- No computer at home, a flickering internet connection, difficulty understanding teachers' written instructions, or simply a lack of motivation. These are the reasons explaining that some students do not work or little since confinement.
- “Usually, in a class, it is those who make noise that annoy us. There, we are the ones we don't hear who worry us, ”summarizes Laurence, an English teacher in a vocational high school, who answered our call for witnesses.
- The teaching teams are struggling to limit the breakage by stimulating the students as they can.
Do students have the same weapons to follow school at home? Schools have been closed for two weeks to curb the coronavirus epidemic. And the concern of the teaching teams is mounting in the face of the risk of increasing educational inequalities during this period.
Because since the introduction of distance education, some students are absent subscribers. As Maya, an elementary teacher at Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis), who answered our call to witnesses, observed: "I only have news from 7 of 23 students". The situation is even worse for Sarah, who teaches in a difficult neighborhood near Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise): "Out of my 150 students, there are only about twenty who do homework". A radio silence in front of which Elodie, professor of letters in college, feels helpless: “At the present time, I have no news from a dozen students, most of whom are already dropouts. It's quite worrying because from a distance I can't do anything, ”she laments. “Usually, in a class, it is those who make noise that annoy us. There, it is those we do not hear who worry us, "sums up Laurence, English teacher in vocational high school.
"The majority of students do not have a computer and work with a smartphone"
So in an attempt to keep in touch with these students, the teachers are firing on all cylinders. Like Xavier, teacher of Segpa in ZEP: "I call each family, 3 to 5 times a day, to explain the requests and to motivate the young people". Ditto for Mélanie, teacher of schools in REP: “I managed to contact my 24 students, through different means. I even had to call the neighbor of one of my students! ", She explains.
If some children remain outside the radars, it is sometimes because they have no computer at home or no internet connection, as Emmanuel, CPE in a Ile-de-France college in REP + observes (Réseau d priority education reinforced): “If our minister speaks of 5% of students far from digital, this figure rises to more than 9% for our establishment, that is to say 50 students. And for those with Internet access, 34% do so from a smartphone, 11% use their parents' computer, which is often teleworked, and 21% share a computer with several brothers and sisters, who also have to take their lessons. from a distance ”. Same observation for Xavier: “The majority of students do not have a computer and work with a smartphone. And in some cases, there is only one smartphone for the whole family. ” It is also difficult to do homework without a printer, underlines Laurence: “The friends help each other a lot and take the photos of the documents and send them to others. And we, teachers, receive documents of all formats, especially the copy photos taken on the bed. Unable to correct ”.
"Impossible for them to send an email or use a word processor"
To try to overcome this difficulty, educational staff often go out of their way. “A distribution of tablets will be carried out. In the meantime, we are printing all the lessons and homework at the college to give them to the families through the grid, ”explains Emmanuel. This is also done by Monica, a school teacher in CM1: "I go to school once a week to give a paper file to these parents, therefore taking risks for my health". "After having identified the pupils who experience connection difficulties, I send them the lessons by mail", indicates for his part Mathilde, principal education advisor in vocational high school.
But the digital divide is not limited to the lack of computer equipment according to Tony, a Spanish teacher in college: “We believe these new generations hyperconnected and resourceful, but this is not the case! Young people know how to do everything on networks, but it is impossible for them to send an email or use a word processor… My return of copies comes down to poorly framed and blurred photos, ”he notes.
"Every day that passes also sees its share of students throwing in the towel"
Another concern: some students have difficulty understanding the expectations of teachers, as Valérie, a plastic arts teacher notes: “The instructions are not always understood, some need more explanations. So I have 30 emails a day with questions to readjust my expectations, ”she says. “I am inundated with messages proving their difficulties in understanding an exercise, as easy as it is. Every day that passes sees its share of students throwing in the towel, alone in front of this work which is impracticable in their eyes ", also testifies Laurence, English teacher in vocational high school, who has however created groups on social networks to streamline the exchanges. Faced with these communication difficulties, Christelle, CP teacher in REP, adapts: "I am careful not to write long emails, not to put too many attachments," she says.
Alone at home, students also find it harder to motivate themselves to work: “Out of a class of 30 students in vocational high school, only 14 students follow the virtual class and ten do their homework. However, the main teacher calls every week. They all have a tablet given by the region and all of the connection. So it's dropping out of school, ”says Christine.
"This confinement will further widen inequalities"
But the teachers' concern is even more acute when they think of pupils in difficulty before. "Yes, I'm afraid that some of my students will drop out ... Those who have serious academic difficulties, those who suffer from addiction to video games, those who need to be encouraged and stimulated all day long ...", says Maya, in elementary to Bagnolet. Same opinion with Sandrine, teacher in an elementary school in EPR: "This confinement will further widen the inequalities: parents who speak and read little French in our neighborhood will not be able to read CP or grammar at CE1" , she laments.
To limit the damage, the teachers are not stingy with initiatives. Anne, math teacher at the college, had already worked on educational continuity during the passage from Irma to Saint-Martin. This explains his multiple proposals: "I tried hard to create on a blog a guide day by day, so that my classes do not drop out, in order to offer files, videos, sites allowing relative autonomy in learning" , she describes. Same dynamism with Dan, math teacher in college: “I build lessons by including a lot of videos from a math teacher: Yvan Monka. I send them the correction of all the exercises and I ask them for almost no feedback. No heavy evaluations to post, just a little return from time to time to see if they follow ”. Christine is betting on videoconferencing: “I teach first Stmg. I do virtual classes on almost all of my regular lesson hours. ” Initiatives that students welcome and that may bring them closer to their teachers, once the confinement is complete.
Society
Coronavirus: Connection problems, too much homework, hard to motivate ... The difficult beginnings of school at home
Society
Coronavirus: Change in the rules of alternate custody, conflicts… The confinement puzzle for separated parents
- Containment
- Covid 19
- Coronavirus
- Students
- Education
- Teacher