French la Vie

First day of school.

Someone is not happy.

As Gabriel said this morning, "Maybe we can figure out a way so I do not have to go to school?"

And what is Olivia thinking? She begged to put on a backpack and to go to school.

The two remind me of Chelsea and Sacha, though Sacha is Gabriel and Olivia is Chelsea. Oh, and that feels like yesterday.

"In France, school is compulsory from three years old (since the beginning of the 2019/20 school year) until 16.

A child's year of birth determines when they start school,

and the school year starts at the beginning of September."

I personally think that it is too young and shouldn't be compulsory.

School in Europe,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43562029. Click here to read more.

 

Last year, Gabriel started school.

And it went well until…

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Luckily, the day ended well, especially when Gabriel found out Billie -, his best friend, was in his class.

Billie is his superhero, and she is unlike Gabriel. A little firecracker of energy in the playground daring to do things that Gabriel admires and cheers her on.

What I think about the French Education:

 

Someone once told me that the difference between a French person and an American person could be summarized like this:

"If you put a French person and an American person in the middle of a dense jungle and asked them to find their way out, the French person would bend down and look at the soil for clues, look up to see which way the wind blew the trees and which way the sun was moving across the sky… in other words, the French person would study the situation at hand before making a move. On the other hand, the American would climb up the nearest tree, look around, and holler, "HEY, Anyone out there?"

In general, because thankfully we cannot label a whole country, let alone a single person, the French are more methodical in their approach, trusting that they can find their way by themselves. In contrast, the Americans look at teamwork and will go on a limb to find a new way.

Why?

If you ask three hundred thousand French people, "Did you have fun (as in liked, enjoyed, considered it the best years ever…) school?" Two hundred and ninety-eight of them would answer solemnly, "No." Then, they would look at you oddly and ask, "Why?"

French students go to school to learn how to study. Fun is rarely in the equation. On the first day of school, they are taught to come into the classroom and sit at their desk quietly. They are not allowed to talk unless they are asked a question. If the teacher asks the students for a response or "Who knows the answer?" The French child is supposed to raise their hand no higher than their shoulder, with their pointer finger in the air. Unlike an American student, they cannot wave their arm frantically and excitedly say, "I know, I know, ask me!!!!"

The French are taught from a very early age to sit still, listen, obey, and if in doubt, re-think; if you don't know the answer, listen, and if you think you are right, you probably are wrong.

Therefore, when they know the answer, they know they are right. Their opinion is well thought out; they can back it up with many examples. They will listen to your arguments and ideas but ultimately believe they are never wrong.

American students are taught they are the masters of their universe and can accomplish whatever they want if they believe it, work hard towards it, and have the money to get it.

The Americans and the French come from very different upbringings, educational approaches, and ways to be. In France, you rarely hear: "If there is a will, there is a way!" Watching my children go through the French schools and listening to many of them talk about schools, I believe I would have suffered dramatically in their mold. I was raised to climb a tree and believe in myself, even if I didn't have a single example to back it up.

This is not to say either approach is better or worse than the other. Both have advantages, both are worthy, and both ways of educating can shape a different way of thinking.

In the end, the American who climbed the tree and the French person who studies the surroundings find their way… and both ways bring for an exciting conversation at the end of the day.

 

Tatty McLeod says it best… as she inmates a British woman and a French woman on many differences between the two. Tatty is French/ English

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 The Local: an online newspaper, a very good source of French for ex-pats

and others who are interested in life in France

 

Their description of going back to school and the meaning of "La Rentree."