Summary
Role of the teacher
Transmit knowledge
Teachers in middle and high school each have their favorite discipline:
- literature ;
- math ;
- physical ;
- history geography ;
- living languages…
But their main role remains the same: to transmit knowledge.
Help with insertion
All secondary school teachers contribute to the training and education of students, to promote social and professional integration. They guide the students and teach them to organize themselves in their personal work.
Assess the achievements
Teachers, alongside their lesson preparation work, spend a lot of time:
- prepare lessons;
- imagine appropriate exercises;
- prepare homework and quizzes;
- correct the copies.
Participate in the life of the establishment
Teachers are part of the teaching team. They work in collaboration with their colleagues, but also with the CPE (senior educational adviser), the principal and the parents of the pupils. Together, they think about the orientation of the college or high school, as well as the particular situations of the students when necessary.
Finally, teachers participate in extracurricular activities, such as visits, language stays, multidisciplinary outings, etc.
Working conditions of a teacher in college or high school
Different structures
Teachers work in secondary schools: college or high school. But they can either practice in a public institution or in a private institution. Or in a general high school or a vocational high school.
Depending on the case, class sizes vary, students are more or less interested in certain subjects…
Different materials
Precisely, there is a wide range of subjects in college and high school. Pupils, entering 6th grade, learn to manage a schedule, changing class and teacher by discipline.
Lessons are multiplying in college:
- French ;
- math ;
- English ;
- music ;
- EPS;
- technology ;
- chemical Physics ;
- music ;
- visual arts…
Depending on the course, teachers teach even more diversified subjects: accounting, medico-social sciences and techniques, electronics, etc.
Class and homework
Teachers provide 18 hours of lessons per week (15 if they are certified). But this does not constitute their total number of working hours. Added to this is a substantial personal work. Evening meetings between teachers, or meetings with parents of students, also require staying late in the establishment.
How much does a college or high school teacher earn?
A certified secondary school teacher earns approximately €1,500 per month at the start of his career, and €3,000 at the end of his career.
If it is aggregated, the teacher starts at around €1,800 per month.
Added to these salaries are annual bonuses, allowances and, possibly, some overtime.
How to become a teacher?
A new reform
Since 2010, students must hold a university master’s degree to apply for the competition, that is to say a baccalaureate + 5, whatever the discipline (literature, maths, sciences, history-geography, PE… ).
Competitions
To become :
- middle or high school teacher: the CAPES (certificate of aptitude for second-level teaching);
- teacher in a vocational high school: the CAPLP2 (certificate of aptitude for second-grade vocational high school teaching in a vocational high school);
- teacher in a technical school: the CAPET (certificate of aptitude for teaching technical education);
- teacher in private education under contract: the CAFEP (certificate of aptitude for teaching in private education under contract).
Qualifications needed to become a college or high school teacher
Pedagogy
Teachers need to engage a whole group of young teenagers. They must adapt their methods, but also their tone for each class. They help students not to drop out of the school system, in addition to instilling knowledge and skills in them.
Authority
But teachers also need to be firm. To progress, students attend classes and must submit personal work.
Physical and psychological resistance
Teachers may deal with so-called “difficult” classes which may be more difficult to manage at the start of their career. Being strong enough to bear certain words and not showing nervousness are required qualities.
Content updated on 05/30/2012