College in France

So, now my big 11 year old boy is in collège in France. For anyone in New Zealand, the equivalent level at school would be the first year of intermediate school, or year 7.

Almost overnight he has gone from a (comparatively) cosseted life at primary school to the rigours and regimes of scheduled classes, tough teachers and plenty of homework. Plenty means not more than 1 1/2 hours each night, but not less than 30 minutes. There’s not just homework though, there’s revision of the day’s work, required for each of their classes. Phew.

He has college every day of the week which normal in New Zealand but a big step up/sideways from four days a week in France at primary school. He springs out of bed at 7am, makes his still slumbering mother a cup of tea, prepares and devours his breakfast, makes his bed, brushes his teeth, tries to plaster his wilful hair into some order, then scoots out the door at 7.50am to catch the school bus at the end of our street.

School starts at 8.30am. Sharp. The entrance doors are monitored. Anyone who is late must have their special correspondence/notification book stamped, and there are consequences for anyone who is regularly late without justification. Once my son’s bus broke down and he was justifiably late, and terribly excited that in week no. 2 of college there had been a Major Incident with the bus. He was late and it wasn’t his fault! Cool.

Each lesson is 55 mins - 1 hour long, with a 15 minute break each morning and afternoon to pause or run to the locker and change some books. No food is eaten during breaks; only in the canteen at lunchtime.

Last week I had a parent-teachers meeting at school. This meant sitting at the kids’ desks while each of the subject teachers gave us a quick run down on work to be covered, general demeanour and aptitude of the class, and his/her requirements (multiple) for ensuring that our children succeeded. The main requirements are that parents ensure that revision and homework is done. It was fascinating seeing and hearing each of the subject teachers. I could understand some of them; most spoke rapid-fire French. I could NOT understand my son’s home class teacher however, with his local Toulousain accent and fascinating ability to mumble into his chin. I swapped notes with my son on each of the teachers when I eventually got home two hours later, and we pretty much agreed on the good ones and curious ones. One in particular is a dragon and she effectively told one of the parents off for asking a question that she considered ridiculous. (!)

Subjects for my son are: French, English, German, history and geography, maths, technology, science, life and the earth (sciences, vie & terre in French), and sport. He’s in a stream of kids who are learning two extra languages, which his primary school teacher recommended for him as he now has English and French notched on his belt. It’s very funny hearing his friends speaking French with a German accent and my son is enjoying learning German. Clearly the German accent sounds the same whether you are English or French.

Lunch is a whole other matter. It is a self-service system. You swipe your card (and the bill is sent to your parents) and then you queue with your tray and cutlery, making your way towards a smorgasbord of hot or cold entrées, main course, desserts (fruit included), plus a drink. You take what you like. There is always a fish option for the kids who don’t eat meat or who are Muslim (lots). You find a table and eat with your friends. They you take your tray to the tidy-up stack and race out the door. If you have time before your next class you might go to the activities club with your friends, or you just hang around in the playground. It is very noisy and very busy, and if you timetable is tight, you might only have 30mins to get all this done and be in your next class.

All the kids have different ‘classifications’ as to whether they have to stay at school all day or whether they are allowed to leave the school grounds if they have a free hour or if a teacher is away. You will see lots of college kids smoking outside the school grounds. Not recommended or encouraged, but pretty normal here. At the end of the day (4.00 or 5.00pm depending on their classification and timetable) kids leave through the monitored exit routes and catch the bus, walk or bike home.

My NZ friend whose daughter was at college in Toulouse tells me that French law states that once someone is 15 or 16 years old they have the right to strike, for their own causes or even in support of the staff. This is a right that is used too. Well, this is France where striking (a manifestation) is expected if you want your voice to be heard.

So college lays the foundation for personal autonomy. My son is rising to the challenge, more than I would have believed possible after his early years of struggling with new experiences/situations. He’s enjoying college life, the requirement of being organised each night ready for the next day, and the variety of subjects on offer. He can link into the school website where his homework is listed for each subject and where his notes (evaluation marks) are listed, along with the class average mark so you can see how well or not your child is doing. It’s a great system. School life is pretty tiring though and he is completely zonked at bedtime which is now much earlier.

But one thing a child at college/lycée/university in France seems to learn NOT to do is to question or challenge the teacher, in a way that would be normal in Scandinavian countries for example, or even in New Zealand, where opinions, thoughts and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged. My Swedish friend finds that very hard.

But so far, so good. It’s a well-oiled machine. Monsieur President, François Hollande, wants to introduce a few changes into the days/hours of school in France. We’ll have to see how that unfolds.