Publish at October 06 2015 Updated May 29 2025
Today's the day. I'm being visited by an inspector.
Like many colleagues, I wondered what I was going to present to him. Should I rehearse with the students? Should I warn them? Should I show him what a real lesson is like, or give him the spectacle of a model lesson? All these questions are still on my mind as he is due to arrive any minute.
We still don't know our new inspector... Too bad. Grids and tips abound, but it's not a waste of time to get to know his hobbies and whims. It's the best way to prepare.
For example, for a long time I had an inspector who was very keen to get as many people as possible involved. The students were my accomplices: for each question, half the class raised their hands. Those who raised their finger knew the answer, those who raised their hand didn't... The code had its nuances and was the subject of a diagram, which we revised the day before... And everyone had to raise their hand, or their finger, at least once.
I have to say that I gained a few points thanks to this method.
The inspector, accustomed to two or three timidly raised fingers in the classes he attended, sensed a thirst for participation in my pupils. I was the only one to see that, as their arms stretched towards the ceiling, their eyes were saying "especially not me, especially not me!
However, the tactics developed with the students sometimes have their limits. To convince us of this, the"ficelles de prof" website tells us an anecdote. A teacher due to be inspected had rehearsed with his class. In front of the inspector, he gave exactly the same lesson as the day before, and the pupils were naturally more participative and responsive. Until...
Clichés are a thing of the past", many websites tell us. But my inspector is an exception. Tall, slim, with a thin beard around his chin... So there was one left! He quickly introduced himself, took a seat at the back of the class and said, "Pretend I'm not here!
A great silence settled in. One student starts coughing nervously, another hiccups. A third drops his ruler.
A beginner's blunder. The only empty chair is between two students who are not among the best. If he looks left or right, he'll see disastrous notebooks. But the man's not the type to form an opinion too quickly. He picks up a sheet at random from a distant table. I don't know what he sees, but he seems surprised, even angry.
He returns the sheet without a word. A student drops his pencil case.
Half my class spent the previous evening correcting their notebooks, underlining headings, framing important elements... but a bad horoscope meant that the inspector only looked at the worst! And a rather quiet pupil, thinking he's out of his depth, thinks it's funny to draw the inspector.
Class ends, and my inspector isolates himself. With his oversized body on his little table and his knees against his chest, he tackles his first sheet of paper and begins to jot down quickly, feverishly. He piles up the lines, but I can't see anything he's writing.
"Now you know how it feels to be assessed," my students seem to say, peering through the doorway.
But I can still hold out some hope:
Some inspection reports are works of literature. The accumulation of jargon and periphrases sometimes resembles a writing game. For example, the parody-like reporton Madame H's class blog illustrates the pedagogues' taste for phrases.
More sober, and just as laudatory, is this inspection report from 1974. The last remark is a lovely compliment!
Internet testimonials show teachers capable of humor about themselves, and sincerity about their exam anxiety. More general issues also emerge:
Can we mix the activities of advising, coaching, assessment and control in the same person? When a teacher asks me to be more rigorous in formulating objectives, and suggests that I use part of the chart for this purpose, who is talking to me? Is it the coach, the consultant or the evaluator?
On these questions, see Rémi Thibert 's article, which compares approaches in several countries, as well as Unesco's work.
This fiction is based on numerous testimonials from teachers. Of course, for obvious reasons of confidentiality, there are no symmetrical testimonials. The inspectors' anecdotes are undoubtedly very funny too!
References
My inspection report Dans la classe de Madame Heidi accessed September 21, 2015 http://dans-la-classe-de-madame-heidi.over-blog.com/article-7295388.html
Mrs Small blog ficelles de prof - accessed September 28, 2015 https://ficellesdeprofs.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/jour-dinspection-anecdote/
An inspection from 1974, consulted on October 1, 2015
http://alaincaduc.perso.infonie.fr/inspection.htm
Monsieur le prof "I was inspected eight months ago: the report has just arrived" consulted October 1, 2015
http://blogs.rue89.nouvelobs.com/monsieur-le-prof/2014/12/05/prof-jai-ete-inspecte-il-y-huit-mois-le-rapport-vient-darriver-233885
Monsieur le prof "l'inspection académique vue de l'intérieur" consulted on October 1, 2015
http://blogs.rue89.nouvelobs.com/monsieur-le-prof/2012/05/09/linspection-academique-vue-de-linterieur-227416
Prof, c'est le pied "My first inspection" consulted on October 1, 2015
http://prof-c-lepied.hautetfort.com/archive/2006/06/14/ma-premiere-inspection.html
Mélusine: "les joies de l'inspection" consulted on October 1, 2015
http://journaldunemauvaiseprof.blogspot.fr/2012/12/les-joies-de-linspection.html
Rémi Thibert School inspection: from control to support consulted on October 1, 2015
http://ife.ens-lyon.fr/vst/DA-Veille/67-novembre-2011.pdf
Anton De Grauwe; Gabriel CarronInspection, a key component of quality management Unesco 2011
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