Yesterday wasn’t anything particularly special. The only things I have to report back are some boring teacher moments.
In the morning, Muriel actually used me in a semi-productive way and had me take half of her class to work on the Obama speech (the same one she had the year below doing just a month before, but I digress). This was the first time I was alone with any of the students in that group. I’m sure that what she had wanted me to do was what she does in her class, which is walk around correcting people the whole time. Not my swag, so I basically told them that I was there if they needed me but that I wouldn’t be reading over their shoulders the whole time because I didn’t think they needed a babysitter. They laughed and we became best friends and we all sat around braiding each others’ hair for the rest of the hour. Nah. But they did laugh.
It was my first time interacting with Favorite Marie’s brother, whom I had thought was the super well-adjusted exchange student. Rememberrrr? Anyway, towards the end of class, I told people I’d read over their work to make corrections if they wanted me to. Since his group was, naturally, first finished, I went over. I made a few editions (basically commas and spelling and correction of some faux amis/false cognates) and every time I said something he was like super nervous but in like a funny/happy way? So each time, I kept saying, “It’s okay. It’s really good.” So I had maybe had a false idea that he and his group of friends were basically like the group of boys in my class from 5th-8th grade who were kind of jerks but also teacher’s favorites, but I’ll admit I prolly misjudged. OR MAYBE I’VE BEEN DUPED LIKE THE REST OF THEM?
Later, in the break room during the récréation (recess) at 10am, I was standing around with Muriel and Marc just having a normal teacher talk. It was in English, in case you wanted to know. So Marc was all, “You’ve been baking again?”
And I said, “Not today. But I plan on doing some more tomorrow.”
“The Euro group told me you had brought in some cakes for them.”
Caught in the act! (Except not really caught because I had told him before that I was going to make them cupcakes. And he said, “You’re going to do it for all of them?” And I was all, “Nah, sucka. Just for my faves.” JOKES.) Anyway, the reason I’ve been bringing in 5 cupcakes a week is because I’ve started to have my last classes with the students. So it’s one last campaign to make them love America. As if they didn’t already after having me a whopping FOUR times this year. So I admitted that yes I was.
He said, “They’re special.”
And I said, “Yes. They are.”
And Muriel was all, “Who’s special?”
Marc said, “The Terminale Euro group.” (I think the conversation switched to French here.)
And Muriel goes, no joke, “C’était la meilleure année de ma vie.” (That was the best year of my life.)
I was all WHAAAAT. But out loud I just said, “Vraiment?” (Really?)
Muriel said yeah. They’re such a special group. Really smart yadda yadda yadda.
Then they started name-dropping their favorites. Muriel said that she used to call one of them “The Little Fox.” After reflecting for a bit, she realized that it was Léo, who comes with Favorite Marie, because he used to be so small. This is funny because it’s just super random. But also strange because she called a student a fox.
Then Marc said how he is a bit foxy. Which was hilarious to me. But he meant in terms of looks and not at all in the Jimi Hendrix way. Still.
Then Marc said how Hasma talks a lot. And I said it was good because I really like Hasma. But then he said that it’s good but that after a point she talks so much that the other students can get in a word edgewise. Given my experience with a lot of the students in that group, I couldn’t imagine that ever being a problem, but maybe he thought it was. Then it came out that Hasma had been selected to go to the US through either the US Embassy or the French Embassy a few years before as a candidate selected from like 400 applicants. Muriel said that Hasma sent her a postcard while she was in the US, which I thought was darling. Marc said that when she got back, she was a bit “self-sufficient.” But, I mean, she is. I don’t know. I’ve never seen any evidence of that in my classes with her. She’s actually really good as sharing the talking responsibility with her classmates soooooooo…..
Marc also said something about Léa and how smart she is. And I was like, “Welp, she never talks in my class, so I really wouldn’t know.”
He seemed genuinely shocked. I said that maybe she doesn’t talk because Favorite Marie talks so often.
Then they switched to talk about Favorite Marie and basically it was agreed that she’s brilliant.
Later, I had to go the Mariste for another thing with Muriel. I walked into a silent class. Basically some standardized testing going on. I was in the right room, though. So I went to the front and Muriel said they had finished the oral part already, and I could leave. But I thought that would be wrong since I’m supposed to work there 12 WHOLE hours a week (which nearly never happens because Muriel signed up to use me 3 times each week, but generally uses me only once). So I sat down and didn’t do anything for the whole hour except look around the room at the kids in test mode. I also made some notes:
1) In that group, there are 15 girls and 8 boys in the class.
2) There are 4 lefties in the class. (Is it just me, or does that seem high?)
I literally sat in the room for that hour and thought to myself, “Well, this is one hour of my life that I’m never getting back.” But, then again, every hour is one like that.
Obviously,
Yessica
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