Friday, October 7, 2011

on being responsible for formative minds

I’ve been in France for two weeks and already I’ve had a visitor from the States! Anthony, a friend from the great state of Texas, has been traveling around Europe since he ran the Berlin marathon two weeks ago. And since his flight home left out of Paris, he decided to come to little ol’ Lannion for a couple of days! Below are some pictures from the day trip we took to a place called Ploumanac’h on the coast. It was beautiful, and I was glad to see the sea, as I live just kilometers away from it, and of course it’s what makes the region famous. We walked for several hours along the Sentier des douaniers, a meandering footpath 19kms long right on the edge of the water. Historically, it was where customs officers patrolled the coast. The sights were unlike anything I’ve seen before, and there was something almost enchanting about the contrast between the pink granite rocks and the blue-gray-green water (In fact, the Breton language has its own word for this color: glasz.) Even the wind seemed other-worldly.








(crazy alien flower!)

In other news, it’s official: I’m an elementary school teacher (say WHAT?!). I taught – and survived! – my first two classes today. I’ve been placed in three schools, two écoles primairesand one lycée (high school). At the lycée, I’ll be doing what I actually signed up to do – that is, assist. I’ll lead discussions with small groups of students to supplement what they’re learning in class and get them to apply the language. At the écoles primaires, however, I’ve got a lot more responsibility. I am THE teacher. As in, they have given me two classes and expect me to teachthese children English. I’ve got one CE2 class and one CM1 (the equivalent of second and third grade), and the age of my students ranges from 7-10. There are 23 of them in one class and 16 in the other. Again, WHAT?!

Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck this morning. I had no idea how to prepare for class, as I had no concept of how much English they’ve already learned. Not to mention I’ve got almost zero teaching experience and even less experience working with children. It was overwhelming and challenging, but I can already tell it’s going to be such a positive and rewarding experience for me. It’s going to push me out of my comfort zone in such a good way. I do, however, feel a lot of pressure to be the kind of teacher and role model these kids deserve. I’ve been told that many of them are “en difficulté” – that is, they come from single-parent households and lack in particular a male role model. It’s going to require a lot of effort on my part, but today’s classes left me feeling so motivated, and I look forward to seeing how the students (and I!) evolve. They are so cute and eager; this morning they walked single-file into the classroom and stared at me all wide-eyed and curious, timidly muttering “bonjour” to me under their breath. We went over simple things like “My name is,” and the names of colors, and I’m already impressed by their level of comprehension – or at least their responsiveness/ willingness to react and repeat. And of course I love walking through the halls, the walls plastered with indecipherable drawings, everything so colorful and miniature!

Anyway, my computer's about to die, and I don't have my charger with me at the cafe. Signed up finally for internet, but we still won't have it for 5-15 days. Oof. It's been a long, exhausting week, but now it's the weekend! Heledd, a friend and fellow assistant from Wales, and I are heading to Guingamp this weekend. Updates soon!

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