After our last (quite serious) post, here we are with a slightly “lighter” topic - other little observations from the school environment. Since our third week has almost finished, we decided to dive deep into the educational system and habits. So enjoy!
The school system itself is very similar to the one we know from our country and overall from around the world. However, there’s one exception, or more precisely, one “false friend” as we call it. Collège, which sounds quite similar to a college (in the USA) or university (in the UK) isn't the same type of school - it's the second grade of elementary school intended for pupils aged 11 to 15 years - at the end of this stage (classe de 3e = year 9), pupils are presented with the Diplôme national du brevet (DNB), which is an exam that does not influence admission to higher secondary education. Depending on the pupils' academic record and plans, they may be directed to a year 10 class (classe de 2e) in a general and technological or vocational lycée (upper secondary school) or the first year of the CAP vocational qualification.
The lycée has a three-year study cycle (from 15 to 18 years), and the completion is recognized with obtaining the national diploma: the baccalaureate - this provides access to higher education.
And now, our little know-how to blend in :-). Firstly, at the beginning of each lesson, students never stand up as we are used to. So you can quite easily imagine our confusion about whether the lesson had started or hadn't (the teacher started talking, however, we were still standing and not knowing what to do).
Another fact is that all studied subjects are "connected" through and through, meaning that the same topic is discussed in each subject but from a different point of view. For example, we had been discussing genocides in literature and Philosophy from the point of view of the individual and the impact on society before we discussed the same topic in Geopolitics, this time from the point of view of the global influence of individual powers. Therefore, students get the whole picture and different opinions on the same subject.
And last but not least, the “Mercredi après-midi libre”. To our surprise, it's a fairly common practice - mainly to enable students to participate in activities or have a break from studies (which we surely had :-))
To sum up, we were surprised by certain habits, but on the other hand, the free Wednesday afternoons have their potential :-).
À très bientôt!
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