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We have Success!
I went to my practicum at an elementary school in VA yesterday and was completely blown away. One of our assignments is to help the school's computer teacher teach a lesson. I helped with a fifth grade class and was shocked. Those kids were amazingly gifted with technology! They were working on making Power Point presentations, and these presentations looked like they belonged in some executive board room somewhere. On top of how good they looked, the kids were so relaxed and comfortable with using the program. They had muiltiple screens going at one time (Power Point, the internet for searching for facts to put in the Power Point, Microsoft Office to search for ClipArt, etc.) and were clicking away like they did it every day. I was walking around the room to help those that needed it. Some of the questions I could answer, but sometimes they would ask me a question and I would say to myself, "You can do that?"! The best part wasn't how good the kids were with the technology or how comfortable, but how excited they were about it. They were doing a project on states, which they probably would have complained about doing with paper and pencil, but in the computer lab they were chatting away excitedly and showing off their presentations to their friends. As a future teacher, it was a beautiful sight. Another great thing was to see how many computers the lab had (there were more computers than kids) and how nice those computers were (they were nicer than the computers in our college computer lab). It was a great day in the world of education.

Digital books?

During my practicum, I encountered an awesome teaching tool while working with the technology instructor. He had a digital bok that he projected onto the smartboard screen in the lab. He read the book WHO PUSHED HUMPTY? to his class, and it was great because all the students were able to see the pictures because the illustrations contained clues in solving this mystery.

I asked the teacher following the lesson where he got this digitized book. He explained that he created it himself. He simply took digital pictures of each page of the book and put them on powerpoint and added voice recordings to narrate each page. Pretty cool use of technology, huh?

I do not like insects. Except maybe for ladybugs, I like them sometimes. But insects in general I do not like. First, there seems to be a mosquito, or perhaps many, that lives in my room. It likes to eat me in my sleep, particularly in places that are difficult to itch, even to apply cream, such as the middle of my back. Then, there are spiders. I do not like spiders. A week ago I found a spider on my wall. I did not want to kill it. I decided that I would catch it in my dustpan and dispose of it out the window. I did not succeed in catching the spider. Instead, I think it went into my jeans that were on the floor. But, of course, the next morning it had sure enough made a nest of eggs above my shower so that it could make more spiders to live in my room. Right above where I am obligated to stand if I want to be clean. A few days later I vaccumed it away.
Last night there was a millipede, on my wall, about the same place where the spider was hanging out. I asked my host dad if he killed insects—hoping, just hoping that sort of help-me-PLEEEEEAAASSSEEE-kill-that-creepy-thing girl cry was, in fact, universal—and he came and looked at it, said, “That’s a millipede. Don’t worry, it does not eat you.” Then he took off his slipper and hit it, perhaps with the intention to kill it, but I am unconvinced, because in any case it ran under my wardrobe. Or in my shoe that was by the wardrobe. I don’t know where, really, because I was trying to not look as I cringed. But to be safe, I don’t intend to wear those shoes for several weeks. He then gave me a lecture about insects. Because also by my wardrobe was an ant. He pointed at it and said, “That is an ant. It is normal that you have those because we live in the country.” (Which, for the record, we do not. We live in the city.) And then he went into the hallway and pointed out a HUGE black spider—seriously, huge, especially for a country that does not believe in growth hormones—on the ceiling and said, “That is a spider. But, we do not need to kill them because they do not eat you.”
Now, here is my thing with spiders: I do not want them near me. You may have heard that on average a human eats eight spiders a year. Not because we choose to, but because when we sleep and have our mouths open it’s just the kind of warm, humid space that spiders really like. So they crawl in. sljbpouelisiulgjsliuliuehgoiwuep9ul! I do not want to eat spiders. I do not like spiders. Particularly not big black spiders. They may not eat me, but they force me to eat them. So, rather than eat them, we must kill them. And by we, I mean someone who is not me.
So we, in this household, kill insects that eat us. With one exception: we kill caterpillars. Last weekend was Caterpillar Crisis 2006. I, quite frankly, was content with last weekend being Hot Men Play Rugby on TV All Weekend Weekend, but then…the caterpillars arrived. I am sitting on the couch with my friend Noelle watching rugby. Rather, watching hot men. We are rather taken in this event. Then, my host father comes runnnnning in from the side door, yelling for his wife: Christine! Christine! The processionary caterpillars are here!!! Where are the dogs?! The dogs must come inside!!!!!!!!!!!! Now seriously, and this is hard to transmit in text so you must take my word, from the urgency in his voice you would have thought that it was the Great Chicago Fire, or maybe even the Black Plague. Noelle and I pretty much thought it was the end of the world, and we would have been worried had we not been so deliciously distracted by the rugby match. But we did turn our heads away to give him a questioning look. He explained: The processionary caterpillars are here! We must burn them!
We went out on the terrace (it was a commercial break) to see what this thing was that needed burning. It was really quite neat—a big pile of caterpillars, all in a line, so that they looked like a coiled snake. My host father came out and explained: “They are processionary caterpillars. We must burn them.” (Even though he had said that before, this time he said it with authority.) He continued: “You must not touch them. They will hurt you. If the dogs eat them, the dog will lose its tongue.” I could have sworn they were caterpillars that I played with as a kid when my mom wasn’t looking (or else she would have told me that I was allergic, because according to my mother I am allergic to everything), but, I am not French and therefore I do not know. I guess that usually they have special burning things just for incinerating processionary caterpillars, but last weekend we did not have any. We had, I suppose, used it all up for last year’s processionary caterpillars. So Christine comes running out of the house to tell my host father that we! do! not! have! burning! stuff! with! which! to! burn! processionary caterpillars!. So then, as if from a message from Heaven, they both have the idea of how to burn the processionary caterpillars: whiskey! Whiskey will burn the processionary caterpillars! My host father runs into the house and fetches the bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet while my host mother sweeps them into a pile to be burned. He douses them with whiskey and then lights them on fire. And they burn. Along with our beloved whiskey. Happily, though, this was a crisis averted.If you come to France this summer, you may wonder why there are no butterflies. Just remember that caterpillars=death. And sometimes, for life, you must sacrifice a few pretty butterflies. And some whiskey.

here are some photos of the blockade at my university. all of the buildings pictured are academic buildings, and are representative of the entire campus. the blockade announced the student-led strike that started at the end of febuary in response to a government contract called the CPE. 

for about a month, a university strike has been dominating my experience here. a minority of students have decided that the university, along with about 60 other of France's 84 universities, will be on strike. i think it's easiest to present this in Q&A--

Two things lie at the base of this situation which make it difficult for non-French to understand. First, university students are guaranteed the right to strike in France. So, professors do not have the right to make students go to class by threatening failure or giving an exam on material that would have been covered in missed classes—when (if, for it is possible that this may last through the end of the school year) we return, it is likely that the university will recommend to the professors that they test only on material covered in the class rather than what was intended on the original syllabus. Second, the police do not have the right to enter universities except by the invitation of the university president. A history of strikes has taught the French that police presence only escalates the situation, usually making it violent.

What does it mean that the university is on strike?

The students of my university have decided that we are on strike. The administration has decided to submit to the will of the students and has suspended classes. The strike is mainly manifested in the form of blockaded buildings (please reference the posting with photos), which make it impossible to hold classes in any of the academic buildings. So, since the end of Febuary until who knows when, my classes are suspended.

What happens to classes?

They are suspended. If we vote to stop the blockage of the university and resume classes, we will finish out the school year without really making up the classes we have missed because of the strike. The end of the school year could be extended, exams could be pushed to the beginning of September, or we could have exams as scheduled only on the classes that we were able to attend. That means that instead of being tested on 12 weeks of material, we will only be responsible for the material covered in the first 6 weeks of class. However, what happens to classes is still TBA, and will probably depend on how long the strike continues.

Who decides when classes continue?

The students. Every week the students hold a General Assembly (l'assemble generale, or AG, in French) where they discuss the particulars of the strike, the blockage of the university, and vote on whether or not to continue the strike. However, it is important to understand that these AGs represent a minority of the students. There are 22 000 students at my university, and only about 1200 (at most) can fit into the room for the AG and vote. Voting works like this: there are 12 counters scattered throughout the room, and they are responsible for counting a certain section. We vote by raising our hands, and it is upon the individual to make him or herself seen by the counters--it is not a very effective process. Furthermore, the AGs are generally run by those individuals running the strike and the blockage, so they are very much biased towards the continuation of the strike, and the organization of the AGs reflects that. In my experience, the AGs are even hostile towards those students wishing to attend class, so it is very difficult to voice an opinion against the strike. However, the student movement against the strike is growing.

So what's the issue for the strike?

France continues to wrestle with relatively high levels of unemployment, a fact that was pushed to attention partly due to the riots from last fall. In understanding that hopes of cultural assimilation of minority groups has been unsuccessful, the government came to realize that part of the problem was disproportional unemployment rates among suburban government housing (les cités), which among those under 26 is 40-50%.

Currently the French government mandates the types of available employment contracts. These contracts are extremely employee friendly. Here is an example of one type of employment contract: an employer hires an employee to work. The employee has a one-month trial period (la periode d'essai), and after that period expires, the employer must choose whether or not to sign the employee for a lifetime contract. Of course there are conditions under which the contract can be broken—the “lifetime” contract is comparable to teachers who have tenure. Either party can terminate the agreement, but it’s particularly difficult to fire the individual without a solid body of documented evidence against him or her. It is not difficult to imagine why this contract would discourage new hirees. A trial period of one month is hardly sufficient—for most jobs, the employee is still learning the ropes when the employer must decide on the contract. It is not worth the risk to have to hire someone new, particularly if the employer can manage well enough with the current employees.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, under his law l'Egalite des Chances (Equality of Opportunity), aimes to change this contract with the Contrat Premiere Embauche (Contract of First Employment), or CPE. Rather than a one-month trial period, the employer has two years before he or she is obligated to sign the individual to a lifetime contract.

Most individuals who are against the CPE say that employers will hire people for two years and then fire them just before they must sign a contract, giving no job security and basically guaranteeing the abuse of employees. Other individuals think that it is discriminatory to young people because it just applies to those under 26. And then there are a handful of constitutionalists who think that this law was passed unconstitutionally--usually, I think, laws of this nature are put to a vote. But, the prime minister took an alternative route and sent it through the general assembly (of the government, of course, not of the students) where it was passed at 3 AM when few representatives were present. And lastly, there are those that think protesting is more fun than going to class.

So if no one likes this contract, why did they think it was going to be a good idea?

Here's where my bias comes out--I happen to think that this contract is a GREAT idea. But, I'm American. The French, coming from a very generous social system, fear American-ish influence, and that includes moving towards a system that removes protectionism and social guarantees--that is, capitalism. The fact of the matter is that the French social system is great--while it worked. But more and more the country finds that it is harder to maintain, particularly evidenced by the high numbers of unemployment.

Most employers like this contract and say that it will encourage them to hire more, and will even offer a contract before the two years expire to good employees. Most students think that the contract gives employers the chance to exploit them. Coming from a system that doesn't guarantee me a job, I know that most employers won't exploit me to the extent that the French fear--hiring someone is an investment on the part of the employer, particularly when he or she must train the employee. It is unlikely that an employer will form and employ someone for two years just to fire them and start the process all over again.

Quite frankly, I applaud deVillepin for trying to reform this. It's like social security in the states--trying to do something about it is political suicide. But, he's really the only politician who's had the guts to respond, and perhaps one of the few honest enough to admit that France can no longer support a protectionist system like it used to.

See that wonderful picture! That is my version of what I think the sloth said in the book "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth". This was done in paint for our graphics presentation group.

From the time I was a baby to now, technology has been a part of my life; however, I say that lightly because I am referring to what we now consider basic technological tools, such as a microwave, refrigerator, and so forth. People my grandparents age think of computers as new technology, yet people my age think computers were the new technology, but now the new technology is ipods and so forth. When I think about technology and me, I think right now usually about computers because I am not as advanced as modern technology yet.
When I say that I mean I do not own an ipod, and I don't own a digital camera. I still even like to write my papers (or some of them) on paper first! I am working on my technological skills however. I am now creating my own webpage for the education program, and I love it! It is so fun, and it allows me to be creative. I have used a digital camera recently and I love that as well. I hope to buy one soon and possibly even an ipod! So while I may not have had much experience with computers (I got my first personal one freshman year of college), I am catching up quickly! I plan to make sure my students are able to get experiences with the computer and new technology that my teachers didn't show me and more!

Tonight I was going to talk about my experience with technology in my classroom but.....

as I was reading various teacher's blogs I came across this quote on D. Kuropatwa's blog, A Difference. The quote really touched me.

See I'm a big quote person, one of those people somewhat, well you could say "obsessed" maybe. I have to know the exact lyrics to every song I like, and if I like it enough I write it down to go in my collection of quotes. I look up quotes on friendship, love, sadness....really how I'm feeling that day. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a complete crazy, but for some reason other people always find a better way of saying what I'm trying to get out, so I just borrow it, read it, and enjoy it. This is a quote that I will forever enjoy:

"We sometimes feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

The reason I chose the teaching profession was to make a difference. I was inspired by the teaching profession in the profound way you have the ability to make a difference in a child's life. This quote moves me because I have always thought that even if I just make a difference in one, one single child's life I would be completely happy and feel rewarded. This quote just says exactly how I feel; atleast I would have done something for that one child and hopefully he/she is better for it, maybe they will be grateful their whole lives, maybe they won't even know, or don't care to say, but I know that if I didn't take the time or effort to help that one child, or many children, they would all be "missing a drop".

We are learning how to use Flickr. Here is a pretty picture we found and used to practice posting them to blogs.

Who gets the nice computer?
I am currently in my first grade classroom for my practicum and am loving it. I have not seen any technology used to this point, but I do not think that my cooperating teacher really uses it. I asked her if she used the computer for talking with other teachers about school and she seemed to be quite intimidated by the concept. I have noticed something in my classroom that is disturbing to me. The students share three computers when they have computer center time. These computers are incredibly old and out-dated, however. I imagine that some of the kids have computers at home that are so far beyond the technology of the ones in the classroom that they might not even enjoy the computer time. The problem is that the teacher's computer is brand new and updated often. She only uses it for keeping her gradebook and typing her lesson plans. I understand that the teachers will probably always get the better computer and that's fine, but I do not think that there should be such a difference in technology in the classroom. I really do not think this is even fair to the students. How can we improve this situation?

A couple of observations. I leave in a little over a month. A month! I am sad and happy at the same time. I don’t want this year of experience, of sensory overload, to end, but, let’s be honest--I do. It’s a mixed bag but I think I’m ready. The French are great—a lot of times (most) I think they’re crazy (and that’s with an informed opinion!)—but in any case, I make a bad Frenchperson. I like things to work, and that includes people, specifically between the hours of 12 and 2 in the afternoon (the only individuals receiving my pardon on this issue are the hard workers at the oriental pastry shop, where my hips find endless replenishment. Heck, I’ll even forgive them for being closed on Monday).

I realized today that the word for wife in French is also the word for woman (la femme). Linguistically, woman is inseperable from wife. On the contrary, men have two words: l’homme, which means man, and le mari, which means husband. This certainly isn’t a linguistic hole—it’s not as if one is talking about a woman and it is ambiguous as to whether one speaks of a woman or of one’s wife. However, interesting.

In France with more time on my hands than I ever knew what to do with!



I am drinking green tea. Now, I don’t like green tea, really, but I just read that drinking four to five cups of green tea a day gives you enough antioxidants to help your body get rid of fat easier. And, since it’s 8:28—or 20:28 and you’re all cool and French—and we haven’t eaten dinner, green tea will be my hold-me-over-super-fat-eliminating before dinner thing. Right.

So, my friend told me that her doctor told her that at 22, women’s metabolism changes for the worst. That is, it changes so that women can no longer lose weight except without great difficulty. Losing weight for me is always with difficulty, because not eating delicious, sugary, fat-filled things is with difficulty. Especially in France (today I vaccuumed the floor, and my host parents brought me PASTRY in recompense—I would totally revert to the barter system if “barter system” = “pastry is our new currency”). But in any case, I have seven months until my metabolism totally calls it quits. So, I will spend a lot of this time drinking four to five cups of green tea every day so as to slim down. Decidedly.

I spent far too much time yesterday online at the library, that being the only building that is open while my university is on strike. While online, I was able to check my lottery number for next year’s on campus housing and… I’m stinking number three! Out of 4,000 students that probably need housing, I’m the third to choose! Which basically means that any housing is mine for the taking. And taken it will be! A lodge, oh a lodge! This is what a lodge means: I have a kitchen. I decide who lives there. I can put my French jacard table cloth on the kitchen table. We can roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Oooooooooh it will be so lovely.

I decided today that next year I will be the biggest freakin fan of my university’s rugby team. I love rugby! Well, I love rugby players, too, that certainly helps my love of the sport. But seriously, we need to have more rugby in America because it’s fantastic. What’s not to love? Piles of men, blood, conflict, veritable gymnastics as these men fight over the ball, rules more challenging than they have to be (like, you can only pass in reverse), rugby shirts! It’s kind of like watching football but without all the padding and stopping the clock.

I was reading on Elementary Education Majors and Interns' Blog about a poetry style known as Me poems to introduce poetry. I think I might have found what the author was looking at Education World. I think writing about yourself is a great way to begin poetry because poetry can be so insightful and spiritual for some students.

On the lines of poetry, I thought I would share a really creative way to teach poetry that I observed in my practicum today. My teacher is beginning a unit on poetry by using music. Today, he required all the students to write down four or five lines of their favorite song, and he then mapped the rhyme scheme of these songs on the board. He then introduced his newest assignment: the students will be responsible for either writing new words to an already exisiting song or writing their own song to get them into the swing of poetry. And wait, that's not all. The students are then responsible for recording their songs on a CD, creating a music video, and even having a "Jammy" music awards at the end of the semester. Who knew poetry could be this fun?

As I was reading on various sites about technology in the classroom, I came across a post by Will Richardson (http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2006/03/01#a4754) which I was very shocked by. The post discusses how he recieved an email from a teacher very upset about how their district had banned the use of blogs in the classroom, but the most surprising thing was that the district created a "3 Click Rule". This "3 Click Rule" says that all websites will be banned which could be 3 clicks away from a porn site, this shocks me! Not only is this irrational, as Richardson points out, but it's unfair to the students and teacher. First a porn site is not always 3 clicks away, a student could just type in the address of a site, even if it is innocently, and the result could be pretty dramatic. But the point is, Google, MSNBC, education sites, and so many other resources would be blocked, how could one even get on anything on the internet!!! I just can't believe this logic, although I understand the motivation to protect the children, the way in which this school district chose to do so seems irrational. I hope that they district will see the problem with this rule and quickly turn it around. Technology is so important in society today, how can the public school system opt out or remove a such a great educational resource.

"Miss Previs, Miss Previs...." I don't see my Mom, oh wait, you mean me!

I have now made two visits to my practicum location. Working with fifth graders has been incredible, except that I seem to blend among the taller kids. I have seen lots of evidence of SOL review because it's beginning to be crunch time!!!

The students are so enthusiastic. One girl randomly asked me if I liked her orange and black socks. Although this kind of thing is trivial, it's nice knowing that the students see me as approachable.

My cooperating teacher told me that as I grow more comfortable in the classroom, he will begin to ask me to prepare a lesson, and give me only 10 minutes to get it together. He said he wants me to learn to handle things in an instant because not everything goes according to plan.

I'm going to try and spend a lot of time in the school over spring break. I want the kids to feel comfortable with my presence and ask me questions with ease. It's hard transitioning each day from being a student at college to a teacher in the school. I never thought I'd see the day when people call me Miss Previs!