Yesterday I taught my first three classes! In the French collèges there are four "grades," 6eme (11 year olds), 5eme, 4eme, and 3eme (14 year olds). I had two 3eme classes and one 4eme class. For each class I will take one half while the other half remains with the head teacher, and the following week we will switch groups. Working in smaller groups will give me the chance to be more productive, have more personal interaction with the students, and won't be overwhelming since I'm not exactly a trained/certified teacher. My first class was a bit chatty, but not terrible by any means, and the other two classes were just wonderful. I thought I would be really nervous to start speaking and get the lesson going, but it came naturally and I even found it fun!
After school, another teacher at Montaigne, Peggy, gave me a ride home. Since we were driving home at rush hour we had plenty of time to talk. She told me about a seminar being held next week on a student film day. Apparently there is a film viewing day for students in the region to see "North by Northwest" and there will be a seminar next week for teachers who plan to have their classes participate. The teachers will see the movie in theaters in the morning and then attend a lecture about the film and turning it into a lesson for students. It sounds really neat and I hope I can join her for this! She also told me that she takes African dance lessons and invited me to go with her sometime. I really enjoyed taking African dance lessons last year at CSU with French Club, so I will probably check it out!
I was supposed to have three more classes today, but a national strike started today. Included are some teachers and some in the transportation industry (meaning no metro in Paris today and many cancelled buses/trains). Not all of the teachers I work with are striking, but without reliable buses I wouldn't necessarily be able to get to school. In addition, it's a "renewable" strike, for lack of a better word, meaning at the end of each day the strikers will vote on whether to continue the following day. So, I plan to enjoy having today and tomorrow off, and prepare to teach on Thursday and Friday at J.P. Rameau:)
Below are pictures of my cute little furnished studio apartment. All of the furniture came included, and I've filled it up with my belongings from home. It's just the right size for me since everything I brought fit in 2 suitcases!
There's a sliding glass door that opens to a balcony, but standing room only
My little kitchen has a refrigerator and two electric burners for cooking. No oven :(
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