Interview with Peter Gumbel (They shoot schoolkids don't they?) about stress among French schoolchildren

[thepenofmyaunt]

In French for those who read it.

http://www.elle.fr/Maman/Mon-enfant/A-l-ecole/Echec-scolaire-l-ecole-pointe-trop-les-fautes-et-l-echec-1727458/La-pression-scolaire-une-specificite-francaise-1727470

[NormanH]

Thanks for that. An excellent article. I can vouch for much of what he says, and built a small reputation locally with young adult learners by helping them to gain confidence in their ability to communicate in English, which had been shattered by the system.

[Gardener]

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/7/2247517/ShowPost.aspx#2247517

I haven't got time to read the article now, but is it just a rehash of what he said last year?

[idun]

I suppose it was a rehash, only it was printed in France.

The thing that made me smile was the readers comments where they start argueing about the level of french of other commentators. I realise that brits do it too, but of all the things that could have been said, having a go at one another, well, it seemed to have missed the point of the article.

[cooperlola]

[quote user="idun"]

having a go at one another, well, it seemed to have missed the point of the article.

[/quote]whilst validating it at the same time.

As was said when this was discussed before - a pity this didn't come from a native French person because it might get wider acceptance if it had.

[NormanH]

In a way it couldn't because the system brainwashes them...that's the vicious circle. Only someone from out side can see it but they don't value the views of people who haven't been through the system.

Did you see how people commenting were talking about Bac + 3 or Bac + 5 etc?  There is an automatic belief that length of time spent studying equals some sort of level of competence. On one interview session I did I asked 'Why did you take 4 years to get to this level? Couldn't you have done it in 2?'  The person had absolutely no idea of where I was coming from

[Richardbk]

And it is worse, because the employers that have come from the same system have been brain washed into thinking that qualification X is only suitable for job/career Y. There is little opportunity in France to switch careers once those decisions are made at 15-16. In France the job offer is primarily based on paper qualifications, rather than potential and past work performance.

[thepenofmyaunt]

Peter Gumbel's Facebook followers (for his book rather than personal) are almost entirely French. I think he has very wide acceptance among the French and in all the interviews I've seen with him, the subject of his nationality has rarely if ever come up