You must wonder why kids and families put up with bad schools. In this country at least, too many young learners and their closest kin just keep showing up to sucky schools. Sure, some families vote with their feet and head to the suburbs or private school, but most kids who are trapped in really bad schools just stay in those really bad schools.
But not in France.
Hundreds of French high schools have been barricaded by teenagers this week and forced to close, while hundreds of people have been injured amid clashes with police in the biggest youth protest movement in decades over the state of the French public school system.
According to Angelique Chrisafis, a reporter for The Guardian,
“School students say the education system is riven with inequality, that many buildings are in disrepair, class sizes are too big, and there are not enough teachers or funding. The French prime minister has promised to address what he called ‘legitimate’ complaints, including on class sizes, long hours, dilapidated buildings and teacher provisions.”
So just how bad are the French high schools?
According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), French children born and schooled in a deprived neighborhood have less chance of escaping their socioeconomic background than in most other developed nations.
“Eric Charbonnier, a French education analyst at the OECD, said there was a marked gap between the performance of the most advantaged and disadvantaged school students in France. ‘And often disadvantaged students are in disadvantaged schools,’ he said. This has raised issues of the quality of learning being delivered and higher absenteeism of teachers.”
“Teachers’ unions and sociologists have said children in France are often segregated by their background, postcode and income, with a direct impact on education outcomes.”
Some French high school buildings are dilapidated, as evidenced by videos filmed by students and teachers showing leaks, scurrying rats, holes in walls and ceilings, broken toilets and not enough chairs or tables. Many French schools experienced temperatures over 95 degrees during last May and June’s heatwaves.
Class size is bigger in France than other comparable countries. Whereas the OECD average is 26 around the world, France averages 29. Teachers and students in Paris and its suburbs described many high school classrooms filled with 36 students or more.
French students receive approximately 10% less instructional time compared to other OECD nations. This is mainly because of teacher shortages and absenteeism. There are estimates that at least one teacher was lacking in more than half of all public middle schools and high schools at the start of the September school year. More teachers are reported absent in low-income neighborhoods.
One would think that France is not spending enough money on their public school system, but that’s not the case. In fact, France actually spends more than many other countries on their high schools (France’s expenditure on high schools is 28% higher than the OECD average). But analysts continue to question how the French government spends its money and for what outcomes.
The sad fact here is that much of what has been reported this week about the French public school system being substandard and low-performing has also been reported in this country.
Our low-performing campuses aren’t any better than those in France. The only difference is that, up to this point, American students haven’t taken to the streets in protest about the pathetic conditions offered them as young learners.
The point here is that in the United States, like France, we are operating under a learning model that is not working for enough young learners – and it’s costing us more money than it should.
French students have decided to literally “vote with their feet” and leave their current school system behind.
Will America’s students follow their lead?
ABPTL will return on Tuesday, October 13th. Til then. SVB
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