School in France......it's the main reason I came here, and it's about time I posted about it so that you all can learn a little bit about the French education system. First of all, I work at two different schools each week; I work at the high school Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday(Lycee Madame de Stael), which is where I also happen to live, and on Monday and Friday afternoons I am over at my middle school, Jean Jacques Soulier. Here in France, you've got your 3 divisions of school: primary/elementary, middle and high school. At the primary school level, you can have students from the age of 3 all the way up to 11. At the middle school you will have students that range from 11 to 15 years old and at the high school you have students that range from the age of 15 to 18.
Middle school over here is "college" and is divided into 4 sections: the 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd. The 6th group would be the equivalent of 6th graders; 5th would be 7th grade, 4th is 8th grade and 3rd is 9th grade. I teach a section of 8th grade Monday afternoons, and then I have 7th and 9th graders Friday afternoon. I'm really enjoying working with this age group, particularly the 7th graders. I have a fantastic group of them, and they are always excited to participate in the activities I prepare for them. They instantly connected with me, from the very first time I introduced myself to them. They are the newest age group that I can add to my teaching experience, and I am very happy that I've been able to work with them.
High school itself has two divisions: the General/Technological route, which normally leads the students to pursue higher education, and then the vocational route. Each division, for the most part is set up the same way: the Seconde year being the first year in high school (they would be 10th graders), the Premiere (11th grade) and Terminale (senior). The difference comes after the last year; the students that choose the General/Technological route will go on to prepare for the Baccalaureat general et technologique. The vocational students will go on to prepare for the Baccalaureat professionnel. Lycee Madame de Stael caters to students that have chosen the general/technological route. I work with all 3 levels here at the high school, plus 2 classes of students who are preparing for their Baccalaureat exams. My schedule is as follows:
Monday:
8am-Terminale students
11am-Prep students
3:30pm-8th grade
Tuesday
2:00pm-Prep students
4:05pm- Terminale students
Wednesday
9am-Seconde students
Friday
10am-Seconde students
11am-Premiere students
1:30- 5eme students
2:30-5eme students
3:30-3eme students
Each section of class I teach is 50 minutes, which is much different than the 90 minutes I am used to! By the time we are really into the activities I've prepared for the day, it's time for my students to go! I am always on my own working with the students, which has been a huge relief because I was worried about having to co-teach or work "under" a specific teacher, since I'm really only an assistant. I have also been very fortunate in that the teachers either let me plan the lesson entirely, or that they give me the topic/material they want me to work on with the students, but they leave how I'm going to work on it up to me. My only complaint thus far is that 12 hours of work a week does not seem to be enough! I really enjoy working with the students, and it seems unfair to them (and to me!) that I only see them once a week. Oh well, I do what I can to make sure we are speaking lots of English when we are together, and that they are being exposed to American culture as well. Below you'll find some pictures of a couple of the classrooms that I use-I use different classrooms for every class! I miss having my own room with all my own stuff in it!
