Workin' Hard and Hardly Workin'

Compared to my job prior to arriving in France (~50 hours a week, all nights and weekends) this teaching gig is cake. That being said, it is getting a little more complicated now that I have run through all the students who actually know/want to speak English. Originally I was under the impression that classes would be mixed in terms of the levels of English spoken amongst the students. This assumption was made based on the first couple weeks of teaching, and the composition of the students that were sent to my room. Starting last week I have come to the realization that the teachers were just cutting me a little slack by sending in all of the best English speakers first. Some students (2-3 in each class tops) really have a knack for the language, and all the others have either subscribed to the notion that they are terrible and will never improve, or they just don't care. Some of the English professors have told me that many students do not see the point to learning English; their reasoning being that they never plan to travel to England. Therefore, many never show up to their language classes and fail, or they squeak by with minimum marks and are eventually denied job after job for not having the required proficiency.



Consequently I am beginning to have a new found respect for all those teachers that had to put up with me and my friends over the years. We were rarely the worst students in class, but there were a few that didn't exactly "capture our attention." Personally I could care less whether a student wants to learn English or not. What I do know is that they are required by the French Government to take the class starting usually at the Middle School level. To remind you, I am working with students currently studying for their electro-technical/engineering BTS exam. (A BTS exam roughly translates into a two year study program for: An Advanced Vocational Training Certificate) These students are between the ages of 17 and 24, and all of them have received their Baccalauréate (high school diploma). They have an AVERAGE of eight years of English study, yet many still do not understand me when I ask: "how...was...your...weekend?" Even if they don't understand the "how was your" part of the question week-end is the same in French as in English. I’m lost.


Now, I had some classes in high school and college that I struggled with mightily and therefore did not put forth adequate effort. These were mainly math based classes. But no matter what, if I was forced to take introductory algebra for EIGHT straight years I would eventually know what (x) equaled, and why they use letters instead of numbers! So...long story short...the past two weeks have been a little trying.


Lycée Baggio is divided into two departments: the technical school, and the professional school. At the moment I am the only English assistant, and I work exclusively in the technical school. This is why all the students I work with are: (1.) Studying for their engineering degrees, and (2.) All male. There are ten English professors that I am assisting, and last week they all wanted a piece of me. I probably worked 14 or 15 hours even though I can only get paid for twelve (It would be different if I was a European Union citizen). The heads of the program, who led our training sessions, have made it clear that it is "interdit" for us to do this because we wont be paid, but I really don't care. Every now and then I can put in an extra hour with a class if it will help out a teacher. New classes are the most fun anyway beacuse kids are excited for the opportunity to talk with an American English speaker (they don't seem to care too much for the British). Many times the students leading our discussions are the ones who never say a word in class. These are without a doubt the best since it gives me the opportunity to talk about Chicago, the U.S. and my interests (oh and almost every class has asked if I own a gun).


This week should be a little calmer. I am back on my normal schedule with the exception of Friday: Mon. 2-4pm, Tues. 2-4pm, Wed. off, Thurs. 9am-5pm (the toughest day due to a 4 hour break from noon to 4pm), and Friday normally is from 8am-noon, but we have been scheduled by the French Government to go see the doctor to get a check-up. This will complete the final stages in preparation to receive our FREE government/socialist/communist healthcare! I have also taken on a side project for one of the math teachers at Baggio. He wrote a paper, in French, on Numbers Theory (whatever that is) and was contracted by an English math publication to translate it. No, I will not be doing the translating. I have forgotten every math term I ever learned outside of the basics (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). He has already done the translation. My job is to read through it, and make sure all the colloquialisms and sentence structures make sense. It's an easy read since each page is taken up primarily with mathematical equations (which I am not responsible to check), and I will earn almost an entire month's salary in extra travel income! All I can hope for now is that the dollar keeps crashing so that if I return to the States with any extra Euros I might double my money.


This weekend Kathryn and I are going to explore the town of Dunkerque on the coast, and meet up with some of the other English assistants there to put together a little Thanksgiving Dinner. We are very excited for the opportunity to do a little socializing with other English speakers. Also, for the first weekend in December we are taking a trip to Paris to see my old friend Yann, and explore the differences in Parisian nightlife and culture. Then it's home to Chicago! It is unbelievable how quickly, and slowly time is passing. We have already been here for a month and a half, and at the same time we have only been here for a month and a half. I can't wait to see what else is in our future. Where's Miss Cleo when you need her?

A bientôt,

-Jordan