Le lycée and le collège

It has been a crazy week! This was our first week in schools, this week we are visiting the highschools (le lycée). I have already noticed a very big difference between American schools and French schools. The American equivalent to "senior year/12th grade" is called "terminale (final)." And then the grades count down backwards. Junior year is called "premiere (1st)," 10th is "seconde (2nd)," 9th is "troisieme" (3rd), 8th is "quatrieme" (4th), 7th is "cinquieme" (5th) and 6th is "sixieme" (6th). It's very different. The teachers would refer to cinquieme and I would have to sit there for a second and count backwards in my head, but I always wanted to switch them around. Felicity wrote it down at one point, and it was finally clear to me. 

The first day was very overwhelming, I was already nervous and I didn't really know what to expect. I tried to keep calm and carry on, but when I arrived everything was a big mess. First of all, the three of us weren't sure if we were supposed to meet someone before we went to our assigned schools, so just to be safe, we waited outside our dorm at 8 and when it was about 8:20, Felicity and I decided to go ahead and find our way to the schools. I am at the highschool called "Michelis." Luckily for me, I could walk to Michelis. I didn't have to worry about finding the correct bus line. But, I still got lost. Schools don't look like schools here, they are usually connected to other buildings. Unless there is a huge flashing sign, I could just walk by without realizing it was a school. Finally, I just gave up and asked a woman on the street. She was kind enough to walk me in the correct direction, and show me the entrance. I went inside and introduced myself to the woman in the office and they had no idea who I was. Finally, they took me to see the principal. After quite a lot of quick French conversation between the people who worked in the office, they figured out who I was. 

After all the confusion, I met a woman name Mme Sahnoun and I observed her class for an hour. They were working in a computer lab. Each student has an ID and a password, and can use the computers to turn in papers and assignments. It is the highschool's way of saving paper. I thought it was really interesting. The teachers also have the ability to monitor what the students are doing on the computers at time. There is a program and the teacher can click on a students name and see what they are doing. After that class, I went to a history/geography class and it was cool because they were doing presentations. One group did their presentation over The Royal Wedding and then one group had an exchange student from the United States and they did their presentation over the recent Tornado outbreak.

I also was able to observe a "free period." This highschool has a rock climbing wall and 3 students chose to rock climb during their free time. After that, I went back to the teachers lounge to figure out where I was supposed to go next. But, there wasn't anything planned and then a male teacher (I forget his name) asked if I wanted to come to his class, I accepted and I spent the entire hour answering questions about who I am and life in the U.S. (some in english, some in French.) After that class I went to observe a math class. I understood what the teacher was saying, but as far as what she was teaching....I had no idea. I was impressed that a level of math like that was being taught in highschool. However, I am terrible at math so I would have probably been impressed with anything. :-) 

After that, I was free to go. It was around 5 or 5:30. That whole day was kind of a blur. Highschools in France have a longer day than highschools in the U.S. But, they have breaks inbetween classes. It reminds me of a college schedule. Class for a few hours then a few hours for a break and then classes again. 

It's very close to the end of the year for the highschool students so, a lot of classes are doing reviews. They didn't want me to be bored so Mme Sahnoun arranged for me to visit a new school the next day, but it was un collège, which is a middle school. 

Tuesday morning came around, and this time I did have to take a bus. When I finally figured out which bus stop I needed to be at, I crossed my fingers and hoped I was going in the right direction. I got on the bus and then got off at the stop I thought was right and started walking. My instincts for some reason kicked in and told me I was going the wrong way. So, I turned around and walked a little bit and then saw a sign that said "Collège Arthur Rimbaud." I nearly cried I was so relieved to see a sign. I found the building and walked inside and they knew who I was! I met Mme Vanacker, and she was one of the nicest women I have met. She was very helpful. I was so excited. The first class I watched was a gym class. The kids were so enthusiastic. I love that age because they are so interested in everything. The gym teacher let the kids ask me questions and they ranged from "Do you know Barack Obama?" "Are you married?" "Do you like icecream?" to "Do you eat chicken for breakfast?" They were very sweet. After that class, I went to a French lesson, and they were covering the "conditionnel" tense. It was an interesting lesson for me because I always enjoy seeing the different ways of teaching French. I also went to a science class "Sciences de la vie et de la Terre." They were learning about nutrition. After that class, Mme Vanacker took me to lunch and I was able to ask her questions and talk to her. After lunch, we went back to Michelis and I went to another class of Mme Sahnoun and then I went to a class of Mme Vanacker's (she teaches at Michelis and Arthur Rimbaud). It was a much better day than Monday. I only went to Arthur Rimbaud on Wednesday, because in France Wednesdays are half days. So, after 12 or so, the student are done. I went to a beginning english class. They were so cute! They learned the word "him." And at the end of the day, a little boy came up to me and said "pour vous, mademioselle," and he gave me his pencil and ran away. It was adorable. After the morning classes, I said goodbye to Mme Vanacker and I went back to IUFM to meet Travis and Felicity to have lunch and then have our French conversation class with Mme Guyot. 

Today is l'ascension so everything is closed, schools, stores, restaurants. Everything. We were supposed to go to the WWI museum in Peronne but, there was a little bit of a misunderstanding and no one met us to take us. So, we just get to have a nice day to relax and catch up on sleep. 

In France there is a thing called "faire le pont" which basically means "to bridge the gap." If schools and everything is closed on a thursday, they can decide to close everything on Friday too and make it a 4 day weekend. Felicity's school is closed tomorrow, but mine isn't. So, Felicity will be coming with me to the school tomorrow. Safety in numbers, right? It will be nice to have someone else to chat with about things I notice. 

Well, that is pretty much the summary of this week so far. It has been hectic, informative, but hectic. I hope next week goes a little bit more smoothly, but what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. I'm sure I will remember this week and just laugh at how much of a mess it was. 

A plus tard! Bisous, 

Emma