The French educational system teaches you how to think ...

...but not for yourself

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I remember really clearly, my 10th grade English class. We were studying Hemingway and one of the coolest things to me in that class was when the teacher asked us to interpret a text as we understood it.

I chose a shorter piece by Hemingway, “Nick Sat Against the Wall”. I loved picking apart each line, examining each word, and putting together a creative explanation of the author’s message and intent. The result was a good grade, positive comments from the teacher, and a newfound love of analyzing texts and of English class in general.

Later as a teacher myself working with literature with my students, I reveled in showing and encouraging them to have free reign in analyzing texts. Though I acknowledged that the author certainly had in mind one idea in writing, as a reader, I told my students, we are open to interpret the writer’s word however we choose. So, for example, if a writer talks about leaves, maybe they were actually talking about leaves but maybe leaves were a symbol for rebirth or for reaching out or for a multitude of other things.

The idea that there was more than one right answer and the freedom of discovery that came with that idea made school exciting to me.

This week, my son and I had a meeting with one of his teachers at his French high school. The topic of creative thinking came up.

This past year, my son’s first in the French educational system, he learned through trial and error that, contrary to the creativity and individual thinking that is valued and rewarded in the American educational system, the way to get good grades in a French school is to be really, really good at memorizing stuff and spitting it back out.

The teacher with whom we met confirmed this in our meeting this week.

“One problem that your son had this year was that he would often express his opinion or show different ways to solve problems. No one expects or appreciates a student expressing their opinion,” she reminded us.

As a career teacher, I’ve seen all sorts of school initiatives, but I don’t remember any that pushed for less independent thought. Along with other “old schoolers”, I’ve bemoaned the fact that kids no longer have spelling lists to memorize for a weekly test, no longer memorize the times tables or the periodic table. They no longer learn much at all by heart. The requirement of the use of capital letters or periods seems to be excused away as “personal expression”.

My brilliant boy has bent to the French ways as needed. Even in math, his favorite subject, he learned to study the exact method presented in class and then use only this method to solve problems on graded assignments even though he had often figured out several other ways to arrive at the same answer. We were fortunate enough to be able to pay for him to have an American tutor this year. With her, he could play with numbers and formulas as he’s always loved to do. (Thanks, Heather!!) Yielding to the set method in math class was a concession.

The need to copy and paste learning was a benefit in French class, though. My son has spoken French since he was a baby, so speaking and understanding are not difficult for him. However, he’s never studied French nor read nor written it, not in any academic way at least. In French class, having the teacher model the way to write a text analysis and then not have to stress about coming up with a unique way to do so made this class easier for him.

The French school system is, for all practical purposes an elimination system. Starting in middle school, students are tracked to determine which students are best served by continuing on a traditional educational track and which would be better served with a more vocational track and even which might just need to stop at the end of middle school, the American equivalent of ninth grade.

By high school, students are in academic tracks to continue on to college or in “professional” tracks, meaning they will stop studies after high school to pursue careers as manual laborers, ski patrol, military, or office support to name a few.

High school is only three years in France - the American equivalents of 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Seconde, 10th grade, is the intro to high school year. Students all take the same classes and can opt to add extra sports, arts, or science to their schedule. In their evaluations, teachers comment on seriousness of commitment and investment in their work at home and in class. Report cards show not only the student’s grades but also the class average in that class and the highest and lowest average in that class, all for comparison’s sake.

At the end of Première, 11th grade, all students will take the first of the big stakes high school exams, the baccalaureate exam in French (the subject not the language). The exam takes place over two days and consists of 4 hours of writing as well as a 20 minute oral in front of a panel of teachers from another school, to keep grading objective. It’s a big deal as the first of the exams that will determine if students will be selected by colleges at the end of their high school studies or not.

At the end of Terminale, 12th grade, my son and all French kids will take baccalaureate exams in all of the subjects they have studied that year. The French one next year, though, will likely be the most difficult for my son. However, knowing that during the year, he’ll basically “get the answers to the test” does ease his nerves (and his momma’s) somewhat. His big task will just be to learn those answers as best he can to give them back on the test.

Initially, when I realized that this is what was being asked of him in school, I was sad for my son, frustrated, and disappointed. Reflecting on some of the more “free form” education I witnessed in some American schools, though, and how a lack of requirements or strict structure did not always support all students, I feel differently.

I understand the need for these two different countries to have two different educational systems. The United States values independence (as will be celebrated tomorrow) and creative thought and Americans are known as innovators in music among other fields.

The French university system is mostly funded by the government. As a result, not everyone can go. There has to be a countrywide, objective way to determine who gets to go and strict learning and testing are a way to achieve this. I get it. And let’s not forget that the French are leaders in art, fashion, car manufacturing, aeronautics, and medical technologies, so obviously at some point creative thinking is valued and needed.

We’re hoping our son will decide to continue his studies in France. There is really no cost comparison between university here and back in the States. We also would like to keep him on this side of the ocean with us for as long as we can. He’s a good kid, so I know he’ll continue to conform as needed to be successful here.

As we all wait for the moment when his brilliant and unique way of thinking will be an asset to his studies, we’ll see if his grandparents can pick up the tab for ongoing tutoring during the school year and, during his free time, we’ll keep letting him indulge in Minecraft where he apparently has “ a freaking amazing world” he’s creating.

If you’re enjoying these newsletters, you may also enjoy my book - The American and the Bus Driver - that tells the story of how I met and fell in love with my French bus driving husband and my first experiences in the High Alps in France. You can find it on amazon.com, bookbaby.com, and bn.com among others.

À la semaine prochaine!