to individualize teaching and take into account these students in great difficulty?
The huge numbers in secondary education are indeed an obstacle to the fight against dropping out. I defend the idea of empathy in education. However, it is made almost impossible in classes of 30 to 35 students. This does not allow teachers to provide quality support for the students most in difficulty.
“Restore confidence is the heart of my job”, you write. But how do you manage this with your Segpa students to prevent them from giving up on their studies?
They’ve had a lot of failures, and I’m struggling with the helplessness that comes with it. But for that, we must not ask the impossible of these students. You have to start by giving them simple exercises, to put them in a situation of success. And then go further with them, find projects that excite them. This is the best way to boost their self-confidence.
Some of your testimonies show that the parents of dropouts are often made to feel guilty. They are accused of having been too lax. How do they live this double pain?
To think that parents are fully responsible for what their child experiences is too simplistic. Like the mother of Yassine, a child who suffers from predominantly hyperactive-impulsive attention deficit disorder (ADHD). She comes under fire from a teacher as she struggles to find solutions for her son. Most of the parents of pupils who are out of touch with the school experience this situation in their flesh. National Education needs to support them a lot more.
The portraits you paint show what has become of some dropouts. Are they condemned to precarious and badly paid jobs?
No, but statistically, they leave with a handicap in the world of work. Xavier Niel is a self-taught entrepreneur with a flourishing career, but that’s a rare case. Hence the importance of being able to train and qualify those who have left school, even several years later.
“The image we have of being a teenager is persistent”, you write. Do those who left school early necessarily have a bad opinion of themselves?
The judgments we had of ourselves during adolescence necessarily have an impact on adulthood. The hurtful words of teachers, who have not always weighed their words, leave traces years later.
Several plans to fight against dropping out have been implemented by previous Ministers of Education. Did they bear fruit?
Efforts have been made because we have gone from 107,000 dropouts in 2015 to 80,000 today. In particular because we have facilitated access to the DNB (National Patent Diploma), which since 2017 has been based on the evaluation of the common base and on five tests.
Should remedial measures be developed, such as second-chance schools?
Yes, as well as the micro-colleges or high schools which help to re-establish the link between the student and the school. But France lacks the means for this. We could also assign teachers dedicated to remediation in colleges and high schools. Because the ambition of leaving no student behind is not unrealistic, but within our reach.