we participated in “job dating” to become a contract teacher

Baccalaureate atmosphere before the hour at the Alfred-Kastler high school in Pontoise (Val-d’Oise). “Tuesday, May 31: recruitment day”, can we read on a poster taped to the grid. Colored pockets under the arm, dozens of candidates follow one another in the corridors of the establishment, not to obtain a diploma, but to become, without passing a competition, a school teacher, a high school teacher or even a school nurse. A large-scale selection organized by the Versailles Academy, which needs around 1,300 contract workers for the start of the 2022 school year.

To take part in this speed dating professional, you had to get up early. Slots offered online by the Academy of Versailles “were booked very quickly” repeats an employee to the candidates massed in front of the reception stand. Disappointed people can still talk to teachers and make an appointment. For those registered, the rest takes place in the hall of the school, where the candidates wait before being received for an interview of about half an hour. Faces are strained, and many sighs of relief are heard when the candidates – mostly women – leave the rooms set up for the occasion.

During her break time, Laureline, educational advisor, agrees to give us a fictitious interview, for a position in CM1 or CM2. The CV and cover letter are mandatory and, on the diploma side, the threshold is set at bac+3 level. “We will check your background and your criminal record in a second step”, she assures. A series of increasingly precise questions ensues. “Why come today? What interests you in primary school?”, she asks calmly. Design of the school, the workload, the discipline: the themes follow one another. “How would you deal with a student who is not paying attention, or disrupting the class?asks the adviser. Can a child be punished? If yes, how ?”. Before concluding, energetically, on the two essential missions of the school teacher: “Teaching, of course, but above all ensuring the physical and emotional safety of the student”.

“We come looking for a state of mind and a way of representing things that correspond to the role of the teachershe explains, once the interview is over. If someone tells us that a disruptor must be immediately excluded, we will question him about it. We aim for benevolent postures because at the end, there is the student anyway.” These interviews, Laureline describes them as a “first sort”. “I check the profiles but also the expectations of the candidates, she explains, some are in retraining and have very particular ideas of teaching.”

In the event of a favorable opinion from the jury and then from a commission, the Academy of Versailles promises rapid responses and hiring before July. “Candidates will be trained on levels, programs, class management, assures Laureline, back in front of her interview room, but we must first check that they are well formed.” There remains the question of salary, “who doesn’t come back that much” the pedagogical adviser is almost surprised. The salaries of contract workers are set by a grid which takes into account their level of diploma, and which starts at around 2,000 euros gross for a full-time job in the Versailles Academy. They have to wait six years of collaboration to claim tenure.

In the corridors of the school, the crossover continues. Marie-Caroline, 46, blows a big blow after concluding her interview. “I had been able to prepare a lot of things, so I think it went well”believes the one who works as a companion students with disabilities (AESH) for six years. “I’ve always had the fiber of teaching, so I told myself that I had my chances, she explains, with a determined smile. There is a wall between the professions that I intend to cross.”

Three months before the start of the school year, Marie-Caroline still has the impression of coming “fill a gap” emergency. “I am aware that if we organize this kind of operation, it is because there have been many resignationsshe says, it is a sign that National Education is in crisis, somewhere. If selected, however, she hopes to become a replacement, “a great opportunity to train” according to her, because the two weeks of theoretical training promised to contract workers seem to her “a little limited”.

Being sufficiently prepared for the job is also what concerns Paul, 25 years old, fitted shirt and concentrated face as he approaches his oral. “It’s sure, I’m afraid of being let loose in the deep end, he breathes. Even if I have experience with the youngest, I hope to have someone to turn to if necessary”. Guardians or advisers, for example, who would put the young man “more comfortable” facing the prospect of a school year. A graduate in notarial law, Paul is one of the profiles from the private sector who, according to the examiners, many came to try their luck that day. “After being hired in a study, I finally left this field, he says. I prefer people to profitability.”

Ideally, Paul would like to teach in high school, “to sophomores” More precisely. “I seek intellectual exchange, to push the reflection further”, he confides. By becoming a contract, the young man hopes above all to improve to win the Ccertificate of aptitude for teaching secondary education (Capes) in history and geography, which he failed for the first time a few months ago. A status that would allow him to become a holder, and therefore paid as such. Does he, too, have the impression of coming to fill a void? “Not necessarily, because I have a specific project, he points out, but I am surprised that people who follow the classic curriculum fail the teacher competitions, or resign a year later. Alongside recruitment, we really need to review the training system.”

At the exit of the school, a banner installed the same morning by a teacher of the establishment contrasts with the playful atmosphere of this day of recruitment. On the banner, a message painted in red and black letters: “job dating, precariousness of National Education”. A fear that tenured professors present that day say they understand. “It’s true that there is a higher risk of turnover, because despite our efforts, there will inevitably be disappointments”, explains for example Benjamin, a 28-year-old teacher, who himself went through the contract box. “There are already resignations among students who have passed the competitions (to teach), so imagine for people in retraining. A child is not like a colleague”he points out.

One scenario in particular is feared by those involved in education: that of a systematic shortage of teachers, more of whom would leave the ship each year. This would accentuate the use of contract workers and potentially the job datinga practice that challenges some teachers’ unions, such as SE-Unsa, present that day at the Alfred-Kastler high school. “It sends a particular signal to graduates, they shouldn’t tell themselves that their profession can be practiced by everyone, fears a militant. What we are asking for is better support for contract workers and measures to make education more attractive, from training to salaries.

Contacted by franceinfo, the academy of Versailles welcomes its campaign in any case. “We chose to go on the offensive, and it worked much better than we imagined” relates the rector, Charline Avenel. Faced with the enthusiasm, the slots were doubled, to be able to receive 2,000 people over four days. This high number of candidates makes it possible, according to the Rector, to operate a “very qualitative recruitment”. A good point given to job dating, which is likely to develop despite criticism from the unions. After the Academy of Toulouse in March, and that of Versailles, “several other rectorates are totally seduced by the idea and should get started”we slip from the organizers of the recruitment in Pontoise.