Yesterday I had jury duty. It wasn't in a courtroom, however, but a classroom. The people on trial were 9th grade students (14-15 yrs. old). In France every 9th grader has to do a week long "stage", which in English means internship/work experience. The students at my school did their stage a few weeks ago and recently submitted their written report. Yesterday they had to stand before a "jury" to present their experience. The "jury" consisted of 3-4 teachers and parents. The allotted time was 20 minutes; 10 to present, 10 for the jury to ask questions. After the student finished, the jury had 5-10 minutes to discuss and confirm the student's grade.
I was on a jury with 2 other teachers and one parent. We were designated a classroom and the students arrived at their assigned time. Some examples of the work experiences included: vet clinic, dentist office, retail store, café/restaurant, daycare, dog groomer and information systems for a cell phone company. Some of the students were genuinely interested in the field they observed, while others just did it because it was required. Some students learned that that particular work is not what they want to pursue while others received confirmation that they want to proceed with this career.
Most of the students did a great job. All of them were nervous, but can you blame them? I can't imagine standing before 3-4 adults at age 14-15 to do a formal presentation! We were worried one girl was going to break a finger because she was squeezing her hands together so tightly during the presentation (she did great though!).
I'm glad I got to be on the jury. It was a new experience and I gained some more insight into the complex French education system...a topic for a different day.
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Musings of an American living in France
- Amy
- Born and raised in Iowa, currently living in Paris, France, to work with Young Life and teach English. ********************************** Franglais (frawn-glay) is the combination of French and English (français et anglais)
2 comments:
Amy, I am wondering if you think French schools equip their students better than American schools, on the whole...?
Nette-that's a good question. In some ways I think yes, but I also feel that the French schools tend to put way too much pressure on students. They go to school longer, have more homework and often partake in no extra- curricular activities. Students face pressure at a young age to decide their career path as well. By age 15-16, they have to have chosen which baccalauréat (diploma) they will take (science, literature or social science). They also can choose to go to a "professional" high school, which teaches them more of a trade. It's different than America, that's for sure!
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