une journée mouvementée

Today has been a big day, and not just for me! All over France, the lycéens en términale (high school seniors) took their bac de philo. From what I've heard, I don't think that I could have ever passed this part of their baccalaureate exam. Here's my attempt at translating the topics:

For les Scientifiques:
Is it absurd to desire the impossible?
Are there questions to which science has no answer?
A text from de Tocqueville, "Democracy in America"

Or for les littéraires:
Does language betray thought?
Does the objectivity of history suppose the impartiailty of the historian?
An excerpt from Schopenhauer

Economy and Social Sciences
Do tecnological advances transformed humankind?
What do we gain from exchanging (giving and taking, I think)?
A text from John Locke


Exams continue through next week, with different topics each day. I've spent the past few days with Juliette, and the level of stress and anxiety is even higher than our IB kids at Classen. Without good results on the French Bac, students cannot go to the University, and even have the option of re-doing their final year to try again next June.

But for me, there was nothing philosophic about today. I got up early and met Emmanuelle, who drove me to Poix. There, I surprised many colleagues with my arrival, and after lunch, I spent time with the kids in the yard. After I made them late to line up for their class with "Monsieur Physique," someone pulled the fire alarm, so we spent an additional 15 minutes outside. It was fantastic!