Salut!
So this time it’s been over a month, and I am sorry for that but when I thought about writing a week ago, I realised I would have so much more to say after I’d finished work. So, excuses made, I’ll get on with that update.
First of all, Swim team tour 2014! A fantastic affair and possibly my best and worst tour at the same time. I managed to get my phone stolen on day/night 1, entirely through my own stupidity but that’ll teach me to go swimming at 4am on the beach and leave my things unattended. On a more positive note however, I think we managed to piss off fewer hotel guests this year and our wonderful tour sec Amy had even organised a surprise camel riding outing which we all enjoyed immensely (although I still firmly believe that camels are some of the most disgusting creatures on this planet). One of the highlights of this tour for me however was simply to see all of the friends I miss from home. Especially those who are graduating this summer and abandoning me to the wolves of 4th year! Equally useful was the time spent with the freshers, whom I am looking forward to socialising with next year in true swim team style (read copious amounts of alcohol and zero self control).
All the team ready and raring to go!
The infamous #teamintimate
Never have I ever felt so close to anyone.
Before I go on to talk about the end of my assistantship at Lycée Saint Charles, I’ll first share a few photos with you of a day I spent in Marseille seeing the sights with two of my classes prépas students who insisted that I see more of the city before I left. It was a great afternoon and I’m immensely thankful to them for taking me!
The Mucem in the bottom-right corner and the imposing tower in the background of a maritime business.
Vieux Port again, one of the most photographed parts of Marseille!
Fort Saint-Jean and Vieux Port
Looking out over the park and Marseille
But now onto the sadness of the main event of this post, leaving school. I’ve only been there for 7 months, but it is remarkable just how fast you can form attachments to your students and form friendships with others. As much as the rubric of “teachers are not your friends” is true on many levels, I find it is not really the case in reality. Certainly not with assistants. We occupy that space between teacher and pupil and so enjoy the benefits of being young and close to the students’ age and therefore able to relate to them, but also the discipline and command of respect expected by a teacher. Inevitably there are some classes and students that I will miss more than others, those that participated willingly and never caused disruption. More surprisingly however, is how much I think I will miss some of the more ‘problematic’ students. Often it’s the ones that disrupt a lesson and have difficulty that I am closest to, perhaps as a result of spending more time with them trying to get them to understand!
That’s one of the great conundrums in teaching it seems. The students that do well are the ones that pass by unnoticed and often have a very strictly professional relationship with their teachers. They spend very little time with the teacher because they simply don’t need the extra supervision. Conversely, the students that do need a lot of help, that cause problems and might not even be in a lesson take up a highly disproportionate amount of time. They are the ones that form a more personal relationship with the teacher, they know the boundaries, and they know how far they can push before the teacher will snap. They practice pushing too, because often these kids are also very intelligent. They know that over time they can erode a teacher’s resistance and get away with more and more. This situation appears quite unfair on the “more able” children. They are essentially ignored and allowed to get on with their work while the teacher deals with those who aren’t doing so well. How far could these students go if the teacher had time to spend with them? How much further could they be pushed if the teacher wasn’t having their own behavioural management skills pushed to the limit? Ultimately I think the current situation is the best that can be done with the resources available. And it certainly doesn’t look like more resources are forthcoming in education.
My last week at school has been a whirlwind dash and passed in the blink of an eye. I’ve got several cards from grateful classes and some lovely gifts too. I can honestly say that I will miss the vast majority of them. Going back to the unstructured life of uni where I have very little time that isn’t directly under my control will be a shock to the system, but I am looking forward to the reduction of my commute to work/study from 1 hour to 2 mins.
On the education front I am now decided on training as a French teacher. It’s impossible to train as both so I have been advised to choose one subject and then offer the other. I’m also hoping to bring up my Spanish back to its old level over the summer. Now that I have an end goal in sight my productivity should rocket. Motivation has always been a problem of mine, as shown by my lack of progress with the YARP until now, but as deadlines loom, I make progress in leaps and bounds. The Masters degree is still very much on the cards, although I’m left a little in the lurch as to what I will study. English would still be my first choice, but I have to start thinking with regards to a career and lifelong consequences, and a more specific Masters may be called for.
It is now three weeks today that I leave for my month long travels around France with the wonderful Imogen and preparations for this are also in full swing! It should be a fantastic way to end my time in France and will take me up to a full 9 months total. I cannot believe how fast the time has passed and it’s scary to think that I am soon to be in my fourth and final year of university! Real world responsibilities are fast approaching and that is a terrifying thought.
I shall leave you now with a photo of myself with my classes prépas. There will most likely be one more blog before I leave for my travels so,
Don’t they all look so lovely!
until next time,
Alastair
Les aventures d'Alastair en France! 