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Do your kids enjoy school?


Catherine
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Catherine

To answer your question  - "Do your kids enjoy school?", and ignoring arguements about which system is best, we moved to France 6 years ago and after a year of rental settled in the Ariege.  Initially they were in the local village school.  The standard of education in village schools is sound, the head teacher was excellent, but there are no "bells and whistles", they get a solid basic education that anyone going through the UK system in the 60's and early 70's would recognise.  The eldest got advanced a year and they are now in school/college in the local town, enjoy school, and have never expressed a desire to return to the UK.... I hope this helps. 

 

  

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Wel , well; I read this thread with interest since I am French and I am a teacher, and the only thing  I'd like to say is " beware of generalizations"..  In either way..

I agree that art and theatre etc, should be more present in French schools, but many schools , even in rural areas, offer creative options to children.

I teach in a high school, we have a theatre club, dance clubs, etc..

All foreign teenagers are offered French classes, I know, I have one student from Chile, one from Afghanistan, and they have really improved their French thanks to it.

I'm sorry but French learning is not all about regurgitating !!!!! [blink]

We value reflexion, analysis, expression of personal opinion, in many topics!!!!!! I m thinking of philosophy, history, geography, languages, French...

No rose tinted specs here, I know the system has its faults, but I am a bit fed up with the " all pessimistic view "  ...

I teach in BTS NRC ( Negociation/ Relation Client)  and most of my students immediately get a job after they ve graduated.

I must add that, even if I live in a medium sized town , I live in a rural department, and many of our students come from rural villages.

 

 

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[quote user="Frenchie"]

I agree that art and theatre etc, should be more present in French schools, but many schools , even in rural areas, offer creative options to children.

I teach in a high school, we have a theatre club, dance clubs, etc..

All foreign teenagers are offered French classes, I know, I have one student from Chile, one from Afghanistan, and they have really improved their French thanks to it.

I'm sorry but French learning is not all about regurgitating !!!!! [blink]

We value reflexion, analysis, expression of personal opinion, in many topics!!!!!! I m thinking of philosophy, history, geography, languages, French...

[/quote]

Frenchie this just shows how much departmental variation there is. Our local school and college have no extra curricular activities at all. No theatre groups, art groups, dance groups, nada.

Our local primary school offers no help whatsoever to non-French children. There are no extra lessons, no one to one lessons, they just have to sink or swim. Why do they offer them to teenagers and not to primary age children?

I've yet to see any of my children be asked to have an opinion on anything (they are in 4eme, 5eme and CM2). In fact, as we are considering returning tothe UK when my husband's current contract ends they have been doing UK 11+ /key stage assessment papers which has shown how behind they are despite two of them being a year above what they would be in the UK and how the teaching here differs.Anything that required them to think a bit laterally, to be a bit creative, to look a bit more behind the words on the page and they couldn't do it. It's been a real eye-opener.

I totally disagree, based on the education my children have had, that they have to do much more (in primary and college at least - we haven't got to lycee) than repeat back facts and figures. I really wonder how well this will prepare them for later life in a global workplace.

Just my opinion and not one, of course, that everyone will agree with.

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I am English, 15 and have been living in France for 6 years and I keep in contact with my friends in England so I know quite a bit about the differences between the systems . I have to say that the French have a better system based on the fact that in France I can take more types of lessons than in England, I study Latin, Spanish, Civique Education and Greek but none of my friends in England could choose to do them.

I also have multiple friends in French Lycees and the number of different paths and options you can take is astounding for example my neighbour does Economics and Social studies whilst another ''less educational friend'' does agricultural studies and they are both 16.

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Am really proud of him , he looked at the post and decided something positive - well done my 'little 6' plus' young man.  Just goes to show it can't be all bad, despite what he tells me from college!!  Approves of all the 'faire le pont' and greves!!!  No, he is not a boffin - far from it!!!!!!!
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Someone please answer - the first time he has posted and would like some kind of a response - thanks.  Perhaps there may be some kind of forum whereby new 'kids on the block' can corresponde here, parents looking in? Would be interested, don't know about others?
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Hello, I'm Ginger's son and I'm 13. I've been her 5 years.  Like you I keep in touch with my friends from school but I much preferred school in England than here. I only went to primary school but last time I was home, my cousin's secondary school let me go for two days. It was brilliant. The school had so many more facilities that mine does and they learn loads of different subjects that I don't do here like Metalwork, Woodwork, Domestic Science, proper IT lessons. They had interactive whiteboards and everyone has a laptop to use. My school doesn't even have working computers :(( The lessons were really interesting compared to many of mine here and the work was very different. More interesting and more challenging. I find the lessons here very, very boring.  We call it 'death by worksheet'.

I can do Latin here but I hate it so I don't think of it as a plus point. I can't do Greek or Spanish as my college doesn't teach it. I was surprised you said your friends don't do Civic Education as it's part of the UK curriculum. Economics and Social Studies are available in the UK as are agricultural studies at many 6th form colleges in country areas.

I completely disagree that there are more types of lessons in   France. The choice my cousin has for GCSE is huge compared to what I can do for the Brevet.    He can do all the sciences, Latin, German, French, Mathematics and Statistics, RE, Humanities, Art, Phys Ed, Drama, Business Studies, Economics, Social Studies, History, Geography, Electronics, English and PSE. He's just in a normal state school.                                                                                                        

I intend to go back to university in England as I want to do Forensic Anthropology. There are brilliant BSc courses in the UK but here I'd have to go to university for about 6 years and still not be trained. When I told my teachers I want to do Forensic Anthropology, they looked at me as if I was nuts. I don't think they knew what it was.

I'm pleased that you enjoy school here and hope it continues that way. It's important to be happy where you are. Good luck in the future.

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