Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Back to school!


The French Facebook was full of photos of children yesterday, as it was the first day of school in France - after summer vacations. There are about 360 elementary schools like this one in Paris ; children must attend when they reach the age of 6 and  must go to the closest one to their home (however, parents can also choose to send their kids to a private school). There is only one teacher (we call them Professeur de écoles) per grade (except for drawing, music, sport...) and when they come out of this 45 year primary education, they are supposed to know how to read, write, understand grammar, conjugate, calculate, learn a little history and geography... Gosh, I'm glad this is over LOL! More on Wikipedia if you're interested?.

13 comments:

  1. I will share this with my students tomorrow, as I teach second grade (eight year olds) in the US. Thanks, Eric!

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  2. All these little French kids will have "la tete bien pleine" before they enter secondary school. I would not go back either! :-) Check out my post about "L'Ecole" if you have a minute, Eric. It will remind you of "the good old days..." Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  3. I only have good memories of my formative years a l'école élémentaire a Courcelles le Comte. It's a small village (400 inhabitants),if I did anything wrong that day, my parents would know before I got home. Those were the days!

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  4. I barely remember the frightening nuns floating around like spirits and smacking kids with sticks that were supposed to be yardsticks (flat measuring sticks one yard long) but were about a half inch thick and two inches wide. I was terrified every day, as were most of us. However, I did learn a lot. I felt sorry for the slower students, though: they felt the stick often.

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  5. wow the children start late in France! When do the summer holidays begin though?

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  6. Levels of French education seem to be too complicated for me to understand how it works! :)

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  7. @Sofia. In fact most kids start @3 or 4 at Kindergarten, I just mentioned 6, because this us when school becomes compulsory in France.

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  8. It is very confusing Magdalena. Here is a pictorial explanation of the different grades in France. "College" = Middle School/Junior High School in the US and "Lycée" equates to High School.

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  9. @Eric : I have to precise this a "five year primary education" taught in "école élémentaire".
    Du CP au CM2 ou encore de la 11è à la 7è... Just something to say because close to my day-to-day life :o)

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  10. @Cn you're right. My mystake! I just corrected it. Thank you.

    @Pickled Parrot ",if I did anything wrong that day, my parents would know before I got home. Those were the days!" LOL. Well in a 400 people village I suppose it's still the same today...

    @Fran "I will share this with my students tomorrow, as I teach second grade (eight year olds) in the US. Thanks, Eric" Let us know about their reaction!

    @French Girl in Seattle (what are you doing there??). You mean the post Il était une fois l'école right?

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  11. @Eric : "and when they come out of this 45 year primary education, they are supposed to read, write, understand grammar, conjugate, calculate, learn a little history and geography..." LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL I bet they are !! And you can be glad this is just over for you ;)
    You really made my evening !!!
    Thank you for the good smile :)

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  12. I guess that means I'm still in my "primary education" years! ;) Good thing, because there is still much to learn.

    I went to several different kinds of school, public, private, and finally home. My kids have gone to preschool, but have been home ever since. They (and I) LOVE it! We love being together as a family every day. How does France treat those who wish to homeschool their children, Eric?

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  13. I didn't start school until I was almost 6 but my kids were in nursery school when they were barely 2! So where did you go to school, Eric? Was it in Paris?

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