Cjb

If the reform process is anything like the one that took place in the UK, it will be a long, painful and drawn-out process, but it'll be worth it. The real battle is to change a deeply entrenched culture. One that is incredibly stubborn and places the rights of the teacher at its very centre. I don't know where anyone gets the idea that expectations are low in UK schools. Expectations are very high, the key difference is that those high expectations apply to both the children and their teachers. Those that are still teaching in the UK have had no choice but to continually push to improve standards, which at times has meant taking the burden of the stress upon themselves, rather than passing it on to their students. "Rewarding the Thicko" (I accept that these are the teachers words, not the posters) is a very simplistic example of what is known as positive behavioural reinforcement, which aims to catch children being good and reward their efforts and achievements relative to their ability. If this proves to be the catalyst for a growing sense of self-belief and a subsequent thirst for knowledge and education (which isn't battered and bruised into submission by the constant fear of failure lurking around every corner) then surely it has to be a good thing. Education has no time limits, unless we impose them upon others or ourselves. The goal of education is not a string of top results at 16, 18 or 21, rather a sense of its value and a lifelong love of learning. One simply need look at the thousands of mature students who consistently achieve firsts and 2:1's from UK universities and the number of posters on this site, who despite learning little french at school, have gone on to learn the language to a level that they never imagined to be possible, to realise that the job of a school is merely to give us a good start on the long journey that is education.

So if you had things your way are we to assume that you'd: 1. Pay teachers less. 2. Make them work longer hours. 3. Reduce their holidays. Great recruitment drive, Outcast. I'm sure this would go a long way to improving standards in education!! I await the question: Why do you need so many holidays???

I'm sure she's going to love getting to know "Outcast"!!!

Not if he takes IGCSE's (International GCSE's) and then the International Bac. French is a compulsory part of the International Bac, therefore, by the time he goes to University his french should be pretty good.

I'm a teacher in a neighbouring International School and therefore know a little about Mougins School and have colleagues who have taught there. It's the more British of the International Schools on the Côte D'Azur, as the children take GCSE's and A Levels as opposed to IGCSE and the International Baccalauréat. Should your children wish to stay in France afterwards the International BAC would be a better option. On the whole, the school has a very good reputation, very good facilities and pretty expensive fees. I'd take a look at all of the International Schools in the region before making a choice. These include: Nice, Monaco and CIV (Sophia Antipolis).

We're living in 06 and although I'm earning 2/3 of what I earnt in the UK, the quality of my life is umpteen times better. I have to admit that the move I made was not as drastic as some; we moved without children (although we now have one of 2 months) and we were both in our 20's. I'm working in an International environment, therefore my salary is a lot better than many of my french friends, and my wife is french, so the administrative nightmare was less severe. Where we live it's very international, therefore, the culture shock is not so great, for those that move to the rural areas that the French have been leaving in droves for many years, life will certainly be that much more trying.    

It's not that you didn't have one, you didn't make anything of it! Now that's a different case!! Who was it that wasted the tax payers money??

Life here on the Cote D'Azur isn't bad. Fortunately, we live about 20km's back from the coast, so it's a little quieter. The climate's great, you have both the beach and the ski resorts at your disposal and Italy is only an hour away. I know it's not cheap, but it still works out cheaper than the UK. The best months have to be May, June and September. July and August can be a little too much!! They're currently constructing a tramway in Nice, so traffic's a nightmare, but apart from that I've no complaints.

The end result of this is that teachers no longer want to take children on school trips. Are trips more dangerous now than in the past? I seriously doubt it. In fact I'd be pretty sure that in the present climate far more precautions are taken than ever before. In the end, it's the children that lose out, as a result of disproportionate media coverage!! These same newspapers then bemoan the fact that children spend too much time infront of the T.V and playing on playstations and that teachers don't want to run extra-curricular activities.

And why ever not, Outcast? If you're speeding and you get caught, you've really got no comeback!! Yes, I break the speed limit, but if I get caught, I can't blame it on the police. The law has been made for a reason and they're there to enforce it. Are we saying that we don't want the police to enforce the law? It's a democracy, the law makers were voted in, therefore, it's the job of the police to carry this out.

When my wife was living in England she found that the english police were far more approachable and helpful than their french counterparts. Just a view from the other side. The majority of my french family, friends and colleagues are in agreement with Le Figaro. Once again it appears to be the curse of the functionnaires!!

You must be getting tired SB, I can't see any spelling mistake!!

O.K, I stand corrected, but 6 hours a week isn't much time in the classroom. The PGCE includes at least 2 long term teaching practices and an initial observation period. There are some things that can be learnt outside of the classroom, but most of what's worth knowing will be learnt from being thrown in at the deep end and being responsible for your own class. Having a class one day a week does not teach you how to build a rapport with your students - an essential ingredient for successful teachers, nor does it give you an insight into the realities of the job on a day in day out basis.

In my mind the CAPES is far from being an equivalent of the PGCE. The PGCE is based upon teacher training whilst the CAPES is a competitive exam based upon knowledge and exam technique. The former produces teachers the latter produces functionnaires!!

I don't remember anyone saying that Outcast was right, to the extreme right, maybe, but right, surely not!!

The honeymoon period is well and truly over and perhaps a few sleepless nights have made me rather less patient, but it's now that I'm starting to view France as the country I live in and where I'll bring my daughter up rather than somewhere that isn't the UK. Personally, I'd like my daughter to start off in the french system, at least for primary school, but my wife, who is french, won't abide by that. She's been through the system (and did well), but has no desire to put her own daughter through it if an alternative exists - in our case free education at an International School due to my job. The more time I spend in France the more I feel that those that work for themselves or in the private system work bloody hard (in most cases) and those in the public sector are taking everyone else for a ride. I spent years defending the public sector in the UK, but since moving here, I can't offer the same support. Dare I say it, it even makes me think that we were lucky to have Thatcher - at least in the short term). Allez Sarkozy!! Despite all of this, we're still very happy here, it's just that our outlook has greatly changed.

I've  been in France for 18 months and I have to admit that Miki and Saligo Bay had it spot on, with regards to the reality of life in France. They were right, my perceptions have changed. The problem with teachers in France is that they fall under the title of "Functionnaire", which seems to mean, I've passed the concours, I've got a job for life and the quality of life for teachers is far more important than that of my pupils. O.K, such children require extra funding and resources, but most importantly of all it requires teachers that are prepared to give their upmost for every single child in their class, regardless of where they come from.

Merely opinion. I await to see if it is in fact policy/law. Does anyone know??

Surely, it is the responsibility of all EU member states to provide support to those living and working within their borders. If not, what is the point in opening these borders?? Of course parental responsibility plays a large part, but it remains the responsibilty of the French Ministry of Education to provide the resources to enable all pupils to fully access the school programme. Can you imagine the outcry if teachers in the UK refused to offer no additional support to non-english speaking children (Racism!!). I get the feeling that some people that would decry such behaviour in the UK, would, at the same time, excuse french teachers for behaving in such a way towards non-french speaking english children.

It all comes down to years of experience, as opposed to the quality of teaching. There seems to be a lack of incentive for those that are new to the job. The only incentive being to remain in the job and collect a salary increase regardless of performance!!  In the UK there's been a big push to recruit and retain new teachers and also to keep good teachers within the classroom, rather than them seeking headships etc..... . Oh well, it's not the UK, and I may as well accept that, but that doesn't mean to say that I hold such a system in particularly high esteem. Don't try applying logic to the situation you'll only end up becoming even more frustrated!!

Despite EU regulations, a PGCE carries no weight in France. I tried to teach English in the french system and was told that without a CAPES I wouldn't be able to obtain a CDI. I have heard talk of things changing in the near future, but then again, change in France is not a particularly speedy process. I was discussing this with a french guy last night, who assured me that the CAPES was a great idea and that English teachers should have to requalify to ensure that they understand the english language as well as their french counterparts!! Maybe this has something to do with why there are french children being encouraged to read classic texts in english whilst at the same time they can't manage basic conversation skills!!

And for those children with a french parent? Are you telling me that these children are not integrated into french life? Who doesn't want their child to do well and have the choice later on in life. Just because we've chosen France, it doesn't mean to say that our children will want to live here later on in life. For me it's all about having the choice. As a teacher in an International School my own children will receive free schooling; it's a perk of the job!! If we were both English we would certainly be looking to put our child into a french school. As we're not, things are slightly different!!

I firstly tried working within the french system, however, despite an EU ruling to the contrary, an English teaching qualification is not recognised in France, which would have meant two years of retraining just to start at the bottom of the salary scale. With a daughter on the way this was never an option. As for teaching the privilleged, I spent the first 5 years of my teaching career in North London and it certainly wasn't the leafy suburbs. Yes, results at my school are extremely good, which is all the more impressive when you take into account the number of children that have English as a second language. The International Bac requires every student to also pass an exam in their first language as well as french. Therfore, for a significant number of students, gaining an International Bac is evidence of them being trilingual. I fail to see how me teaching in an International School is to the detriment of the French working classes. As I've previously mentioned, it would have meant retraining and at the end of all that, within the french system you can then be posted anywhere within the country. Not an ideal situation for someone with a young child. What do you make of french parents sending their children to International Schools? Are their children less french than your good self as a result of this? Anyway, what's wrong with parents wanting the best for their children? Many of these parents pay the highest rate of tax, which goes to supporting the education system, so why shouldn't they have the choice? If you're suggesting that results are merely due to wealth and not the quality of teaching, I think you're sadly misguided. Many of the parents are successful and shrewd business people who don't just throw their money about without firstly ensuring that they're getting value for money. This brings me to one final point. Unless I'm mistaken, wasn't it you, the bastion of the poor and needy, who was critical of providing charitable support for the victims of the Tsunami in S.E Asia? Double standards, me thinks!!

What exactly do you know about International Schools? A third of my class are french, nearly every child is at least bilingual and as to whether they're well integrated into french society, that is very much dependent on their parents and their homelife. As my wife is French and my daughter is half french and born in France, I can't see that sending my daughter to an International School (if and when we decide to) will present her with any problems. Being bilingual, she should have no problems integrating into either system. The french parents that have made a considerable financial sacrifice to put their children through the International system, tell me that they have done so due to a lack of confidence within the french education system at College and Lycée level and because they want their children to be well equipped for life in a world that operates on an increasingly international basis. Their qualifications will be recognised worldwide (they study for the International Bac) and this includes France. Perhaps sending your children to a french school makes you feel particularly french, then again, my wife's family feel very strongly that an International education would be by far the best bet! Then again what do they know?? Many french friends of ours with the BAC +5 or 6 wish that they'd followed a similar route, as they're unable to find work that befits their academic achievments.

Any good International School will not base their pay on French salaries as their market is an international one and not merely french, therefore, in order to attract good teachers, they need to remain competitive within an international market.