The bell rings. “Is it the half hour?” », asks a student. “No, the two hours are over!” », replies his teacher. The situation says a lot about the first results observed in La Source de Mouthe college, after nine weeks of operation in level groups. The series of measures called Shock of Knowledge which, however, was far from unanimous when it was announced.
“The families were worried,” recalls Nathalie Albert-Moretti, the rector. “They feared that the arrival point would not be the same for the different groups. Obviously, it would be a total catastrophe, because it would no longer be the school of the Republic. » “A mother told me: 'If my daughter is in this group, she is afraid of not doing enough'”, illustrates Aurélie Allaire, mathematics teacher at Mouthe, who admits to having been one of the skeptics. “But no, that’s not the idea at all, we do exactly the same thing from one group to another and the program is treated in the same way. It's just that we adapt to each person's pace and have different strategies. With 12 students, we don’t do the same work as with 28.”
“There is no longer the reluctance to be judged by others”
Listening to the teachers, the benefits are staggering. “Now, I have students who dare to speak, to say that they cannot do it, whereas if they were in a class of 30, I would not see them,” wonders Virginie Morel, maths teacher. “They barely raise their hands, but at least they do!” “There is no longer the reluctance to be judged by others,” adds Eric Laplaza, principal of the college. “They want to come, invest and progress,” summarizes Virginie Morel. Especially since, to avoid any stigmatization, the groups bear the names of writers or scientists.
In French, teachers have implemented a system of belts, like in judo, to help students progress. Again, it works. “There are some who have not developed their role as readers. When, after seven weeks, they are proud to say with stars in their eyes that they have finally read an entire book, when they ask to do the literary garden, the reading circle or present their story, I think we have won something,” rejoices Anne-Sophie Karika, French teacher.
“Model students in groups become disruptive in class”
“Above all, this educational approach is permitted because we had the means and thanks to the exceptional organizational work of Stéphanie Coulon (the deputy principal, Editor’s note),” insists Alhia Mareschal, French teacher, with the approval of her colleagues. . “As long as the framework is ultra-propitious, we too have only one desire, which is to take advantage of it and exploit it. »
But the proof of the success of this measure is its limit. “In the other classes, they get lost again,” regrets Alhia Mareschal. “Model students in groups become disruptive in class. » Unfortunately, teachers of other subjects were not allowed to attend level groups. If the school climate has clearly calmed down in middle school, the improvements observed in French and maths do not trickle down to history-geography or SVT.
Faced with this new challenge, the rector wants to remain optimistic: “I hope that by building confidence little by little, they will better manage this time in class. That's the goal. »
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