so Andrew- not worth going it alone then ?- was considering the option...
Ah, the misery of the Dickensian French education system! How well I recall it from when my children were small. I agree with Nola that there are good and bad everywhere and will add only this:
1) Physical violence against children still occurs and I have never heard of a teacher being held responsible for it. (My daughter, then aged 7, was yanked across the room by her hair and made to sit in the corner on the floor -- for failing to respond to a question quickly enough -- and the teacher was given a day off without pay to consider her sins.)
2) A French teacher will never admit to being wrong and will never apologise.
3) They use ridicule and humiliation to control children. Children are never praised for their work. Those whose work is exceptional are also ridiculed, often quite cruelly.
4) Creative and artistic children suffer much more from the French system than others, as the child who does more, participates more, etc. is forcefully discouraged from doing so. (The same applies to any good teacher who managed to stumble into the system. He or she will be forced out quickly. See Nola's comment for an example.)
5) If you are serious about a complaint about a teacher, the only way you will get a response is if you put your complaint in writing to the school director and demand a written response, as that has to go on a teacher's file. All vocal communication is a waste of time as it is not binding. Hammer away with letters and you will sometimes make a change.
6) Generally, during the academic year, the children are worked to the bone up to Christmas, then do nothing for the rest of the year.
7) Contributing to no. 6 but not the sole cause: so many teachers go off sick after the first term that there is a constant change of supply teachers from January to June, making for no continuity in teaching, or even the supply teachers' knowing the children's names.
We experienced the education systems of four different countries, plus the International Baccalaureat schools, and the French is the worst for sheer unkindness. In the end, because we were always on the move, we opted for the IB schools.
Good luck!
Oh yes, geography always shocks me generallyy in Europe, nobody knows nuffink!
Nola, I've got a PGCE and maîtrise FLE and was offered jobs in the public sector as a remplaçant and told that if I kept the same job for 5 years I'd then have it for life, that was in 2008 if I remember correctly - didn't take the job as things were going well as an indépendant. All changed now.
Brian, ciao!, a difficult one and most seemed to have already said what I would say - good and bad teachers, the system etc. Mine are enjoying occitan, still get the odd bit of English with me but otherwise everything's in French. As for the geography, I think you'd be surprised at the average Brit's geographical knowledge of their own country/countries...! :-O
sorry, just read further down, everyone's said the same re capes etc.
We did one naughty thing. My wife took in one of my publications on children's rights for the teacher to look at, she sniffed and admitted she would have difficulties reading it but noticed Cambridge as my university. Then she turned it against my wife and said "...and what have you done?". She took in a book of her own, published by l'Harmattan and said "Read this instead". It was deliberately snobbish and provocative to warn her that she should not try games with us if they involved language because we publish at academic level which means we have no choice but to know what we are doing. I wish we did not need to, but she was pushing the 'well you are foreigners so really let me know best on everything'. I would happily leave it at that and never again...
Blimey Cate. :o
Teaching is very close to my heart...
Teachers are human too, they make mistakes but you're right; it's a real shame that some teachers refuse to develop themselves professionally or personally.
You would think such an important step in a child's development would be taken more seriously but from personal experience (I'm a school teacher and now have started up my own) I have seen that teacher training is an extremely neglected area. It's like anything in life, things change and it's important to stay up-to-date, especially when you are supposed to be guiding young mind!
Most parents who turnto me tell me of terrible tails of teachers killing their children's motivation for Englsih, what a shame! I'm glad that Nola has stipulated though that there are good teachers out there.
Good luck for the rest of the year.
Hi Heather
Can we have a photo please? Pretty please? Thanks!
Nola hello again- lol about the hop- a- long teacher story ... listen, if you need any advise about sitting the CAPES etc give me shout. heather
I agree that coming over as the pushy anglophone isn't the answer - but I did object when the teacher I mentioned starting to make unnecessary and incorrect revisions to homework. I left it, then I spoke to her, then I finally started crossing out when the marks started to slip under the moyen for mistakes that were actually not mistakes at all, twas all rather Monty Pythonesque. I do believe she is still going strong!
Incidentally, recently one of our children at another school handed in a v shoddy piece of homework that had slipped under our radar. Rightly, the teacher had written a note in his book saying that it was not up to scratch and it needed redoing, wrongly she had put a v snotty addendum to the above - stating how poor parenting lead to lousy homework! First poor piece of work in the subject with a moyen of 16 and a lecture on parenting skills! We both bristled and after much discussion, a nifty reply was penned. We waited for a reply. Nothing. The poor woman had fallen off a ladder that same evening, broken her leg and decided to take early retirement, leading one of the other children to say to my son "What an earth did your parents say to her?!"
Cate something up with replies. To repeat my missing response to you briefly. We are going at it as part of the group of parents from within and quietly. The Rhine/Rhone thing was taught the same four years ago as a parent has found from an older brother's things at home, so that is evidence.
My thought though, is how widespread this kind of thing is. I also think we should give all credit to excellent, commited teachers as well. So it is not a nja-nja. As for being interventionist with the English, I totally agree so back to where I started and we will blend into the complaining pack.
Heather, I had graduate and PG teaching and assessing qualifications and had taught in colleges in the UK. I was more than happy to do a concourse or further training here but was rebuffed at first post. As I posted to Brian this was in the dark ages at the beginning of the decade, obviously times have moved on....I have just offered to do a couple of hours English at the local maternelle, on a voluntary basis and the d'accord is still grinding through the administrative channels....
OK, nine years ago is pre-EQF although some of the laws were not. But now they can get into big trouble.
It was a long time ago Brian - around 2003. I wonder if they were using the old rules?
Right Heather, if they stipulated French nationality it would break EU law.
Strange - I see that most of my response disappeared.
Nola, go on to the 'Working in France' group. Look at the EQF. You will see that your qualifications must be 'translated' into their French equivalent. I know from my teacher friend that there are teachers from other EU countries in the Dordogne alone. Yes, you have to get CAPES, that is for sure. Anyway, the EQF guides you on what you have, the EU laws and regulations are in place but unfortunately you need to search deep for them - quite a task. However, under EU law you cannot be excluded as that Rectorat says because you are not a French national. It is forbidden for all but 'sensitive' national areas such as military/defence and interior ministry matters in all member countries. France has ratified that legislation, therefore it is law here. That allows you legal redress Nola, as long as you have it in writing (of course), and even compensation if you have been denied access to your normal livelihood.
Hmmm i wonder, I was teaching with the Rectorat in Toulouse but as a Supply Teacher- i wonder if that is why. However, on examining the criteria for sitting the CAPES- it doesnt stipulate French nationality.... is there any documentation about this? I have done a lot of homework on this issue and have not been able to find anything stipulating French nationality. Nola as you are probably aware you cannot sit the CAPES for state and private schools- which one do you have?
Nola - EQF
Thanks Heather, but bear in mind my concern goes out to all children and English is one of the examples here. Having history taught one way last year, repeated this and in contradiction this year and also wrong geography is not imparting knowledge which is your role as a teacher. My daughter will steer her way through and probably thrive, she also has 'safety valves' in being a dual national of the UK and Switzerland where she has places to study - or elsewhere it that is what she will want. Indeed, I would actively discourage her from doing what she wants in France if she sticks with what she has had in mind since she was knee high. Other children do not have her advantages and where teachers do not advance children's skills and knowledge then they should not be educators. That is how it is in the vast majority of countries. In this case the teacher has more or less 50% of the parents up in arms against her and no doubt more will follow the rest, so sooner or later the thing will explode but I suspect it will be a damp squib rather than a big bang. However, the new teacher training may change that. I hope.