One Week In

As of today I have been in France for an entire week, and the experience has been both incredible and slightly overwhelming. While I am here I will be living in a small commune, Saint Fargeau, located in the Ile de France region. It is considered a suburb of Paris, and the City of Lights a very simple 45 minute train ride away. In terms of lifestyle, Saint Fargeau could not possibly be any more different than what I am used to living in inner-city Calgary, where a plethora of cafes, restaurants, shops, and activity are mere steps away. The main street in Saint Fargeau consists of a Tabac (store that sells cigarettes and magazines), Boulangerie (butcher), and a salon. As someone who is passionate about inner-city living, and believes in the importance of sacrificing space in order to live in a vibrant, thriving community with mixed-land use developments, this is a huge difference in lifestyle. One of my hopes in participating in the TAB program was to experience, and learn from, living in a different culture, and my setting in Saint Fargeau is fulfilling this wish. 

I am also shocked by the differences between the French educational system and our own in Canada. Having not done a ton of research in the days before I left Canada, I had a romanticized idea that since the French have such comprehensive health care they must also have a strong and supportive education system. The differences, both idealogical and structural, between our systems is far greater than I could have imagined. The French educational system is driven by knowledge-based, teacher directed, top down lessons, and they have little time for students who do not fit into this profile. When discussing the inquiry-based model that we are practicing in Canada, I was told "That is a joke. We don't joke around here. We learn." This juxtaposition of ideals makes me appreciate our Canadian system even more than I have in the past. I could go on and on about the differences in the system, but I'll speak more to them in an upcoming assignment.

The past week has been quite relaxed while we adjust to our new setting. Last week I visited a couple of schools, albeit briefly, for an introduction and to say hello to the students. The majority of the students were shocked that we have travelled all the way from Canada to work with them in the classroom, and we are greeted with a chorus of "Hello! My name is...." every time we enter a school. The level of english for most of the students does not extend very much past those skills, and the same is true for most of the teachers at the school. We certainly have our work cut out for us. 

On Friday I found out that I will be teaching exclusively at two of Saint Fargeau's schools: Saint Exupery II (which is for ages 8-12) and Saint Exupery I (ages 5-8). I will have 12 classes spread over 2 days, and will be in the school for a total of 8 weeks. This seems much shorter than I had imagined, but in two weeks there is a two week vacation period which eliminates two weeks of teaching. 

I start at Sain Ex. on Monday for two full days of observation, before I start officially teaching the following week. I am SO excited to see an entire school day and to experience the education system 'in the flesh'. My initial impressions of the system have all come from meetings with various administrators, and I am so curious to see if what they have told me matches with what I will see in the classroom.