The Franco-American Commission for Exchanges organized an orientation weekend for the Fulbright teachers. Besides me, there are eight American teachers who are participating in exchanges this year. Only nine. That doesn't seem like very many. I learned that last year, there were about 40 teachers in France who applied to go to the States, and only 15 American applicants, and that's with the extension of the deadline, of which about half of us took advantage. What can we do to get more American teachers to apply? Do they hesitate because they have families and think they'll not be eligible? Half of my group is married, and most of the spouses took a year of leave to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. It's true that it's not easy, but it's not impossible either. Maybe there are more U.S. teachers who want to apply to Fulbright, but encounter resistance at the school district level - as many of us did. I can personally say that persistence pays off.
It was so exciting to be reunited with my colleagues (minus Fred, who is in Guadeloupe and thus too far for a weekend meeting). Arnaud Roujou de Boubée, the director of the Commission, invited us to his home for apéritifs. He lives up the hill from the CIEP where we were staying - the 107 steep steps were worth the wine, cheese and snacks that were waiting for us. There, we began sharing the obstacles, challenges and successes of our exchanges thus far. The exchanging of ideas continued the next day as we had formal meetings at the CIEP. The Centre international d'études pédagogiques is located in the former royal porcelain manufacturing center in Sèvres. For historical information, click here.
We met with Madame Annie Lhérété, the Inspecteur régional d'anglais and Madame Sylvie Blavignac, the Inspecteur pédagogique for the Académie de Versailles. They explained the French way of teaching and provided us with many ideas to use in our classroom. Most of us are experiencing challenges in classroom management, and after our meetings and observations of English classes at local schools, I think we all have a better understanding of the French education system.
And yes, we did get a bit rowdy in the evenings. After apéritifs chez Arnaud, the Americans went to a Chinese restaurant for more food. Dinner the next night in Montparnasse was equally boisterous, as was our midnight suburban train ride back to Sèvres. Wednesday morning we all had to meet at the ANAEM in Paris for our visites médicales - something I think we were all dreading. Eye exam, height and weight, chest x-ray and finally a visit with a doctor....it all went more smoothly than I expected. There was even some joking around with the nurses as we had our exams. We kept ourselves entertained in the waiting room as well. I'm not sure they were accustomed to having groups of people present - I got the feeling that it was normally rather quiet in there. Oh well - it made it easier on us! Afterwards, we met at the Café de la Bastille for one final cup of coffee before we went our separate ways. Everyone keeps saying that our group really clicks - and it's true. We spent a few days together in D.C., and a few days in Paris, but it feels like we've all been friends forever. I hope that we'll be able to see each other again soon.
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