In France, the first of April (April Fool's Day) is called the "April Fish." Bakeries sell fish-shaped brioche and chocolate shops sell fish-shaped chocolate. People play tricks on each other, just like in the United States. The tradition in France comes from the Middle Ages, when Europe was switching over from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Before, the first of the year began in April (or the beginning of spring at least); but with the Gregorian calendar, the year started on January 1; those who were left out of the loop were called "poissons," the fish being considered the stupidest animal conceivable by medieval peasants.
I thought the perfect Poission d'avril joke would be to stay home from school, since none of the students would show up anyway, so no one would miss me. Unfortunately, since it's Easter, everyone's on vacation anyway, so it's a moot point. I have no one to play my trick on!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Monday, April 1, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction
To begin with, the title of this post is more an attempt at a playful bon mot than how I actually feel about my job: from the Rolling Stones song of a similar name...
However, my job--though I'd like to retain it--is not exactly ideal. No one's is, which is a problem, but also a fact of life. I've discovered a number of things since the start of my teaching "career," and a few of them are starting to become a headache.
I'm trying to decide if I'm sick of teaching, or sick of being a teaching assistant. As a teaching assistant, my role is not taken all that seriously, by students or teachers. Then again, teaching is not taken all that seriously, either.
Take the teacher's strike--not last week but the week before--I think it was January 31. No one told me about it before I got to school, but I ran into one of the Spanish teachers in the teacher's lounge, and she explained it to me. I think I got brownie points by being there, since the vice principle made rounds during the day to see who was actually doing their job...
Since the teachers didn't show up in protest, the students were a step ahead, willing to stay at home that day. I had two out of four, which is actually better odds than normal!! As far as I know, it was a national strike (here's some media coverage, in French) and the French do have a reputation for protest--it's like it's their national pastime!
What are they protesting, exactly? Well, higher wages for one (pretty standard) but the one that really gets me is this: the French government (and recently elected Socialist president François Hollande) wants to extend the school week from four days a week to--gasp--four and a half days a week! By the way, France is the only Western country to NOT have a five-day school week for children. (I heard this tidbit on the evening news the other night.) Currently, almost no one works on Wednesdays. A full-time teacher works 24 hours a week. I, part-time, work 12 hours a week.
There is also the peripheral item on agenda of protection against firing of "unnecessary" teachers that has been a threat bandied about since Sarkozy's reign (circa 2007), but like I said, that's probably not a real threat. Personally, I do think it's criminal to fire someone without notice, but sometimes, some people (yes, even teachers!) don't deserve to keep their jobs. As for having to work more hours, I have this to say: suck it up, people. It's called work for a reason!
In fact, I would like to be doing a hell of a lot more work than I am doing. I feel completely dejected, as my emails go unanswered, students do not show up to my lessons, and when they do, they sit passively, sleep in class, or otherwise act like a sack of bricks. (Thus leading my to believe that perhaps the sack of bricks has the edge on an IQ test...)
I also have the problem of comparing everything to my previous experiences in Austria. That doesn't help matters, since I'm sure I complained just as much then. But, I'll say this: Austrian kids ARE better at English. A LOT BETTER! Maybe it's because the languages are similar? Because Austrians see a point in learning English? Because Austrians have fewer preconceived notions about Americans (or Brits)? Who knows? I've been told (by certain students embarrassed by their bad English) that the level of Spanish is much better in France than the level of English.
What do I say to that? Whoopee.
I feel like I've complained an awful lot on this blog, for which I apologize (to my two regular viewers who have heard it all before on monster Skype sessions, I'm sure. :) ). Anyway, I will try my best to think more positively in the future. Just think: when I was 16, I wanted to move to France forever! I'll just have to remind myself of the reasons why, I guess, and hope they still ring true.
There was a point when I really liked teaching. When was that? Please remind me. I want to believe again.
I'm trying to decide if I'm sick of teaching, or sick of being a teaching assistant. As a teaching assistant, my role is not taken all that seriously, by students or teachers. Then again, teaching is not taken all that seriously, either.
Take the teacher's strike--not last week but the week before--I think it was January 31. No one told me about it before I got to school, but I ran into one of the Spanish teachers in the teacher's lounge, and she explained it to me. I think I got brownie points by being there, since the vice principle made rounds during the day to see who was actually doing their job...
Since the teachers didn't show up in protest, the students were a step ahead, willing to stay at home that day. I had two out of four, which is actually better odds than normal!! As far as I know, it was a national strike (here's some media coverage, in French) and the French do have a reputation for protest--it's like it's their national pastime!
What are they protesting, exactly? Well, higher wages for one (pretty standard) but the one that really gets me is this: the French government (and recently elected Socialist president François Hollande) wants to extend the school week from four days a week to--gasp--four and a half days a week! By the way, France is the only Western country to NOT have a five-day school week for children. (I heard this tidbit on the evening news the other night.) Currently, almost no one works on Wednesdays. A full-time teacher works 24 hours a week. I, part-time, work 12 hours a week.
There is also the peripheral item on agenda of protection against firing of "unnecessary" teachers that has been a threat bandied about since Sarkozy's reign (circa 2007), but like I said, that's probably not a real threat. Personally, I do think it's criminal to fire someone without notice, but sometimes, some people (yes, even teachers!) don't deserve to keep their jobs. As for having to work more hours, I have this to say: suck it up, people. It's called work for a reason!
In fact, I would like to be doing a hell of a lot more work than I am doing. I feel completely dejected, as my emails go unanswered, students do not show up to my lessons, and when they do, they sit passively, sleep in class, or otherwise act like a sack of bricks. (Thus leading my to believe that perhaps the sack of bricks has the edge on an IQ test...)
I also have the problem of comparing everything to my previous experiences in Austria. That doesn't help matters, since I'm sure I complained just as much then. But, I'll say this: Austrian kids ARE better at English. A LOT BETTER! Maybe it's because the languages are similar? Because Austrians see a point in learning English? Because Austrians have fewer preconceived notions about Americans (or Brits)? Who knows? I've been told (by certain students embarrassed by their bad English) that the level of Spanish is much better in France than the level of English.
What do I say to that? Whoopee.
I feel like I've complained an awful lot on this blog, for which I apologize (to my two regular viewers who have heard it all before on monster Skype sessions, I'm sure. :) ). Anyway, I will try my best to think more positively in the future. Just think: when I was 16, I wanted to move to France forever! I'll just have to remind myself of the reasons why, I guess, and hope they still ring true.
There was a point when I really liked teaching. When was that? Please remind me. I want to believe again.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Post-Graduate and Fancy Free
Well, "fancy free" is pretty much a lie...
But! I am thinking (again) about getting a post-graduate degree. More than thinking, actually: I've applied to grad school for next year, and in the coming weeks, I will hopefully hear back from those schools, which will most likely determine what I'll be doing next year.
I've applied to two programs at three different schools: Translation and Germanic Studies. I have a really hard time narrowing down my choices--last time I applied to grad school, I applied to two different courses of study as well, Comparative Literature and Journalism. Both were ultimately too competitive (or something--I did not end up pursuing those options, to say the least) and I have crossed law school off my list. I really didn't want to be a lawyer anyway. I need a career that's more...artsy-fartsy, shall we say?
Since this is the last year my GRE scores are valid (the last thing I want to do is take another standardized test put out by the Princeton Review), I figured it was now or never! I shall update with admissions results when they become available.
But! I am thinking (again) about getting a post-graduate degree. More than thinking, actually: I've applied to grad school for next year, and in the coming weeks, I will hopefully hear back from those schools, which will most likely determine what I'll be doing next year.
I've applied to two programs at three different schools: Translation and Germanic Studies. I have a really hard time narrowing down my choices--last time I applied to grad school, I applied to two different courses of study as well, Comparative Literature and Journalism. Both were ultimately too competitive (or something--I did not end up pursuing those options, to say the least) and I have crossed law school off my list. I really didn't want to be a lawyer anyway. I need a career that's more...artsy-fartsy, shall we say?
Since this is the last year my GRE scores are valid (the last thing I want to do is take another standardized test put out by the Princeton Review), I figured it was now or never! I shall update with admissions results when they become available.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Aux Armes?
I did a lesson on American vs. French stereotypes before the holidays, and one of the things that constantly came up was:
Thank goodness someone with more sense also wrote an opinion piece I found on Gawker: "The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity," by David Leonard, I found much more to the point. In it, Mr. Leonard argues that portraying a mass killer as a victim just because he is or was white (he cites the Wampole article as well) is inexcusable, and a privilege that apparently comes with being white. One of the underlying reasons, he argues, that people are so shocked over the Newtown killings, and the movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO, over the summer, is partly due to the fact that they occurred in mostly white, suburban neighborhoods that are supposed to be safe--as opposed to the south side of Chicago, which is mostly black and obviously unsafe. People expect to be murdered out there.
Obviously, I'm just expressing my own opinions and frustrations now, since those pieces are way too tough for my students, too. I found a much simpler article from US News & World Report complete with gun pictures (I honestly had no idea what an AK-47 or an M16 looked like before I read the article); that should start them off--from there, I'll drop a few gun stats and ask some probing questions. That will fill an hour, and maybe even give the kids some food for thought.
AMERICANS LOVE GUNS AND ALL AMERICANS OWN AT LEAST ONE.
In the aftermath of yet another gun tragedy (this time in Newtown, CT), and a renewed interest in debating gun control back home, I decided, since the stereotype is becoming all too real and evermore difficult for me to defend as...well, a stereotype and NOT TRUE, that I would like to do a lesson on gun control with my students.
It totally plays into the subjects they expect us to prepares students for, too: gun control could fit (with or without a little maneuvering) into "Myth and Hero," or "Spaces and Exchanges," or even "Places and Forms of Power." The topics are so vague, it's not much of a stretch at all.
It doesn't really matter if the kids like it or not, anyway, but I'm betting they will. It's a hot topic right now, and it would do them some good to catch up on current events. And it's definitely more interesting for me than listening to them recount their weekends, or tell me what they ate for Christmas dinner--the lessons of the past week--why prepare for an empty crowd, after all?
In my research, I've come up with some interesting things. At first, like most Americans, I was just horrified at the school shooting, and wanted to know what happened exactly. New gun regulations was one of the first things to come up, then comparison statistics of gun violence in other countries, including the firearms ban implemented in the UK after a similar school massacre occurred in Dunblane, Scotland. But you know what? The United States has a hella bunch of guns out in circulation: 300 million at one count, which is enough for every man, woman and child in the country to have their very own.
Later, I started reading reactions to the news, like the "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" article and other calls to arms (sorry) for better mental health resources in the United States such as "Can You Call a 9-year-old a Psychopath?" from the New York Times. Although reading about the woman with an uncontrollable, possibly autistic teenager, and a clearly psychotic nine-year-old shoved off to a case-study sleep-away camp were fascinating, I unfortunately found them way too tough for my students. There would be so much explaining to do on a cultural level, not to mention the length, the advanced vocabulary...it gives me a headache to think about, honestly.
But are those really side issues to the gun control debate, or do they reach the heart of the matter? What comes first, limiting gun use, or limiting people who feel the need to use guns to harm others? What comes first, the psychopath or the NRA membership? Are video games to blame? There are no easy answers. And the questions lead to even more divisive topics.
Part-time opinion writer for the New York Times and French professor at Princeton Christy Wampole wrote a piece commenting about the fact that overwhelmingly the mass shooters of America are young, white men, and opined that they feel disenfranchised, like their lives are unimportant, maybe even meaningless. They have no place in society, because women (and minorities) are taking away the "hero" status of the young man. Whereas his grandfather brought home the bacon to the wifey after a glorious stint in Normandy or the Pacific, the contemporary American young man cannot even be guaranteed that he will have a higher salary than his wife. In effect, he has nothing. Sitting alone in his basement playing World of Warcraft he is even outsmarted by his computer, because his sparring partner in Chechnya recently found himself a girlfriend--one who won't talk back, or want to do something dumb like go to college.
This premise, not of a need to redefine masculinity in our culture--which is what I was hoping for--but of blaming women and minorities for usurping power from white men, was even weirder and scarier to me than the idea of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools to protect students from future school shootings. Although sometimes in France it feels like the world has not changed since 1950, that's not a good feeling--unless benevolent sexism comes out in my favor. My guess is either Ms. Wampole has taken too literally her francophilia, or her Texas roots are showing (she mentions in the article she grew up near Fort Worth).
Part-time opinion writer for the New York Times and French professor at Princeton Christy Wampole wrote a piece commenting about the fact that overwhelmingly the mass shooters of America are young, white men, and opined that they feel disenfranchised, like their lives are unimportant, maybe even meaningless. They have no place in society, because women (and minorities) are taking away the "hero" status of the young man. Whereas his grandfather brought home the bacon to the wifey after a glorious stint in Normandy or the Pacific, the contemporary American young man cannot even be guaranteed that he will have a higher salary than his wife. In effect, he has nothing. Sitting alone in his basement playing World of Warcraft he is even outsmarted by his computer, because his sparring partner in Chechnya recently found himself a girlfriend--one who won't talk back, or want to do something dumb like go to college.
This premise, not of a need to redefine masculinity in our culture--which is what I was hoping for--but of blaming women and minorities for usurping power from white men, was even weirder and scarier to me than the idea of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools to protect students from future school shootings. Although sometimes in France it feels like the world has not changed since 1950, that's not a good feeling--unless benevolent sexism comes out in my favor. My guess is either Ms. Wampole has taken too literally her francophilia, or her Texas roots are showing (she mentions in the article she grew up near Fort Worth).
Thank goodness someone with more sense also wrote an opinion piece I found on Gawker: "The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity," by David Leonard, I found much more to the point. In it, Mr. Leonard argues that portraying a mass killer as a victim just because he is or was white (he cites the Wampole article as well) is inexcusable, and a privilege that apparently comes with being white. One of the underlying reasons, he argues, that people are so shocked over the Newtown killings, and the movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO, over the summer, is partly due to the fact that they occurred in mostly white, suburban neighborhoods that are supposed to be safe--as opposed to the south side of Chicago, which is mostly black and obviously unsafe. People expect to be murdered out there.
Obviously, I'm just expressing my own opinions and frustrations now, since those pieces are way too tough for my students, too. I found a much simpler article from US News & World Report complete with gun pictures (I honestly had no idea what an AK-47 or an M16 looked like before I read the article); that should start them off--from there, I'll drop a few gun stats and ask some probing questions. That will fill an hour, and maybe even give the kids some food for thought.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Lessons Learned?
The kids have been showing up regularly the past two weeks -- wahoo! Though it is only Tuesday...I have faith they'll be good from now on. There have been stragglers and no-shows, but not entire groups like before: me sitting in an empty room wondering why I got out of bed that morning to come sit in an empty room for three hours. Progress!
At the middle school, I'm in the classroom with the teacher, so that is virtually no problem. I've had to prepare more for these lessons, simplifying mostly, and switching topics every ten minutes (as opposed to every fifteen) for the lower level of the students. Teaching, it occurs to me, is sort of like trying to hit the sweet spot between what the students actually know and the magical test-level knowledge they are expected to acquire. It's like one of those crazy Venn diagrams used by stock traders.
I haven't been preparing much at the high school, since I only see each group once every four weeks. In fact, I've only done two lessons so far: the Introduction and Stereotypes. Interspersed with those, I've done itty bitty grammar lessons, like the use of adverbs (always, often, sometimes, rarely, never) showing habitual action, and past tense (and goodness, they could use the practice). I generally ask them how their weekend was.
This is all A2 level, so nothing ridiculously hard. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself using A LOT more French in class here than I used German in class while I was in Austria. Technically, we're supposed to be doing immersion with them, but if I'm talking slowly (like a snail) and repeating myself three or four times, I'm sorry--switching over! It's not like I can get in trouble. I have the kids in small groups, so there's no teacher, and who's going to rat me out? The kids? HA! I can't get fired anyway, so it's a moot point. I can basically do whatever I like, and what I like is to help them. It's really only a word here or there that I translate, either from a word I've already said in English, or a word they're searching for. If they ask me and not their friend, all the better. Because you know they'll chatter away with the friend about something completely unrelated, but I'll steer the topic back.
The one thing that has made me reconsider using French in the classroom at all is the other day when we did stereotypes. It was a group I'd already had (stereotypes is my lesson #2 in the arsenal) and we were talking about baguettes versus "American" bread, i.e. sliced bread. I tried to explain it six differed ways, but they didn't get it. "What don't you get?" I asked.
"Slice. What is 'slice'?"
"Slice is tranche in English."
"What?"
"Tranche"
Ensue torrent of giggles. Apparently I pronounced it wrong.
May I, in my defense, state that I have a cold? Nevertheless, I think their punishment will be TOTAL immersion from now on.
At the middle school, I'm in the classroom with the teacher, so that is virtually no problem. I've had to prepare more for these lessons, simplifying mostly, and switching topics every ten minutes (as opposed to every fifteen) for the lower level of the students. Teaching, it occurs to me, is sort of like trying to hit the sweet spot between what the students actually know and the magical test-level knowledge they are expected to acquire. It's like one of those crazy Venn diagrams used by stock traders.
I haven't been preparing much at the high school, since I only see each group once every four weeks. In fact, I've only done two lessons so far: the Introduction and Stereotypes. Interspersed with those, I've done itty bitty grammar lessons, like the use of adverbs (always, often, sometimes, rarely, never) showing habitual action, and past tense (and goodness, they could use the practice). I generally ask them how their weekend was.
This is all A2 level, so nothing ridiculously hard. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself using A LOT more French in class here than I used German in class while I was in Austria. Technically, we're supposed to be doing immersion with them, but if I'm talking slowly (like a snail) and repeating myself three or four times, I'm sorry--switching over! It's not like I can get in trouble. I have the kids in small groups, so there's no teacher, and who's going to rat me out? The kids? HA! I can't get fired anyway, so it's a moot point. I can basically do whatever I like, and what I like is to help them. It's really only a word here or there that I translate, either from a word I've already said in English, or a word they're searching for. If they ask me and not their friend, all the better. Because you know they'll chatter away with the friend about something completely unrelated, but I'll steer the topic back.
The one thing that has made me reconsider using French in the classroom at all is the other day when we did stereotypes. It was a group I'd already had (stereotypes is my lesson #2 in the arsenal) and we were talking about baguettes versus "American" bread, i.e. sliced bread. I tried to explain it six differed ways, but they didn't get it. "What don't you get?" I asked.
"Slice. What is 'slice'?"
"Slice is tranche in English."
"What?"
"Tranche"
Ensue torrent of giggles. Apparently I pronounced it wrong.
May I, in my defense, state that I have a cold? Nevertheless, I think their punishment will be TOTAL immersion from now on.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Kids Today
My students have not been showing up to their scheduled meeting times.
Let me explain the system: I, unassuming language assistant, i.e. "the American" am expected to take a group of 5-10 students from various classes once per week per class to fill 10 hours of "English study." I have 10 different classes once a week. Basically, all I have to do is talk to the kids in English for an hour, they shuffle in, shuffle out and are somehow better prepared for their bac at the end of the year.
That is, if they bother to show up.
Since my hour with them is supposed to be an extra hour of English, in addition to the two that they get in regular English class (three total per week), I have not taught any English classes. I am not in the classroom with them, but in my own, separate classroom to meet with the small groups of students during gaps in their schedules, or what used to be their free time.
Some of them still think it is their free time.
I hope sincerely this will change by the end of the week. I was told it should not be a problem at all, but I am still having a hard time believing 16- to 18-year-olds will willingly wake up at 8AM to come and speak a language they're not very good at (and in every likely scenario despise) to a complete stranger who also happens to be a native speaker of that dreaded language, and is probably fat, boorish and inane like all of the stereotypes of her country suggest.
I hope this is not the case--that this is what French teenagers thing of me and my country. But, I can only guess what they think. Since so few of them have decided to put in the effort of even meeting me, what else can I think?
Let me explain the system: I, unassuming language assistant, i.e. "the American" am expected to take a group of 5-10 students from various classes once per week per class to fill 10 hours of "English study." I have 10 different classes once a week. Basically, all I have to do is talk to the kids in English for an hour, they shuffle in, shuffle out and are somehow better prepared for their bac at the end of the year.
That is, if they bother to show up.
Since my hour with them is supposed to be an extra hour of English, in addition to the two that they get in regular English class (three total per week), I have not taught any English classes. I am not in the classroom with them, but in my own, separate classroom to meet with the small groups of students during gaps in their schedules, or what used to be their free time.
Some of them still think it is their free time.
I hope sincerely this will change by the end of the week. I was told it should not be a problem at all, but I am still having a hard time believing 16- to 18-year-olds will willingly wake up at 8AM to come and speak a language they're not very good at (and in every likely scenario despise) to a complete stranger who also happens to be a native speaker of that dreaded language, and is probably fat, boorish and inane like all of the stereotypes of her country suggest.
I hope this is not the case--that this is what French teenagers thing of me and my country. But, I can only guess what they think. Since so few of them have decided to put in the effort of even meeting me, what else can I think?
Friday, November 2, 2012
La Toussaint: or, a Rant about Public Education
This week is the Catholic/Christian holiday All Saint's day--or, as they say in France, La Toussaint.
While I was in Austria, because the Austrians, like the French, are nominally Catholic, I got All Saint's day (Allerheiligen in German) off there, too. But, instead of, say, a four day weekend, like in Austria, I get a whole two weeks off.
I'm getting pretty used to the French way of doing things: from my ridiculous number of days off to my peripheral teaching duties--virtually no lesson planning--since I've been asked to help the student improve their speaking skills and all I have to do is show up with a topic and a vocabulary list.
The government-mandated French work week is 35 hours; the average amount of time off a year is five weeks (also government mandated) and as a teacher, I get all of the school holidays off - that's four two-week vacations a school year, not to mention summer vacation.
Before you scoff, or express your jealousy, or anything like that, I wish to mention a few things about the average French high school schedule. School starts at 8AM and can go all the way to 6PM some days, though the students are not obligated to stay in the building when they don't have class. They have 10-12 subjects each year, and are required to take a grueling school leaving exam, the baccalaureat or bac for short. If they don't pass it the first time, they repeat their final year until the do.
Most kids who don't repeat a year graduate at 18, like in the United States. But, if they do repeat a year (once, twice, or even more times), they stay until they pass the bac: I have a student who's 21. No joke. The system is relatively speaking the same throughout Europe. Students in Austria who don't pass their Matura the first time around have to stay until they do; likewise in Germany with their Abitur.
It makes me wonder: in the United States, we push kids through so virtually everyone graduates at 18, whether they've learned what they need to in high school or not. As the old saying goes, "D for Diploma--that's good enough for me!" There are no school leaving exams, at least not in Wisconsin, and though certain educational programs are implemented at the national level (the infamous "No Child Left Behind," or the equally dubious "Rise to the Top"), most decisions on public education are left up to the states to decide. And that doesn't always work.
Not to get political, but I must contribute the travesty of my home state's gubernatorial recall election in June 2012. One of the first things Governor Scott Walker put into place when he was elected--the thing, indeed, that caused riots in Madison and a call to arms to recall him in the first place--was to cut public workers' rights, including teachers', by limiting their bargaining rights.
Now, you might not see directly how this would affect education in Wisconsin. Think about it this way: if teachers are demoralized because they're getting paid less than what they're worth--or have no control over their pensions, etc.--they will not be as effective in the classroom. Fewer young people will want to go into the teaching profession, since there is little prestige and virtually no pay for lots and lots of hard work. So you see? Policy can affect a lot of different things, and what your child learns is definitely one of them.
Though the American school system isn't perfect, it does compare favorably to the French system, which has a lot less interactive learning and a lot more lecture-based. Teaching in France has a more...um, didactic?...quality along the lines of "I talk, you listen." In Austria, it depends, but the preferred teaching method there is of a "call and response" nature: the teacher has the answer book, and checks the students' knowledge against what it says in the book. Of course, discussion comes into play more often in Austria as well. Having an opinion is valued in both cultures, but in France, the tendency is to keep it to yourself until you're out of the classroom.
One last note: teachers in France do not get paid as well as teachers in Austria, but they certainly get more days off.
While I was in Austria, because the Austrians, like the French, are nominally Catholic, I got All Saint's day (Allerheiligen in German) off there, too. But, instead of, say, a four day weekend, like in Austria, I get a whole two weeks off.
I'm getting pretty used to the French way of doing things: from my ridiculous number of days off to my peripheral teaching duties--virtually no lesson planning--since I've been asked to help the student improve their speaking skills and all I have to do is show up with a topic and a vocabulary list.
The government-mandated French work week is 35 hours; the average amount of time off a year is five weeks (also government mandated) and as a teacher, I get all of the school holidays off - that's four two-week vacations a school year, not to mention summer vacation.
Before you scoff, or express your jealousy, or anything like that, I wish to mention a few things about the average French high school schedule. School starts at 8AM and can go all the way to 6PM some days, though the students are not obligated to stay in the building when they don't have class. They have 10-12 subjects each year, and are required to take a grueling school leaving exam, the baccalaureat or bac for short. If they don't pass it the first time, they repeat their final year until the do.
Most kids who don't repeat a year graduate at 18, like in the United States. But, if they do repeat a year (once, twice, or even more times), they stay until they pass the bac: I have a student who's 21. No joke. The system is relatively speaking the same throughout Europe. Students in Austria who don't pass their Matura the first time around have to stay until they do; likewise in Germany with their Abitur.
It makes me wonder: in the United States, we push kids through so virtually everyone graduates at 18, whether they've learned what they need to in high school or not. As the old saying goes, "D for Diploma--that's good enough for me!" There are no school leaving exams, at least not in Wisconsin, and though certain educational programs are implemented at the national level (the infamous "No Child Left Behind," or the equally dubious "Rise to the Top"), most decisions on public education are left up to the states to decide. And that doesn't always work.
Not to get political, but I must contribute the travesty of my home state's gubernatorial recall election in June 2012. One of the first things Governor Scott Walker put into place when he was elected--the thing, indeed, that caused riots in Madison and a call to arms to recall him in the first place--was to cut public workers' rights, including teachers', by limiting their bargaining rights.
Now, you might not see directly how this would affect education in Wisconsin. Think about it this way: if teachers are demoralized because they're getting paid less than what they're worth--or have no control over their pensions, etc.--they will not be as effective in the classroom. Fewer young people will want to go into the teaching profession, since there is little prestige and virtually no pay for lots and lots of hard work. So you see? Policy can affect a lot of different things, and what your child learns is definitely one of them.
Though the American school system isn't perfect, it does compare favorably to the French system, which has a lot less interactive learning and a lot more lecture-based. Teaching in France has a more...um, didactic?...quality along the lines of "I talk, you listen." In Austria, it depends, but the preferred teaching method there is of a "call and response" nature: the teacher has the answer book, and checks the students' knowledge against what it says in the book. Of course, discussion comes into play more often in Austria as well. Having an opinion is valued in both cultures, but in France, the tendency is to keep it to yourself until you're out of the classroom.
One last note: teachers in France do not get paid as well as teachers in Austria, but they certainly get more days off.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
What's in a Name? Part II
The name a person goes by seems to be a perennial topic for me, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's an existential thing. Who are we? Who am I? Who are you? A lot of how we see ourselves resides in what we call ourselves.
Here in France, there is a different naming culture and naming tradition than in other parts of the world. In the 19th century, Napoleonic law dictated that children born in France could only be named from a list of 20 or so names he personally chose--most of them religious--and spelled "correctly" by a priest or other notary public. This had been common in Europe since the middle ages, but Napoleon was among the first European rulers to mandate the practice into law. To differentiate, people gave their children multiple first names. This is why the French are so keen on hyphenated names to this day. Claude-André, Anne-Mireille, and the classic Jean-Pierre, to name a few...
One thing I've noticed is that, since I have my list of students' names before I get to meet the actual students, there is a gender difference between the United States and France. There is also a heavy Italian and North African influence in this area.
Here are some common boy's names I thought were girl's:
Andrea
Alexis
Camille
Jules-Antoine
Maxime
Morgan
Yanisse
And some common girl's names I thought were boy's:
Dorine
Laurence
Marion
Patrice
Sandy
Siwar
Valentine
I'll get the hang of it some day soon. Maybe by the end of the year.
Here in France, there is a different naming culture and naming tradition than in other parts of the world. In the 19th century, Napoleonic law dictated that children born in France could only be named from a list of 20 or so names he personally chose--most of them religious--and spelled "correctly" by a priest or other notary public. This had been common in Europe since the middle ages, but Napoleon was among the first European rulers to mandate the practice into law. To differentiate, people gave their children multiple first names. This is why the French are so keen on hyphenated names to this day. Claude-André, Anne-Mireille, and the classic Jean-Pierre, to name a few...
One thing I've noticed is that, since I have my list of students' names before I get to meet the actual students, there is a gender difference between the United States and France. There is also a heavy Italian and North African influence in this area.
Here are some common boy's names I thought were girl's:
Andrea
Alexis
Camille
Jules-Antoine
Maxime
Morgan
Yanisse
And some common girl's names I thought were boy's:
Dorine
Laurence
Marion
Patrice
Sandy
Siwar
Valentine
I'll get the hang of it some day soon. Maybe by the end of the year.
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