I'll permit myself a little diversion here. The paragraph I'm about to type will most likely make me sound like one of those 'adults' I hated when I was younger. One of those that puts so much emphasis on how it 'used to be' in their time, and how deteriorated and lax things have become since the days of their youth. I acknowledge this transition, and the surprise it has been to me too. The only conclusion I can come up with that eases the pain of me becoming one of those 'adults' is that, well, those 'adults' were wrong back then when they gave me lectures, but I am actually right this time : ) I know I have great logic.
Anyways. I joined into the conversation these frustrated teachers were having, and was surprised to hear what they had to share. Students here aren't used to homework like I think they are in the States. Although it's true my homework load varied from night to night, it was pretty much a given that I would have some sort of work to do. The night off was more of an exception, not an assumption. Here students whine when they get the littlest tiniest assignment to do outside of school hours. I heard students complaining this week because their teacher made them write a little 10 sentence comparison between French and American high schools after I did an activity with them. And one of the teachers had the most interesting hypothesis on why he thinks it's like this- because the rectorat, school board, administration, what you will, doesn't want to get between parents and their students. i.e. they're afraid giving students more homework will subsequently cause parents to insist on their children doing their homework, which will further aggravate or stress the familial situation. I'm sorry, WHAT?! Woah folks, we're asking you to discipline your children and instill in them a, gasp, work ethic? I will place a disclaimer and confide that this was only one teacher's opinion, and maybe a farfetched one.... but I found it interesting nonetheless.
Going further down the road, let's speak about discipline in the classroom. The same teachers were also sharing how challenging their afternoons could be because of students not wanting to work (again this theme). Saying that in some classes, it's like they don't even exist because the students just keep chatting away as if there weren't a teacher and an adult standing in front of them. I (naively I soon figured out) asked if there were any sorts of disciplinary actions possible. I cited the example of students being sent to a principals office (detention, anyone?) if they acted out in class. All the teachers simultaneously gasped and went off on how that would never happen. Nope. Discipline is strictly the teacher's responsibility, and no one else's. Students are not allowed to be sent out of the classroom at any time. If the teacher can't control the class, it's their fault, and reflects poorly on their teaching ability. To be sent to the proviseur here, the student would basically have to go up to the front of the class and start strangling someone. And as an outsider, I'm confident all the students know this. If they have no consequences for acting out, what could keep them from doing so? I find myself shushing students multiple times in nearly all my classes.
It's certainly an interesting cultural difference in the education system. I'll admit my little rant here was of course quite biased- I'm sure the French would have tons of critiques on the American education system and would love to hear them! They'll certainly have some free time without all the homework hindering their afternoons : P
alli
2 comments:
And don't forget about how you had to walk to school, uphill, both ways too.
D
and do they run with scissors too?
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