To the French Classes

Bonjour à tous! I apologize again for the delay but I finally got some good weather here to take those pictures of signs, so they are attached below! There was a question about exactly what a pain au chocolat is like and here is my description…

LOCATION: every boulangerie or patisserie around
COST: less than 1€, depending on size (they do have a “petit pain au chocolat” for those desiring a mere taste, as well as a “maxi pain au chocolat” for those who REALLY love it!!!)
SIBLING: Croissant
BIGGEST FANS: children from ages 1 to 99
DESCRIPTION: flaky, croissant-type pastry, usually in the shape of a rectangle with 2 chocolate “puncture wounds” into which chocolate is baked. When warm and fresh, there are no words to describe its deliciousness.

And now onto the questions regarding my volunteer work. It ended up that I do my volunteer hours at a middle school instead of a high school because it was more compatible with my schedule. So with that much said, I will start with the challenges. I am happy to be at a middle school because the age difference is greater and thus it is a bit easier for me to take on the role of teacher and not simply a person to hang out with. However, like most schools, I have some trouble-makers who like to test me. One of the teachers recently shared with me that the students at this school are those who got kicked out of other schools and that this is their last chance at an education because nowhere else will accept them. I am CERTAINLY glad that nobody shared that tidbit with me before throwing me in front of them as a teacher because I would have been mortified! In general, we have a lot of fun together and they respect me. The classes that I teach have from ten to fifteen students each—1.) Attendance is not especially important to these students and 2.) Many are expelled for week-long periods for reasons that I don’t even ask. This is the first time that I have been thrown into the thick of teaching, completely on my own and without another teacher in the classroom...and I LOVE it!!! The students are certainly warming up to me and we are having some great experiences together!
I want to briefly touch on the grand difference between schools here and at home: the necessity of being average. Annie, the adorable English teacher who has become a great friend, has spoken to me in great depth about this necessity in French schools. What I mean by it is that here, if you aren’t average in your intellectual ability, school isn’t a great help. Classes are taught to a certain, pre-determined level and in an established manner. Rarely are individual learning styles or needs of students addressed. This results in those who have stronger knowledge or concept of subjects being bored and those especially challenged often fail. Also, RARELY are there classroom aids here. Inclusion practices are but a dream and most students with learning disabilities don’t receive adequate assistance. Finding teachers willing to stay after-school to help students is also difficult. Another interesting difference between American schools and French schools is that there aren’t school sports teams. If a child wants to play a sport here, he/she needs to join an association (which costs quite a bit of money) and play almost club-sport style. After seeing the education system here and speaking about it with teachers and students, I am certainly glad to have received an American education! I am sorry for how long this blog is but hope that my response answered your questions!

My street, "Rue Maguelone" (the sign below it is the name of the street in Occitan, a regional language that is a mix between Catalon from Spain and French from this area. It isn't spoken here but its influence remains as can be seen from the street sign!)







NOTE--I included a picture of the Tea Palace because tea has become quite the popular drink here over the years and MANY French prefer it to coffee now!