Overseas Briefing Kristin Ward on the children of Paris

Author: Kristin Ward

PARIS - When I first arrived in the French third grade classroom where I volunteer, the students immediately jumped out of their seats to say "Bonjour." "Say it in English," the teacher insisted, and there came a chorus of "Allo." I have volunteered in numerous American elementary schools, and have never received such a welcome. My first interaction with the French school gave me an overwhelmingly positive impression of the French education system. The classroom was a model of order, with posters on verb tenses and English vocabulary lining the walls. A dictionary sits on every student's desk and their trousse, or pencil case, sits beside it. Pencil cases are fundamental for French students; even at the university I've rarely seen a student without one.

When it comes time for the teacher to start the lesson, it becomes apparent why a case filled with colored pens and pencils, whiteout pens and rulers are necessary. Every third-grader used these tools to underline and highlight even the simplest thing. Watching the kids write their names and the date showed me where the French students learn their meticulous note-taking skills. During lectures the French students scribble furiously, essentially transcribing the professors' words. At any given moment they are using at least three different colored pens, plus a highlighter, a ruler and a whiteout pen that gets used immediately to avoid scribbling out mistakes. Unfortunately, I have trouble reading any French student's notes, because French handwriting is so different. Prior to coming here, I na'vely assumed that since we used the same alphabet, French and American handwriting would be the same. Unfortunately, many hours of trying to decipher what my French professors wrote on the board has taught me otherwise. One day in my third grade classroom, a student wrote "Monday" on the board, and the teacher made him rewrite it in "American handwriting."

Handwriting differences only begin to get at the cultural differences we have come across during English lessons in Mme. Ratarin's classroom. Yesterday she found a rhyme on the Internet intending to teach children numbers. Although I had never heard the rhyme before, I recognized the expressions such as "six, pick up sticks" from classic children's rhymes. However, when it came time to explain certain words, my language skills, both English and French, failed me. I couldn't figure out how to define "jive," and wound up dancing awkwardly in front of the class. The students watched and giggled and asked me if the word meant "to dance." With no better way to explain it, I agreed. I successfully translated "number seven, go to heaven," but could not explain why such a silly-sounding phrase was part of a rhyme that the students were supposed to act out. The idiom's meaning got lost in translation.

Despite the cultural and linguistic differences between American and French schools, many of their qualities are similar. In the French classes, like the American ones, there is always a troublemaker and students who doodle instead of taking notes. The language is a constant barrier for me in the French school, but Ecole Las Cases provides a sense of familiarity that I seek and truly appreciate while here in Paris.