Rabbi Lau in French Secular School

Of course, Rabbi Lau wasn’t physically present in my classroom this morning but the words he spoke in the video we watched seem to have made quite an impact on my students.
Thanks to Jew Wishes, who provided the link in a blog post, I read a wonderful and poignant article about Rabbi Lau and the [...]

Taking Over

I have mentioned on one or two occasions that I have two new classes this year. I teach them Business English and prepare them for a two-part exam: a written paper and an oral.
For the written part of the exam the candidates get an article they have never seen before and which is related to [...]

Getting Ready To Leave

We are about to leave Sweden after a day in Stockholm tomorrow. The students seem very happy with the exchange, which is very rewarding for their teachers. One girl went as far as saying that this was the best exchange she had been on (she said it was her sixth!).
Two out of the three collegues [...]

How?

- How can you not be horrified when a former students of yours takes his life at the age of 17?
- How do you come to accept such a terrifying piece of information when you remember him as one of the most pleasant and charming students you have ever had?
- How can you possibly comfort [...]

Sweden – Day 2

Swedish students are more autonomous than French students. My colleagues and I are not sure why but it is a fact. As a result we were student-free today as they were being taken care of by their Swedish counterparts who guided them through the town in the morning and took them to activities for the [...]

We’re There

After a smooth plane journey and three hours on t he coach, we arrived in Sweden last night and delivered our students to their host families.
This morning they followed their penfriends while we, teachers, attended a PE lesson (see photo above) where the students learned about heart beats and pulses before a short orienteering race [...]

Back To School – Part 2

On Friday I met two other classes: 10th and 12th graders. Both groups are made up of students who did German whan they began high school and started English two years later. They usually come from more comfortable families or at least families where the parents are interested in what their kids learn at school.
However [...]

Back To School – Part 1

Warning: this is a very factual post and may feel a bit tedious.

I went back to work last Tuesday. In France on the first day only the teachers are expected to show up. We usually have all sorts of meetings about the coming year.

To begin with all the teachers were welcomed by the head and [...]

Back to Work

Finally, after six weeks of sick leave, one week of teaching in mid-June and two weeks of marking exams and attending exam meetings in late June and July, I am back to work.

I have only four classes this year – as opposed to six last year – but two are completely new.

I have a class [...]

Youngsters and the Digital Age

They may be Facebook or msn Messenger addicts but when it comes to using the Internet for school youngsters are not so efficient.

Since September our school is supposed to have entered the Information Age. In short, we put the students’ grades online either after each test or once a term, some teachers (not me) make [...]