January 10, 2021

Sunday

I spent most of my day preparing lessons for the week. My schedule changed, so the courses I’ll be teaching changed slightly. I’ll be teaching two 3ème in the morning, a 4ème, a 6ème, and the 3ème euro on Mondays. My Tuesdays will remain the same. I prepared two different lessons for the day because I already had my introduction slides ready.

The 3ème was going to be starting a unit on gender equality and issues related to women’s rights. I recorded some oral comprehension articles for them and sent them off to the teacher and got started on the slides. I decided to discuss three of the major feminist movements in US history. I started with the suffragette movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I mentioned that this was primarily a white, Christian movement that was incredibly exclusionary in regards to rights for women of color. I moved next to second wave feminism that gained steam in the 60s and 70s. I mentioned that this movement focused on issues of equal pay, reproductive rights, and financial independence. Though this movement was certainly more inclusive, it ignored many issues connected to queer and trans-liberation. To end the lesson, I decided to introduce intersectional feminism. This movement seeks to examine an individual’s experiences based on the intersections of the different identities they hold and to address the problems that they face because of the intersections of these identities. We’ll see how it goes! All important stuff.

The 3ème euro is starting a unit on the American West. They are learning about the different symbols of the West through TV ads and other media. I decided to give them a lesson on American westward expansion, the reservation system, and tropes present in old Westerns. I gave them a media list to go along with the lesson so they could learn more if they wanted to.

I enjoyed looking out with window throughout the day. It was unusually cold. In the morning, ice clung to all the vegetation. I climbed up to the pool area to peer over the Rhône. The water looked icy and refreshing. Yet, there were fishermen around the bend in their gear.