Having never taught in a classroom before, nor having any formal training/classes in what to “do” (except for the two “formations” that I had in France), this past week was exciting, exhausting, and challenging. I still am not in any sort of routine, and I have no idea if “this” is what I might want to do as a career when I return back to the states.
Monday afternoon at 1:30PM is my first class of the week. I head to Ecole Victor Hugo (my closest school) and teach for 45 minutes in a CE2/CM1 classroom (8-9 years old). In this class some of the older kids have already had some English before, but for the first lesson, I focused on doing an introduction to the United States. I showed the class a map of the United States and Ohio, pointing out large US cities along the way, as well as showing them where I was from. We spoke about the differences between the United States and France; I showed the class a handful of photos from the states (postbox, skyscrapers, homes, McDonalds, malls, etc.) to get the ball rolling. I explained to them that on Friday we would begin learning English; this lesson was completely in French.
Tuesday was supposed to be a busy day for me. I am scheduled to be in two different schools (Ecole Jules Verne and Ecole St. Exupery) in a total of five different classes working from 9:30AM-4:30PM. However, classes were cancelled because of a “greve” (strike). Many French people are currently striking Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposed pension reform and increase in the nation’s retirement age from 60 to 62. This meant that teachers in both of my schools were striking, so there were no classes for me to help with. In addition, only 2 out of every 5 buses were supposedly running, so transportation systems were crippled (meaning I most likely would have had trouble getting to the schools if I did have classes). Needless to say, I slept in and had a relaxing day.
Wednesday there was no school for me too, but not because of the strikes. On Wednesdays, primary schools are closed. The idea is that with there being a very strict separation of church and state in France, a free Wednesday gives students the opportunity to attend religious classes at a church, synagogue, mosque, etc. In middle schools and high schools they have the afternoons off and go to school in the morning. Many students use this free day to do sports and other leisure activities/hobbies. I slept in and went out from crepes with some other assistants, followed by a viewing of “The Social Network” at a great cinema that shows a variety of movies in their original language.
Thursday was my busy day this week. I was in two schools (Ecole Jules Verne and Ecole St. Exupery) in a total of four classrooms. It was a good day, with the exception that French students decided to strike the proposed retirement reform. The students were in high schools, so I was not missing any kids in my classes. However, the students decided to strike along my bus route, so my bus was not running in the afternoon. This meant that I need to bike to my afternoon school (not a problem, but the bike ride involves a 45-degree incline). I got to my afternoon school without too many problems and went over my introduction the United States there. In my first school (Jules Verne) I worked with a group of eight CE2 students (8 years old) and a CP class (6 years old). The group of CE2 students had a lesson that mirrored the one I gave on Monday. The CP class and I talked about the American flag and the colors of the flag. Each class was 45 minutes. In the afternoon I changed schools and went to Ecole St. Exupery (where the only problem was getting there).
Friday morning at 10:30AM I return to the class I am in on Monday afternoons. I got to the school just in time to start their first English lesson. Again, there were more protests by high school students on the main street, so I had to bike… We started our first English lesson; I introduced “Hello, my name is…” and “What’s your name?”. I also gave the students American names. Our next class we will talk about how to spell the names…thus, I will be introducing the alphabet to them.
Getting ready for another week…lesson plans, etc. Hopefully the scheduled strikes tomorrow (Monday) and Tuesday will not affect me too much!
-Alex
This is so fascinating Alex! I have so many questions! Which we will go over in our Skype date...date TBA!
ReplyDeletetessles
Random, so the other day I went through all of my photos from Sophomore year in my iPhoto....SO MANY GREAT MEMORIES!!! Wish you would have been here to laugh and remember all those CRAZY times!
ReplyDelete...And let's get on the SKYPE chat!