Thankfully, I never actually said those exact words. I came pretty close though. School life: it’s a killer. My most-used words so far have been “be quiet” and “in English, please”, and there are some children who I, quite frankly, would like to strangle every day I see them. From the overly-hormonal and moody 3eme Euro class, to the… lively 4eme internationals (for whom the above quotation exists), they really do take it out of me some days. I wouldn’t change it for the world, though, and the few moments when I feel I’ve made a breakthrough or made a little bit of difference in one pupil’s learning experience is enough to keep me smiling throughout the day. That, and the promise that if it really does get too bad, I can gorge myself on French baked goods.
One thing I have noticed is that I have very definitely become, in the eyes of my pupils, one of “them”. I am one of their teachers, and therefore am not allowed a life outside the grounds of the school. I saw two of my pupils on the tram a few days ago, and when they noticed me, they whispered in surprise and stared at me until they needed to get off. I felt more than a little bit conspicuous, I must say.
I have to say, though, that my life at the moment does seem to revolve around lesson planning. For my twelve hours a week teaching, I must spend the same amount planning what I’m going to do in those hours. It’s my own fault, though, because I love it. I genuinely love coming up with ideas to make lessons fun, or things to do that will interest the kids. I can already tell that this year is going to be bloody challenging, and a massive learning curve, but I hope that I can impart some of my wisdom too.
In other news, I went to my first rehearsal with l’HarmonieSMN (wind band) on Wednesday, and had a truly wonderful evening. I was picked up by a man I had never met before, which was a little daunting, but he was one of the best French men I have ever met, being in his late 60s, having fewer teeth than most and playing the trumpet. I was welcomed by everybody, including the conductor who informed me that I was going to be playing 1st Clarinet and so should sit on the front row. I am going to learn so much from my Wednesday evenings about the French style of rehearsals, as well as a whole host of new musical vocabulary and a grasp on the do-re-mi system of note-naming. The sharper A even meant that my clarinet stayed vaguely in tune without me having to pull out so ridiculously far that it nearly falls apart. Happy days.
I had a training day today which wasn’t entirely unhelpful, as the two lovely ladies taking it were wonderful and actually had quite a few answers to various questions. Long day, but overall quite successful.
I also received a card (handmade, of course) from a certain Ms Sophie Wilkinson on Friday, which made me smile endlessly :-)
Other than that, I’m not sure there’s a lot else to say, so I’ll leave you all to your inevitably busy lives and bid you farewell. Biz xx
P.S. I found out today that the word for "toilet seat" is "lunette de toilette". The French are weird.
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