Thanks for all your kind words. The girls survived collège - both ended up with très bien in their brêvet AND they now have a wonderful french teacher at Lycée who can't sign their praises enough and they regularly get top marks in class, even above the french students! Thank goodness the previous teacher did not kill their love for the subject completely and major thanks to Nathalie who coached them at the end of the year and helped them believe in themselves.
Hmm, sounds like my next door neighbor is the “prof”. Her reputation stretches far and wide. Parents took it for granted that a tutor would be needed for all kids in her classes.
The system did not permit an analysis of her behavior even though she habitually locked whole groups outside, missed many classes per week and worse in terms of insulting, verbal and physical abuse.
Eventually with retirement on horizon the principal just did not give her any work and she left the school. French scores on brevet have shot up with young properly trained teachers in place.
You could do the investigation yourself by contacting other parents.
Good luck and get a tutor a sap.
Julie,
I can totally sympathise with you. I would do as others have said. Contact the parent association to see what kind of input they can provide and then the director of the school. The problem is the school directors in France have no authority over how the teachers conduct their classes, only over the administrative aspects. However, if there are enough parents who say something it could have an impact but like another poster said...they probably have a dossier "this" thick. Still, I think to show your children that you are looking out for them i would make an appt to express your concerns. You don't say where you are..in a city, countryside, small town..not that it matters but sometimes it could with regard to attitude.
We hear from everyone about a teacher at a collège who sounds completely off their head, ranting at everyone, terrorising particular victims, giving the entire class a zero mark. Been there for years. Everyone complains, the directeur has a dossier "this" thick (about 50cm on average estimate). Mass petitions from all the parents. Children actually get doctors certificates to be excused. Complaint laid to the police (who suggested someone provokes the teacher sufficiently to get a child hit with a proper bruise!)
But the directeur can't get rid, even though it's a privée it's up to regional HQ and for whatever reason they won't. Partial explanation is I imagine that regional HQ is far enough away that their own children aren't affected, but if the teacher gets moved they might finish up in their town. (Mind you I remember reading that only about 20 teachers a year in UK are sacked)
The directeur has now arranged this teacher's timetable so they do earlies and lates with nothing inbetween, without luck so far.
Maybe some of the stories are ovedone, but I've heard them from my FLE teacher, from students past and present, people I trust. My plan, if god forbid we encounter this monster, is to fit child with a spycam and then youtube.
Forgive the strangled language, it's to avoid identifying anyone.
I do hope you can sort it out for the sake of your two girls. The more I hear about the French education system, and there are so many stories around about intolerant teachers, bullies, and a system that seems to want to produce more civil servants than independent thinkers, the more relieved I am that we moved here once our children had grown up and didn't have to put them through it.
Go to the parent teachers association. In most cases it is called FCPE or something. This is what I have done. I have raisied 6 kids in this system. If there are enough complaintes the school may do something. Or not.
Hiya Julie,
That sounds horrible! My children are all under 8 but i know how frustrating the French school system can be, there was even a recent Tv documentary on how French school children are the most stressed out in Europe. Have you tried talking directly to the director about this situation? from experience i can tell you this seems the only way to get things done by going straight to the top to voice your concerns and if you don't get satisfaction then go further up and do consider changing schools if that doesn't work because this is your children's well being at stake here not just exam marks because they can always be gained later but if they start to lose confidence in themselves at this tender age then It's a whole lot more than feeling a bit under the weather! My sister in law is having trouble with a teacher too, her child is only 8 and very recently became absolutely terrified of his teacher, something very dodgy is going on there and they are not going to let it go The director of the school is a neighbour so they are going to get to the bottom of it. Good luck to you , don't be afraid to rock the boat and go to top and demand to know why the class is getting low marks , you can threaten to take things higher and often that's the only way to get a result; Have you spoken to the adjoint Délégué à l'éducation et à la jeunesse at La Mairie? I found that this is an effective way of dealing with school directors they have to do what le adjoint says.