There many things I didn't know about the French idea of education when I started working as an assistant (for instance, that they have coffee breaks in the middle of the day. At first, I thought it was completely random, but now, it's part of my routine).
The day starts in the collège at 8 o'clock. All the students are dropped off by their parents, walk to school, or take public transportation. They wait for their teachers in the main courtyard below the classrooms. The asphalt in the courtyard is marked with the numbers of the classrooms with little lines to separate groups from each other. After the bell rings, the teacher comes out whenever they feel like it (literally) and escorts the students up to their classroom, two by two. The students may not find the classroom themselves. Generally, the students make it there before the teacher and try to kill each other in the hallway in front of the classroom while waiting for the teacher.
When the teacher arrives at the back of the pack, he or she waits until all the students are quiet enough to go inside the classroom. Believe me, this method doesn't work; they are just as noisy when they take off their backpacks and settle in for class.
When they are all assembled, the teacher tells them when they may sit down and then takes the role (or yells at the kids for being too noisy). This is the point at which the students may ask for a tissue (and guess who they get it from?). "Madame, can I have a mouchoir?"
The teacher stands on a raised platform in front of the classroom to show authority and to make sure all the students can see. I usually stand to the side of this platform to avoid killing myself stepping up and down (as it is, I always nick the corner...ahhhh....).
Most teachers just stand at the front and teach. As the assistant, I like to walk around the classroom (the kids like it better that way...then they can talk to me one and one and I can hear them).
The classes last about 55 minutes. They have a 15 minute break right
before 10 and again before 3:30 with an hour and a half for lunch (and
only an hour on Fridays). I always know it's lunchtime when I hear the bell ring and hundreds of screaming students rush into the courtyard below my window. The day officially ends at 5:30 pm (or 5 on
Fridays).
What I find annoying is that the students aren't allowed to find the classroom by themselves. After each break, the teacher goes down to the courtyard, collects the students, and comes back up again (waits for them to be quiet, yells at them when they're not), etc. The students are old enough to walk up stairs by themselves. It's not like they don't do that at the other hours of the day. *sigh* (I asked a teacher once why they do it, and she didn't know...my point exactly).
Today, a student proudly told me that he got the best "note", or grade, in his class. Grades are a big deal. I have a feeling that French parents are very hard on their children about this. Grades are calculated out of 20 (or sur vingt). Now, a dix sur vingt or 10 out of 20 is considered a good grade. Below that is pretty bad. As one of my French professors once told me : 20/20 is for God, 17-19 is for teachers, 10-16 is for good students, 10 is average, below 10 is failing. As far as I can tell, the grades are sometimes administered au pif, or however the teacher is feeling that day. For example, I went around with one teacher to the hotellerie while she was giving oral exams (kind of). She had me talk to the students while she graded them (out of 10). I remember she gave one student 7/10 at which he replied "Oh, thank you madame, that's very generous." --especially since he didn't do so well (partly owing to the fact that his neighbor kept interrupting and asking for my phone number).
Well, now it's Friday, the school day is over, and I am going celebrate by doing lesson planning :(
à bientôt,
Mary
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