Trust in Learning--France!
So the travel to France from the Netherlands was quite a jolt for us, flying into Bordeaux to visit schools that I was able to contact through Nicole Rudolph (thank you, Nicole!). We decided to stay the night there as we were due in a school the next day. We were to stay during the week with my long-time friend (who is an immigrant attorney in Paris) on Orléon Island several hours away. In any event, I had several years of studying French in college but had lost a fair amount of fluency. We found a place to stay where the contact with the host was through texts (in French), directions to get into the apartment (in French), and with little to go on. The drive there was harrowing with roundabouts and a GPS that was inoperable. I was hopelessly lost!
Some of you may know how to use a key that is sensed and unlocks a door but it was a mystery to us...and ended up being an hour-long attempt to get in on a dark street late at night, hungry and tired! In any event, we found our way to central Bordeaux, managing to drive on a bridge that isn't supposed to have any cars on it and had a French police car behind us, politely letting us go!
The struggles to get places (which continued this week with a very bad car accident on the main highway between Bordeaux and the Island) were offset by gracious and welcoming teachers in two Bordeaux schools--both of which were vocational high schools in parts of the city that were less affluent. I interviewed several teachers and school leaders at both; and 17 students!
Again, because of the research being done, I won't go into the peoples' or schools' identities but I will note some general aspects of the French system and a few shots of the school as well here. The buildings were quite modern (built within the past decade) and well kept, both with large atriums in the middle. I had to take a photo of the French flag in umbrella form!
French schools represent individuality, have a very structured approach to schooling and curriculum. There is a nationalized system that students have access to. They can apply to whatever schools they choose and are selected to attend. Some go on for post-baccalaureate education; others go into a two-year career program that--in the case of the second school I visited--had the program housed in the building with the same teachers as for the high school.
In Bordeaux (as in New York), the largest schools can be among the most prestigious (between 2,000 and 3,000 students). The two high schools I visited had 500-700 students. Both had a racially diverse group of students. Class sizes are up to 35 and there is not contract for teachers that specifies caps in classes. Yet there is relatively little group work in schools and while it has increased, most of what is done is individual seat work. Unions exist but only about 15% of the teachers in these schools were members.
Teachers at the secondary level are considered content specialists and are not required to take coursework in psychology or exceptionality. In fact, students with special needs have only become visible in the past decade. Inclusion is virtually non-existent and only one teacher in both schools that I saw was involved in co-teaching. But the co-teacher was typically giving instruction in an adjoining classroom.
There is a national mandate to increase technology used in the curriculum. While the French pride themselves in their curriculum prior to students finishing their programs, there are challenges in linking their education to careers. Less so at the younger grades, teachers at the secondary level are viewed as content specialists. There is no educational psychology or developmental courses in teacher education programs in the country. Very little about groups in classes. 34-36 in classes.
We were able to take in the sights in Bordeaux and the Island in between visits and here I give you some great moments during the stay. The scenes are taken along the river in Bordeaux and on the Island...check out the mist on that first shot!
More to come!
Some of you may know how to use a key that is sensed and unlocks a door but it was a mystery to us...and ended up being an hour-long attempt to get in on a dark street late at night, hungry and tired! In any event, we found our way to central Bordeaux, managing to drive on a bridge that isn't supposed to have any cars on it and had a French police car behind us, politely letting us go!
The struggles to get places (which continued this week with a very bad car accident on the main highway between Bordeaux and the Island) were offset by gracious and welcoming teachers in two Bordeaux schools--both of which were vocational high schools in parts of the city that were less affluent. I interviewed several teachers and school leaders at both; and 17 students!
Again, because of the research being done, I won't go into the peoples' or schools' identities but I will note some general aspects of the French system and a few shots of the school as well here. The buildings were quite modern (built within the past decade) and well kept, both with large atriums in the middle. I had to take a photo of the French flag in umbrella form!
In Bordeaux (as in New York), the largest schools can be among the most prestigious (between 2,000 and 3,000 students). The two high schools I visited had 500-700 students. Both had a racially diverse group of students. Class sizes are up to 35 and there is not contract for teachers that specifies caps in classes. Yet there is relatively little group work in schools and while it has increased, most of what is done is individual seat work. Unions exist but only about 15% of the teachers in these schools were members.
Teachers at the secondary level are considered content specialists and are not required to take coursework in psychology or exceptionality. In fact, students with special needs have only become visible in the past decade. Inclusion is virtually non-existent and only one teacher in both schools that I saw was involved in co-teaching. But the co-teacher was typically giving instruction in an adjoining classroom.
There is a national mandate to increase technology used in the curriculum. While the French pride themselves in their curriculum prior to students finishing their programs, there are challenges in linking their education to careers. Less so at the younger grades, teachers at the secondary level are viewed as content specialists. There is no educational psychology or developmental courses in teacher education programs in the country. Very little about groups in classes. 34-36 in classes.
We were able to take in the sights in Bordeaux and the Island in between visits and here I give you some great moments during the stay. The scenes are taken along the river in Bordeaux and on the Island...check out the mist on that first shot!
That mist is crazy unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteIs France less "enthusiastic" than the USA is about implementing more diversity in classrooms?
If so, that sucks because I don't even think the USA is enough.
First brilliance in The Netherlands, now here...how about sharing some of your brilliance back in the states with Adelphi University students!? ...COME HOME!!
-L.P
Devin, amazing comparisons between both countries educational systems. Very little group work explains a lot about behaviors of some of the French people I have collaborated with on projects & research @ Walden.
ReplyDeleteIs there any type of educational & social/cultural assimilation of immigrants/migrants as in the Netherlands & Denmark?
Love the blog. Safe travels.
Devin,
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience. I would of loved to have heard that conversation when you couldn't unlock the door. Interesting about the French schools.
Thanks for doing the blog. Have an amazing time.