Tootsie Pops

Class was OK today. I am still having difficulty with one group of terminales. It isn't so much the students as it is their prof. I ask her for copies of whatever text/image they are working on so I could study it beforehand and better prepare for a discussion with the students, but nada. So I basically get these kids and really have NOTHING to do with them. I ask them (in French and in English) if they have texts or images to work on. Silence. Anything I can help them with? Silence. Just nothing. I want to help these kids-- it's my job! But it is hard when the prof gives me nothing to work with. I managed to half-ass an hours' worth of "assistance" by referring to my freshman year Oral Comm class survival skills of how to give an effective speech. Wanna know how to use up all 10 minutes of bac babble? Speak slowly, enunciate, pause after each sentence, breathe. They did seem to appreciate this. I think next week I will print out some tongue twisters to help them with their pronounciation.

My wonderful fiance brought me lots of wish list items last weekend. Among these: Goldfish crackers (YES!!!), a small box of Bisquik (Nikki's famous pancakes, anyone??), and lil treats for my kids: Tootsie Pops. Last time I asked for Reese's peanut butter cups and, although a hit with my students, they got miserably smashed. Hence, hard candy this time around. I brought a bag for my new BTS class, since I gave out Reese's to my classes from the first half of the year.

I knew my BTS kids were getting their practice exam results back today. For me, it was another lesson in just how different the American & French education systems are. Granted, this was my responsable's class, and he was as kind as anyone could be in this scenario. I guess "kind" is relative; this is what the French are accustomed to; hence, it is not as cruel to them as it is to me. He read off every student's name, followed by a critique of their errors-- no high points, no "You did well on XY or Z" but "You did poorly on AB and C"-- and *gulp* their mark. Americans reading this, can you possibly imagine sitting there in class while your prof announces your grade to EVERYONE?! While it was good for the students who scored highly (one girl got a 17-- frickin' AMAZING), I cringed for the students who scored lower than 10. Poor things.

Luckily, the good ol' assistant was there to hand out American candy. The rest of the class period was spent chit-chatting and discussing that the chocolate-y Tootsie roll center really isn't chewing gum.