Middle School

I teach at a middle school called Louis Pasture. The students range from 11 -15 years old. French middle schoolers are every bit as awkward and angsty as American middle schoolers. Middle schoolers in France are generally regarded with suspicion. All new schools have a locked gate to prevent unauthorized entering and exiting. Students are required to carry around a note book where they keep their schedule, write down homework, and keep track of appointments. Should the need arise; there is also a section in the notebook to communicate with parents.

School starts at 8am and ends at 5pm. Most students have a two hour lunch break starting at 12pm, but kids who have chosen to take 2 foreign languages only have a one hour lunch break. Students have the option to eat in the school cafeteria, but many go home. The students schedule is different every day. Students have 10 subjects and they don’t have every class every day. Students are organized into years and classes. For example there are six classes of the third year. The class stays together for nearly every subject. In their last year of middle school every student takes a one week internship in order to explore career possibilities.

In addition to the administration and teachers there are a few staff at the school who work entirely on discipline. They monitor the kids in the court yard, monitor the halls, collect attendance, give late excuses, monitor detention, and handle unruly kids who get sent out of class. Detention and extra written assignments are common punishments for chatty or impolite students.

French schools are a bit more formal than American schools. The students are required to stay standing until the teacher invites them to sit down, and if an adult enters the room the students drop everything and stand. Many teachers also utilize an interrogation method of testing students’ knowledge. The student is invited to the front of class and answers various questions.

Teachers in France are a bit stricter, and there is more yelling than in the United States. Many teachers yell very little, if at all. However there are a very special two at my school who yell unscrupulously. I know this kind of yelling would not be allowed in American schools. I was shocked and afraid the first time I heard it. Literally afraid. I couldn’t imagine sitting in that class. It is so negative. Most teachers don’t support yelling of this nature, but they also have some compassion for the yellers because the students at Louis Pasture are notoriously challenging.