Mardi 17.10.06 Get on board the assistantship
It’s back to school again for me. Today I have my other four classes, consisting of the two remaining senior classes – CM2 A and CM2 B, and my other two junior classes – CE2 A and CE2 D. My timetable is as follows:
8,00 – 8,45 CM2 B – Dominique Bois
9,00 – 9,45 CM2 A – Christophe Carval
BREAK
10,00 – 10,45 CE2 A – Madame Pamphile
10,45 – 11,30 CE2 D – Catherine Edragas
I’m extremely lucky to be just assigned to one school. I have been placed here, in Chateauboeuf A, as an assistante de langue vivante for the 2006/2007 academic year. I am not an assistant in the ordinary sense. My main role as an assistante de langue is to teach English. My duties as an assistante however, go beyond ensuring language acquisition and linguistic competence. A language must be taught and learnt in tandem with cultural relevance and cultural insights. This allows children to experience different traditions and customs, and another way of life, thus deepening their understanding of the language. So with each different lesson I incorporate a relevant element of Irish life.
It’s a good job Ireland has such a rich heritage and history, a wealth of folklore and mythological wonder and an evidently different way of life to those of Francophone countries. Throughout the year it is up to me to provide my classes with enriching, tangible cultural experiences and activities which enable them to not only learn by listening and verbalising but also to learn by doing. At the end of November our school, Chateauboeuf A, will hold a cultural exchange with teachers from Poland and Finland coming over to demonstrate aspects of their own culture. Last year two primary teachers from Newry, Co. Down were over with hurleys, sliotars and tricolours. So since some of the children here are already a bit familiar with Ireland and since I’m here for this next cultural exchange, I have been asked to teach our children some Irish dances to show our guests. I already have Ballaí na Luimnigh and Shéanínn in the pipeline.
I have all four CM2 classes (aged 10-11) and all four CE2 classes (aged 8-9). The CM1 classes (aged 9-10) are being taught English by the language teacher they had last year. She is Martiniquais and not on the assistantship programme. I’m fortunate to see my classes regularly. Some assistants may take a class and never have them again (this is more common in secondary schools). In secondary schools assistants tend to be more class aides; helping the teacher with the class, taking groups aside for grammar or oral work and sometimes just sitting in on the class to answer questions. Of course they sometimes have a more active role and actually take the class.
This assistantship programme is organised and run by the Irish Department of Education and Science, the Irish Higher Education Authority, the Centre International d’Études Pédagogiques and the French Embassy. On application there are four teaching options and an additional study option. You put down your top three teaching options and your top three locations and the above organisations do the maths. If you don’t care where you go or who you teach you can always write down no preference in both cases. Here is an outline of the different teaching options:
PREFERRED TYPE OF CONTRACT
Candidates may request the age group that they would prefer to work with. The French authorities will try to take into consideration these wishes but CANNOT guarantee that preferences will be satisfied.
Primary School – 7 Months
A seven-month contract (01/10/2006 – 30/04/2007)
A 12-hour schedule that can be spread across three schools
Working with children aged 8/11
The candidate will be organising oral activities on his own with small groups of pupils or working alongside the teacher with the whole class present
Good level of French required
Primary School – 9 Months
A nine-month contract (01/10/2006 – 30/06/2007)
A 12-hour schedule that can be spread across three schools
Teaching children aged 8/11
The candidate will be expected to take the whole class on his own and to follow the national curriculum
Ideal for candidates with, or aspiring to acquire, elementary and language teaching experience
Good level of French required
Secondary School
A seven-month contract (01/10/2006 – 30/04/2007)
Working with pupils aged 11/18
The candidate will be organising oral activities on his own with small groups of pupils or working alongside the teacher with the whole class present
No prior teaching experience required
IUFM (Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres)
A six-month contract (01/10/2006 – 31/03/2007)
A 12-hour schedule that can be spread across three schools
Working with teacher trainees (aged over 21)
The candidate will have to improve students’ language skills and communicate on his culture
Prior teaching experience required
No Preference
Studying in France
Language assistants can only register as auditors in French universities. This means the assistant is not allowed to take exams. The French universities can only issue a «certificate of attendance» which may be validated by the assistant’s home university.
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I have been given the second teaching option: Primary School – 9 Months. On application this was my second choice with Secondary School as my first and No Preference as my third. In hindsight I think that I’m more suited to this primary setting. My previous involvement with Cub Scouts was probably a key factor in my primary placement. Plus, teenagers would probably not appreciate my quirky sketches and strange songs as much as the children seem to.
Since I only have two class levels (CM2 and C1E), and since I see each group twice a week I only have to prepare two different lesson sessions each week. It’s good that I have my days split up in this way so if I notice something really does not work, or vice-versa, I can choose to either change it or kick it for the next day. For the younger students (CE2), who are only beginning to learn English, I just have to simplify my CM2 lesson plans. I adapt each lesson plan according to the class’s level. I find that even among each class level there are varying degrees of ability.
This morning I used the same lesson plan as I did with yesterday’s classes: locating English speaking countries on the world map, emphasising the importance of learning English and learning to introduce ourselves while noticing different cultural greetings. The word nice posed some problems so I used a serpent’s hiss to illustrate this. At this stage the children have not yet seen the words written down. It’s too early. The initial concern is correct pronunciation. If they saw the word nice written down they would automatically pronounce is like the French city, Nice.
All my classes are in the morning, which is a real coo. I just got lucky with the school timetable. It leaves the afternoon free to sunbathe and travel… or realistically to sleep and watch TV. The fact that I’m up at 5,00 each morning means that by the time 11,30 comes around I feel like I’ve been up half the day – I have in fact! The combination of the heat, travelling, traffic jams and the amount of energy I use up in each class all contribute to the imminent midday fatigue. Previous assistants have stated that they didn’t fully adjust until after Christmas. If you go by that I’m left with two months, three weeks and 1 day until my body clock readjusts. Knowing my luck my timetable will be changed for that new term!
As well as felling fatigued Fort-de-France is not exactly the nicest city to wander around. Sure it has its historical buildings to take in and the waterfront to stroll along but it is hot, dirty, busy, rundown and a bit sketchy. I usually look beyond the dilapidated facades and the dirty drains, and by now I’m somewhat immune to the fishy pong and sewage stink. I also just look past the guys who are on corners, on scooters and on drugs, but it’s the heat and the bustling streets that you usually can’t ignore. Today, despite the heat I’m in a shopping mood. I decide to traipse around town as I want to suss out where to buy art supplies and other bits and bobs. After an hour or so (that’s not at all long by shopaholic standards) I’ve bought some contact, coloured paper and two umbrellas. Yes, two umbrellas. It doesn’t rain here. It pours. So with my team of umbrellas I’ll beat those teeming downpours.
Us primary assistants had our Stage last week so this tomorrow it’s everyone else’s turn. They only have it for three hours one day. C’est pas juste! Gethin lives in Ducos just outside Fort-de-France and even though it’s not too far away he’s asked if he can stay with us to save him trekking in much earlier. By 17,00 there’s still no sight of Gethin. Nicola had tried to call him before returning home but he didn’t reply. A while later he rings explaining all. In short, Edith had taken a notion to actively ensure that Gethin got his injured arm checked out by her specialist friend. She landed on Gethin’s doorstep. In Gethin’s presence she then rang the specialist to get make an appointment. Next she drove Gethin around trying to persuade him to see the specialist. Gethin listened to her but told her that he was content with the rugby club doctor’s analysis. We were told that Edith was still persistent. Gethin asked her to stop at a petrol station so he could buy a drink. She did, and he did, but he didn’t return to the car. Instead he proceeded to walk back to Ducos. Gethin said he didn’t have any credit to contact us earlier and he wanted to cool off at home instead of bitching with us. I think Gethin was actually too scarred to come over to ours in case Edith popped by!
Nicola and I were having a good ‘oul rant when Edith rings. Her account of the story differs only in that she said Gethin used some choice phrases to tell her he wasn’t interested. She sounded upset and seemed put out that Gethin had not availed of her kind concern. Nicola told her that she had done all she could. But Edith still raged on about Gethin and his lack of appreciation. Aside from that she mentioned that some pupils were looking for extra tuition, but she was too tired to give the number. She added that Will worked near Nicola’s schools and that he would give it to her if, an when, they met up! For someone who seemed so upset and misunderstood she still had enough mischievousness to start playing games with us too. Nicola and I came to the conclusion that since she had argued with Gethin and since we are his friends she now thought she could get back at him by toying with us!!
We let bygones be bygones and decided to pass on an indefinite investigation of the fracas and instead focused on our forthcoming holiday plans for Guadeloupe and Dominica. James had still not got back to us but we had an interesting itinerary to entice him with. Later that night I dreamt about boiling lakes, fruit-bats and witches on broomsticks…
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