The ground is everything

In the old sailing navy, captains could come from prominent families, but they had to start as ship's boys and work their way up through the ranks. Once they became captains, they knew the ship and their men: the crew could set sail on any sea and work together cohesively, each in their own place.

The ground is everything. Trainers are experienced professionals who wear two hats. They experience changes in their original profession and remain in contact with their colleagues. At the same time, their teaching activities require them to integrate codes and knowledge specific to another professional field. It is essential that they be able to reconcile these two roles in their activity.

Can this ‘dual role’ be compared to the teaching profession? In some respects, yes. Teachers instruct and educate, without becoming ‘substitute parents’; they guide their pupils or students to become as independent and responsible citizens as possible. To do this, teachers must be very aware of the many developments in society, not only by staying informed, but also by participating in them. However, the institution tends to limit their actions, increase administrative tasks and controls, promote principles presented as scientific concepts, and pile on reforms that they must comply with without questioning their meaning or the resources allocated to implement them. To use Yves Clot's expression, the ‘derealisation’ of the profession represents a risk. And a society in which teachers lose their way is a society that loses its way. Today, published scientific studies show this weakening of society through the loss of bearings among teachers, of which the crisis in vocations in France is only one sign and the growing unease among teachers, carefully concealed until now, another.

The ground is everything. Training, teaching and educating form the foundation of a society. At the turn of the 20th century, John Dewey wrote: ‘Never have methods and activities depended so much on knowledge of the facts and laws of the physical, natural and social sciences; it is therefore important to communicate a clear understanding of (...) the physical and social facts already present in the environment.’ Health and education are the pillars of a healthy society. Where do we stand?