Yes you read that right apparently it is illegal for french primary schools to have swings unless they have the proper safety equipment. I was talking to one of my teachers at the school and explaining how in New Zealand primary schools have swings, climbing walls, slides ect while in a French primary school the kids (except for the maternelle) just get a big slab of concrete with a hopscotch on it. The teacher explained to me that France is so safety conscience that they are not allowed to have swings ect unless there is the proper safety equipment, such as a gate ect all of which cost money...
I was talking to another school who told me that its only the little kids that need things such as a slide....I didn't tell her that at my primary school and intermediate (college) there were huge playgrouds
The school system is vastly different between France and New Zealand, the kids do a lot more work and are yelled at if they don't do the work properly. There is a dictee every morning and if you have not done your homework of the night before you have to do in in your break. I can see the advantages of this, it installs a good work ethic but I can also see problems, they seem to have too much work sometimes.
In terms of my experience of teaching two of my schools are great, the other one I am researving judgement on but I think it will be good. Questions I got asked
"what are your houses made of"
"do you like rugby"
does it rain a lot in nz
does it snow
are there apartments
why have you got a french name
have you been to a rugby game
was the earthquake scary
little kids are cute....
I think that, this would be a great system in the NZ schools! It would be interesting to see the French statistics for behavior problems such as ADHD and ODD, just to bring that into the mix. Only because I am a teacher who has had experience with children diagnosed with these behaviour disorders and there are a lot of different theories out about what type of classroom management is needed when you have a child like that in your classroom. Oh and by the way, Korea is the exact same, no playgrounds! I was stunned when I saw this, but as you say they focus more on hard work than having fun. Both schooling systems have their positives and negatives. I hope I make sense and I hope you're having a blast! :)
ReplyDeleteIts good to know that the school does help those who need it. Two of my classes have kids with special needs in it and they each have a teacher aid to help them...I kind of thought the opposite would happen. Oh and today in the afternoon I was so nervous about teaching, turns out I spent all the afternoon at a rugby tournament
ReplyDeleteWelcome to France, Anais! I was talking about the French education system just last night with my partner, who is French and was educated here. I agree that it sounds much tougher than the Aus/NZ education system. For example, in his senior seconday years he had a 40 hour school week - 8am to midday and 2pm to 6pm. With a couple of hours off on a Wednesday afternoon, between 2pm to 4pm, before having to return for a 4pm-6pm class. And with 2hrs of classes on Saturday morning! As he went to boarding school, there was an additional 1hr per evening between 7.30-8.30pm of compulsory study as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm not an educationalist but this seems to much. The other issue is that they seem to have a less generalist secondary education, specialising quite early in the sciences or humanities. He was surprised that my early secondary eduaction included wood/metal work, cooking, business, art, drama, sport, humanities and sciences.
The other difference I've noticed is that not many French teenagers work. Growing up in Australia (but as a Aus/Kiwi dual national who supports the ABs before you bring up the rugby result!) a good proportion of teenagers work in supermarkets, fast food establishments and other places at weekends or after school. This really does not happen here - I'm guessing because, with 40hrs of schooling, they simply don't have the time or energy for it!
Anyway, welcome again, and I hope you enjoy your stay. I have a blog as well, if you'd like to check it out: http://shannon-laviefrancaise.blogspot.com/