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Never has philosophical education been so demanded and awaited by society, and yet never has it faced attacks comparable to those it will undergo from the start of the next school year.
On one hand, it is said that more philosophy is needed in schools; on the other, it becomes apparent that, in reality, the necessary resources for a philosophical education worthy of the name are going to be removed.
Recognizing the worsening of teaching conditions for philosophy in the high schools of the Nice academy caused by the application of high school reform to final year classes from the start of September 2012;
considering the damage caused to students’ education by this application, the AG-PPN adopted two motions during its meeting on June 29, 2012.
The first motion, adopted unanimously, condemns the implementation of high school reform, which leads to competition between disciplines and between teaching teams.
This reform grants autonomy to the institutions but simultaneously removes the means to implement it, resulting in significant cuts in certain teachings to the benefit of others, under the sole authority of the head of the institution, who justifies his choices (ultimately arbitrary) by the resources given to him. This situation results in intolerable disparities in the continuity and equity of the public education service.
The teaching of philosophy has been heavily penalized by this discriminatory system in the Nice academy, as anywhere else in France, resulting in a massive removal of one-hour teaching subdivisions in S and STI series from the 2012 school year, in other technological series from the
2013 school year. In practical terms, this means that Philosophy teaching will mostly take place in whole classes, to the detriment of students’ learning conditions.
The AG-PPN wishes to alert the public, students and their families, that the number of classes and students a philosophy teacher can manage may vary from half to double (from 4 to 8 classes, from 140 to 280 students) depending on the institutions, that these
teaching conditions are not only unbearable for teachers but also detrimental to students and a source of blatant educational inequity.
The second motion, adopted by majority, supporting the first one and intended to express the determination of philosophy teaching staff, decides not to submit the philosophy grades for the 2012 baccalaureate session in the general and technological series for the official deadline set for Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at
10:00 AM. This motion, widely discussed, aims to alert the hierarchical authorities to the determination of the representatives.
During its discussions, the AG-PPN welcomed the new government’s announcements regarding the nation’s education policy, the re-establishment of educational equity, and the intention of genuine structural reforms favorable to the institution’s missions. It is aware that these restorations cannot happen overnight but wishes to alert authorities to the severe deterioration of educational conditions in the country and requests an improvement of conditions from the start of the 2012 school year.
The philosophy teachers of the Nice academy, convinced of the legitimacy of their requests, commit to resolutely defending their claims in the weeks and months to come.
With this intention, and in the hope of a prompt resolution, the AGPPN teachers have requested a meeting with the administrative and educational authorities of the academy, to clearly and calmly present their concerns and negotiate the immediately available adjustments in the Nice academy to restore educational equity and the teaching conditions that support it.
