In honor of Multi-Lit Friday, today’s topic is teaching at a French school in America, where students learn reading, writing, math, grammar, science, and social studies in both languages. It is quite a rigorous curriculum.
From a few Slicer’s I’ve enjoyed reading their “list” entries, so here is a list of my top 5 reasons for loving working at a French school in the U.S. and my top discontents:
Love it:
1. The children are international and interesting.
2. The English teachers share subject teaching responsibilities with French colleagues.
3. My French colleagues act as the homeroom teachers and the first-line of communication with parents.
4. My French colleagues are aces at voicing their disapprovals at any and all meetings.
5. My French colleagues hold dear: work-life balance.
Not so crazy about it:
1. Many students have a literacy weakness in English due to their bilingual backgrounds.
2. American teachers sometimes feel like “second-class citizens” when the French curriculum takes precedent.
3. Classroom “real estate” becomes a power play, as French teachers are in one room all day and the English teachers travel between classes.
4. Most of the parents care more about how their kids are doing in French than in English.
5. The number of students for English teachers may be close to double the number of students the French teach, so an English teacher may have 37 students and her French counterpart, 20.