Printemps
A Typical Day
French high school is very different from American high school. To start with, there seems to be a dress code amongst these teenagers, rigid as any Catholic school. For the girls, it is ballet flats, converse, or heeled boots. Skinny jeans, black or stone washed. A fitted top with a leather jacket. Long straight hair, big earrings, lots of eye makeup, expertly applied. For the boys, it is thin soled sneakers or converse, black of course. Skinny jeans, black or stonewashed, usually with lots of seams and excessive stitching. Somehow, they manage to sag their jeans despite the snug fit. It's a mystery of science better avoided. Next, a tight black jacket with lots of pockets and a hoodie, gel in the hair, and a murse. Yep. You read that right. A murse.
Most students do not drive (that comes at 18 if you are lucky) and either get rides from parents or take public transport, whether that be a bus or train to school. There is no parking lot or school bus system for these kids! Upon arrival, they hang out on the pavement between the road and the school gate. Here, they greet their friends with the bise, the kiss on both cheeks and proceed to bum cigarettes off each other. They are highly successful because, especially on cold days, it looks like an atomic bomb has gone off. Smoking is the norm, not the exception.
The bell buzzes and a few minutes later they consider picking up their giant purses (girls) and Eastpak backpacks (boys) but don't budge until the very last minute. The second bell rings and the students pile up outside the locked classroom doors and chat. The narrow hallways here would qualify as fire hazards in the States. But they do allow you to become very familiar with the perfumes, colognes, and overripe scents of your students.
Around five to ten minutes after the final bell has rung the teacher comes strolling down the hall, totally unconcerned. Every time, the students loudly jeer their tardiness. Every time, the teacher waves dismissively, “I had things to do.” (aka shooting the breeze in the teachers' lounge) My students don't really know what to do with me since I am actually punctual. One time, they didn't come and didn't come. I looked out the door, they were waiting for me in the hall! Usually I keep the door open so they can see I am waiting inside. This particular day it had fallen shut. They are so unused to prompt teachers that they didn't even think to knock or try the door.
Once the teacher enters, the students are to file in silently (which come on, never happens) and stand at their desks until allowed to sit and put their bag on the floor, never on the desk. Next comes roll call and the latecomers. Well, we should say the really latecomers because by now they've have already wasted fifteen minutes.
The rest of class depends on the teacher, but overall the French educational methods leave me with little more than pity for these children. It is harsh, uncreative, and resembles stuffing a brain into a box of carefully regimented expectations. Somehow these same kids grow up to have perfectly effective careers, thank goodness.
Their class schedules are similar to a college schedule in America. It is sporadic but the hours extend later into the evening. However, everyone has a 20 minute break in the morning and afternoon for their cafe or cigarette in addition to at least a one hour lunch. When I explained to my students that American kids finish everyday at 3:15p, five days a week rather than the French 6 days, they were sorely jealous. Then they found out that American high schools start at 8:15am and run straight through with only one 30 minute break for lunch. They were astounded. 30 minutes? That is it? Many of them were then glad for the unhurried French method.
Students generally do not have a strong rapport with their teachers. They don't have school sports or clubs. There is no graduation with its robes and fanfare. At the end of your three years of high school you just... walk out of the doors. Au revoir. School is strictly school. If you want to have fun you had better find it elsewhere. The only extracurricular activities I have seen is students making out in the halls – a full contact sport mind you, and the smoking of various substances in the front entry. The students have massive amounts of free time and use it to lounge around the public spaces and flirt. That was what startled me the most on my first day. “Who are all these kids? And why are they all hanging out in the hallways? Shouldn't they be in class or something? And where in the blazes are the hall monitors?”
Yet, loitering aside, there are some benefits to running a school like this too. There is less concern with popularity and the social food chain. The school must save loads of money by not supporting all of these clubs and sports. The emphasis is education. There is no freshman initiation and no pandering for favors. Also, there seems to be fewer parents living vicariously through their children and people missing their golden boy days. Different? Yes. Better? Worse? No, just different. Personally though, I must admit contentment to have grown up in America.
