“Education is a right, not a privilege.”
“Too many inequalities, we’re disgusted.”
“Sorry to bother, it’s for our future.”
These are just a few of the slogans on signs held up by French students (known as lycéens) as part of the recent national protest movement shocking the French government. It’s the biggest youth protest movement in decades and is in many ways like the events of May 1968 that rocked France’s social landscape forever. However, there’s one big difference: this time, it’s high schoolers, not university students, leading the charge.
The protests began Sept. 21 at Saint-Exupéry High School in the Parisian suburb of Créteil. Teachers had been protesting a lack of resources and staff, and their pupils joined them. The strike ended when their demands were met, but the message rang true with other high schools across the country. The message spread “like wildfire”, according to student leader Manès Nadel; as of Tuesday, October 6, two thousand high schools were blockaded or closed for the day. The Ministry of Education reported 250,000 demonstrators — some teachers and parents — took to the streets that day alone.
The protestors have five major demands: consistent replacements for absent teachers; improvement of school facility conditions; better organization of the school day; transparency around the national university application system, Parcoursup and a consistent open path to discussion between the government and French youth. Among these demands, extra attention is placed on teacher absences and the conditions of school facilities. Lycées in France have 250,000 more students than in 2008, yet a fewer number of teachers. In public schools, 70% of classrooms have over 30 pupils per class. On social media, videos are circulating of caved-in ceilings, broken toilets and peeling drywall; in the summer, poorly insulated schools (nearly all built before 1975) trap heat in non-air-conditioned classrooms. The issues with heat and insulation were especially apparent during this summer’s deadly heatwave, where temperatures in Paris reached up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and over 8,000 people passed away due to heat-related deaths.
In short, high schoolers in France are protesting due to underfunded schools, teacher shortages and large class sizes that are an active detriment to their learning.
Sound familiar?
The very same issues French students are taking to the streets to fight against are pervasive in the American education system today.
Over 400,000 teaching positions in America are either not filled or filled by someone without the correct teaching credentials. In California, the most populous state in the US, class sizes are at an average of 27, with many high schools exceeding 30 students per class. Substitute teachers are also hard to come by. In my experience as a high schooler in Texas, we were often sent to gym class when our district could not find a sub.
COVID-19 and the introduction of AI to the educational landscape have made teachers’ jobs that much harder. Among eight graders, 70% read below their grade level — the lowest number in history. These numbers continue to climb more sharply each year after COVID; students are, on average, over half a year behind their pre-COVID predecessors. Even in these changing landscapes, teachers are getting no extra help. One in five teachers in the US struggle financially and one in three have an extra job outside of education. If school districts and administration want improved literacy and graduation rates, they need to support the teachers who lead students to these outcomes.
The American education system chews us up and spits us out. As it stands, nobody can help each other; we are stuck in an endless cycle of apathy and cruelty from students and teachers alike. The protests in France should show Americans that it is possible to unite — students and teachers, adults and children — and demand change from our education system. By continuing to take a “school sucks” attitude, America is resigning itself to underpaid teachers, neglected students and an illiterate, undereducated populace.
Students, do not be afraid to bother. It’s for your future.