January 18, 2021

Monday

I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen, but could not for the life of me find my cup of ambition Monday. I knew it would be a hard day, just because of the lessons that I had coming up. Some of the teachers expect me to cover really complex topics and always manage not to tell me that I’ll be the one introducing it for the first time. Kids come to class with no vocabulary and no context for the information. Everything I present- no matter how simple- goes right over their heads.

I took the 7:30 bus in and arrived by 7:50. I needed to get groceries, so I made the 30 minute walk to Tignieu-Jameyzieu. I wanted to go to E.Leclerc so I could see a bigger selection of coffees and check for yarn. I arrived before the store opened at 8:30, so I wandered around the shopping center for a bit before heading in. I found all my items (except yarn) and filled up my backpack at the checkout. I didn’t realize how much I grabbed and I regretted it on my 30 minute walk back to the school. On my way there, I went to the boulangerie in Pont-Chéruy and got a raspberry tarte to make myself feel better.

I finally got to school around 9:40. I chatted with the German teacher that occupies my room before me as I got my lessons all set up. My first two 3ème groups were going to be discussing gender equality. It was a train wreck. In the first group, one of the male students proclaimed that gender equality was a useless subject. He argued that women were meant to stay in the kitchen- after all, a wife is meant to cook for her husband. I felt absolutely deflated hearing that from a student. The girls in the class fiercely protested and made great arguments for women’s rights, but he just wasn’t willing to listen. In my second group, some of the male students thought the subject was funny and spent the entire time laughing. I had them write their names down for me. When I talked to Corinne about it after class she told me that she would never allow those students to come to my class again. She was angry that they disrespected me and the subject. When I told her about the male student in the first class, she explained that his attitude and that of his classmates was the entire reason she was doing the lesson. She informed me that he comes from a more traditional household and that she’s trying to expose him to different points of view. I was surprised and impressed that she was so devoted to sharing gender equality with the students. I appreciated her support regarding the students that misbehaved, as well. I don’t get a lot of backup and her help really meant a lot.

I met with Christel at the mid-morning pause. I mentioned during the course of our conversation that I struggled with changing rooms every hour on Tuesday. The internet connection is so slow during the third hour that I can’t open my lessons for about half of the time I have the first group. She walked me down to the vice-principal’s office and got me signed up for a permanent room for Tuesdays! So exciting. Now I have a home base.

I ate lunch with Ilaria and some of the secretaries. They talked about their frustrations with the lockdown and their concern about the possibility of a third confinement. They wanted to travel during the upcoming two week break, but it seems that that will not be possible.

When I finished eating, I headed down to my classroom for some alone time. I ended up meeting the new addition to the English staff, Camille. We chatted about my plans for the class and a bit about ourselves. She’s closer in age with me and also did not want to be a teacher! She studied languages at the Texas A&M for a few years. She insisted that her students’ language level was low and that I shouldn’t have high expectations- sending a stabbing pang of fear through my body.

That class was my first one after lunch. While the first group was certainly better than the second, I was pretty pleased with their language level. They asked great questions, despite being a bit noisy. We’ll see how they behave in the future. Overall, nice kids.

Next, we had my new 6ème class. These students have been rough so far. They’re really noisy and hard to get settled down. I don’t have a pattern established with them yet and I don’t know the trouble students, so it’s a challenge. The plan had been to talk about Little Red Riding Hood and then to watch and discuss two videos. The internet connection had other plans- completely disconnecting and not allowing me to reopen the slides. I was at a loss as to how I would manage this bunch of students with no plan. Thankfully, everything rebooted by the time the second group arrived. They loved the videos and we had a smooth discussion.

I got to end the day on a positive note with the 3ème students. I shared information about the blues, jazz, country, and rock music with them. We listened to famous artists from each genre and listened for similarities between each genre. They really had some fun, which was great.

I rode the bus home. I felt absolutely exhausted by the time I arrived at my doorstep. I slept for a few hours and scrolled aimlessly through Twitter before giving up and calling it a night. The thought of having to deal with my most difficult students the next day was harrowing. I proposed teaching my lesson on civil rights so I wouldn’t need to make a new one, but I already regretted it. I feared that the lesson would just be too complex for them to understand. Oh well- at least I have a room now.