A Change in Direction

As it’s coming near to my seventh week in a French school I thought I would use this time to reflect on my time at College St. Joseph.

First things first, it’s hard. And I mean really hard. Being thrown into an all French school without speaking a word of the language creates for an awful lot of complication and stress. The teachers expect you to do the same amount of work as all the other fluent French students. Which was near impossible for me to do with my very narrow amount of French vocabulary. Even when taking notes from the board, you don’t understand what you’re writing down.

It’s also a completely different education system to New Zealand. I think the best way to sum it up is  “Sit down, learn and shut up”. Even in subjects like Science and Chemistry, 100% of the work is just boring ol’ bookwork. No experiments or anything like that, which can create for a very non-immersive learning experience. Technology is no-where to be seen in many French schools. They are clearly very behind in the ever-changing world of technology. Even the smallest things like computer labs haven’t been revamped for years and are sporting what many people would consider as ‘bricks’.

At the end of my first term in a French school, we have come to the decision that starting next week I will be starting at the International School of Bearn. I don’t regret my Term in a French school, but it just wasn’t realistic. It was a great experience and I met some great people. I am very excited to start at an International School. Just the thought of everything being in English makes me smile.