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Post by Happygoin on Sept 2, 2008 9:11:54 GMT -5
There was a rather lengthy article in the Boston Globe yesterday about the Rentrée. It said that the French were going back to school/work with a disconsolate feeling about France's economy and France's place in the world.
I wonder if anyone has heard the same and if any of our French friends can shed some light.
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Post by Anne on Sept 2, 2008 10:08:53 GMT -5
Today is precisely back-to-school day for all French children .
Anyway, that wasn't your question .
Yes, people are quite pessimistic . Sarko failed to boost the economy, prices of gas and food have gone up tremendously (not his fault here), credits and stock are down (not his fault either), houses don't sell that well anymore ...
I read an article online today which said that OECD has modified its growth forecasts for the second half of 2008, and that Europe is now closer to a recession than the USA, they do actually expect a recession in the UK .
La rentrée is never really a merry period, but all this makes it rather gloomy ...
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Post by joan1 on Sept 2, 2008 15:18:35 GMT -5
Well , all that about the economy is not so cheerful I admit, but, as a mother I must say that today , Sept 2 ,, is the HAPPIEST day of the year,,, back to school, back to school, back to school,, I love it!
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toutou
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Post by toutou on Sept 3, 2008 0:51:14 GMT -5
Have to agree with Joan ... Daughter went back to school yesterday. All a bundle of nerves. Picked her up at 4 pm and she was literally singing with joy ! Loves her Prof. Principal (a male for the first time) as he is 'totally cool.' And loves her French teacher - !!!! Unheard of. I was sure I must have mis-heard that. Ah, but no, she is the wife of the Prof. Principal and totally cool. Prof. Principal is History teacher, so this is a good thing as if she likes a teacher, she performs SO much better in that class (as per most kids). As to French, she has always been at the top of her French class, but the last couple of years have been more difficult as she hasn't liked her teachers. Soooo,, perhaps this year will be a good one??? It certainly started off well.
They are also planning a trip to Strasbourg. Probably at the Spring break, so she is thrilled about that.
As to the economic woes. Well, that has been in the news for several weeks now.
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Post by Anne on Sept 3, 2008 2:13:28 GMT -5
They are also planning a trip to Strasbourg. Probably at the Spring break, so she is thrilled about that. Toutou, get yourself enrolled as a chaperonne asap  !!! You're daughter is entering 3ème, right ? Is there a collège in Bedoin ? And will she have to go as far as Carpentras for lycée next year ? |
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toutou
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Post by toutou on Sept 3, 2008 6:16:09 GMT -5
Yes Anne. She is now in 3eme. Important year. No, no collège in Bedoin, only a primary school (where she went) what seems like moons ago The collège is in nearby Mazan, so not quite as bad as going to Carpentras but yes, Lycée(s) are in Carpentras. Are your kids happy with la rentrée this year? As to Strasbourg, I think I'll pass on the chaperonne idea. I'd love to see it as I've never been, but with a bus full of teenagers, something tells me the experience would not be the same. I'll look forward to a week off, without teenagers in the house..  |
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Post by sistereurope on Sept 3, 2008 7:40:19 GMT -5
OK you two - what's the American equivalent of the 3eme? Is that Senior year? If so, I have one of those living in my house too (along with one in the 10th grade) ;D Maybe if we called the start of school La Rentrée the kids would like it better... |
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Post by Anne on Sept 3, 2008 8:39:53 GMT -5
Toutou, I hope for you that there is a school bus service to Carpentras, because it is quite far away for you to make a twice-a-day trip to/from lycée  . My twins are in 3ème too . They feel so-so about la rentrée . Yes, it is an important year, but what bothers me is that our kids will be the first ones to experiment the "réforme du lycée" that Sarko is preparing for next year . I see it coming : the exact content of the reform will be announced late, then the lycées will struggle to try and adapt to it, everything will be done in a hurry and we won't have much clue as to which options to choose for the 2nde because no one will really know yet what the reform will be about for the 1ère and Terminale (the reform for the 1ère will be announced while our kids are in 2nde and the reform for the Terminale will be announced while they are in 1ère) . A BIG MESS, I tell you  !!! (anyway, if we want to discuss this further during the year, we'd better do it by PM because I doubt that this will interest anyone else but us two here ) . Sister, after primary school, kids spend four years in collège (6ème, 5ème, 4ème, 3ème) and then three years in lycée (2nde, 1ère, Terminale - that's where my eldest one is), and then kids take the baccalauréat ("le bac") at the end of Terminale . I don't know the American system so I cannot tell you what is what, but to give you an idea my twins in 3ème just turned 14 . |
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Post by Shoesy on Sept 3, 2008 8:49:36 GMT -5
So that sounds like 9th grade to me.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Sept 3, 2008 10:13:31 GMT -5
Well, now I understand why the grade levels of French schools have confused me - it's a countdown from high numbers to low, which is the opposite of the US numbering (here, students progress from grades 1 through 12, upon which they graduate and go to university-level if so inclined). Thanks for explaining!
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Post by Shoesy on Sept 3, 2008 10:16:27 GMT -5
I understand that the numbers go from high to low, but why is it like that?  |
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Post by sunshine817 on Sept 3, 2008 11:02:03 GMT -5
actually, Anne and Toutou, I'd be delighted to read your opinions and experiences with the reforms.
I've just gotten an email this morning from the woman who will be our son's teacher in CM1 this year (I was SO very happy -- my husband has NO idea how much better it makes this very worried mama bear/mother hen feel about things!)
It will be a few more years (but only a few!) before we are exposed to lycee and college and Terminale, but the more I know now, the better of I am to deal with it when it happens.
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Post by phread on Sept 3, 2008 11:11:24 GMT -5
I've been out of circulation, but just read this week that they have surpressed Saturday am at school. I can not believe that they are decreasing school time. Also, the gov't now requires that schools offer study hall on specific subjects for kids in difficulty, so my daughters' now have 45 minutes per subject, instead of 60, and are required to take these remedial classes, EVEN IF THEY DON'T NEED THEM!!! I am not impressed.
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Post by Anne on Sept 3, 2008 11:53:49 GMT -5
Phread, I believe that your daughters are in collège too, right ? If so, they are not concerned by school time reduction, this is only for primary schools . And my twins still have 60 mns per subject and I haven't heard anything about them taking compulsory remedial classes . Sunshine, the better for you is to wait until all those reforms are settled for good, and then you'll have a clear view of what is going on . You still have two years ahead of you before collège . But does your concern mean that you plan to stay in France for many many years ? |
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Post by holger on Sept 3, 2008 11:55:04 GMT -5
;D Phread,
Sounds to me like the changes are "dumbing down" the education for the best and brightest.
Having study halls or remedial work for students who require it is valuable but requiring all students to attend is more likely to allow those who need the help not to feel badly about themselves. Perhaps the planners envision some enrichment work for those who don't require remedial help.
As I understand it, French students and many others have longer days and more of them than students in the U.S. That may be why when I have students from Europe in my university courses, they almost always seem better prepared to do the work.
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Post by framboiseetrose on Sept 3, 2008 12:00:11 GMT -5
My son (many moons ago) finished 3eme before we went back to the States. He was happy with his classes that year and never complained about the long hours he had - a couple of days a week, he had classes from 9-6. That's even longer than my office hours now. I also remember the Saturday morning classes with Wednesdays off except for Cathecism. I managed to excuse them from the French cathechism as they were enrolled at Saint Joseph's Church for Sunday school.
Phread, how can they shorten the classes? That would be cheating the students who are doing well.
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Post by sunshine817 on Sept 3, 2008 13:05:53 GMT -5
'Our' school has a half day on Wednesday morning, and no classes on Saturday.
I don't know how long we'll be there -- everyone (company and us) is planning on at least 2 years, and it's open-ended from there. We're not on a traditional placement, so the normal rules don't apply.
I shudder to think of my tall, athletic, blonde and blue-eyed handsome boy returning to the US with a French accent....some things mothers just don't WANT to know!
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Post by Anne on Sept 4, 2008 1:19:29 GMT -5
'Our' school has a half day on Wednesday morning, and no classes on Saturday. Are you SURE that this is updated information, Sunshine Quite a few primary schools, especially private ones, used to have classes on Wednesday mornings instead of Saturdays indeed, but now these Wednesday mornings are off exactly as the Saturday mornings are in other schools . As far as I have heard, ALL primary school kids will now have school on Mon., Tues., Thurs. Fri., and that's it ... |
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toutou
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Post by toutou on Sept 4, 2008 1:36:08 GMT -5
Yes Anne there is a bus from Bedoin to Carpentras - also from Bedoin to Mazan (for collège), so I don't have to take her far. Of course, the bus isn't free, but still... It is interesting how different districts pay different school bus fees. We pay 110 per year for one student.
I am so used to 'reforms' here, I never get too excited about them. I do dislike many of them and understand the teachers unhappiness, but as most things are totally out of my control (short of griping and moaning like the rest), I just wait for the axe to fall and see what happens.
Right now, I will focus totally on 3eme as it is such an important year.
As to comparison to the U.S. system. There is no comparison. It is by far TOTALLY different - in every aspect. My daughter was doing trigonometry last year (she was 13 last year). Her Chemistry class is also WAY advanced to any public U.S. school I have seen. The general curriculum is so very different. My husband likens some of our daughter's current curriculum to first year University study in the U.S. I can't even begin to help her with most of her homework.
Also, the way they do Math here is so completely different to the way it is taught in the U.S. Right down to the basic multiplication and division tasks. When I first saw how she was being taught multiplication and division (in primary school), I said .... 'no, that can't be right, you must have misunderstood' ... No, of course not, it was ME that misunderstood. They teach it in a totally different manner.
This is one reason going from one system to the other can create serious problems for some students. Often those planning on being in this country for only a year or two choose a multi-lingual, International school, to cover all bases.
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Post by Anne on Sept 4, 2008 5:30:03 GMT -5
Toutou, what I meant re. the réforme du lycée is that we will have to make a decision THIS schoolyear (i.e. next spring) as for the options that our kids will take in 2nde . From what has been announced about the réforme so far, options should be much more important in the "new" 2nde than they currently are, and I doubt whether we will have enough information to make enlightened decisions ...
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hahahha