Au sujet de....

Rap music, horror films, and New York City. Their common ties? They are all elements of current popular culture, of course, but who would have guessed that they are also current subjects of study for high school students at the Lycée Lorgues, France?  I was shocked to find the history of rap music to be a fundamental area of study in more than one class during my week of observation.  The reasoning: it keeps the students interested.  My personal revelation came in the realization that french high school students are not that much different from their american counterparts, and the romanticized notion of french students as overly assertive enthusiasts who eagerly take up their mountains of homework (a notion seeded in my mind by my french professors throughout my years of French studies in the US) quickly evaporated into thin air. That is not to say that my students are entirely disinterested, nor that they have no opinions or desire to express them; rather, it simply means that it takes just as much effort to keep their attention as it would any other students of 15-18, raging with hormones and daydreaming about the next big soccer match or the next time they have the chance to see the girl/boy they admire.

My job at the Lycée (high school) is to "get the kids talking." I am to coax them into practicing, using nearly any subjects necessary to provoke ideas, opinions, and conversation.  In some of my classes, I work separately from the teacher to give lessons that focus on topics I think the students would find interesting, while in others, I follow the subject matter addressed with the teacher, branching off into relevant subjects to save them from the exercise of simple repetition of the facts discussed in class.

Firstly, a breakdown of the French education system, then secondly an explanation of my classes and subjects. My students fall in the  lavender and light blue sections (ages 15-18+).

This is a list of my classes, original subjects the students are studying, and my offshoots:

• Terminale ES: The novel Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster
  
• --identification of images of NYC
• --Relation and importance of the images to characters and plot 
• --Studying the NY boroughs: geography, characteristics
• --Purgatory (in relation to a specific chapter with much religious imagery; being as the french are forcefully non religious, the students expressed much confusion with the chapter): definition, relevance to characters, lists of religious words and symbolism in chapter, discussion 
• --Human Follies worksheet: name two follies expressed in the book, write one of your own personal follies (or one you personally observed)

• Terminale Euro: Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino
• --their own personal refilming of the opening scene in the diner, and the "Royale with Cheese" scene
• --extensive work on pronunciation, inflection, gestures, and memorization
• (note: THIS IS HYSTERICAL and they love it!)
• --reference list of recommended famous films focusing on American and British accents, culture, and history (Thank you to those that contributed to my formulation of this list).

• 1e ES: My choice of topics
• personal introductions
• Describe yourself in a negative way; all you faults (can be false)
• Poverty in urban America:
• --describe the photo (young girl in housing project looking out onto distant cityscape); foreground/background, emotional response
• --discussion of welfare and the "Welfare Trap"
• --origins and focus of rap music
• --vocabulary: impoverished, pride, fear, etc
• --Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio; vocabulary, discussion
• --(humorous offshoot) Amish Paradise by Weird Al Yankovich; vocabulary, discussion 

• 1e Euro: Stereotypes
• --Flight of the Conchords: Foux de FaFa; french stereotypes as viewed from native English speakers
• --Discussion of American stereotypes as viewed by the French; breaking through stereotypes
• --internet search: find answers to questions by way of suggested websites
• ----cultural differences between America and France; academic attitude, approach to child rearing, etc; Stereotypes in Walt Disney Pictures: why are they "politically incorrect"?

• 2e ES: Horror Genre
• --word association with "Horror": fear, shock, amazement, death, etc
• --history of the Horror genre in popular culture (origins in gothic novels)
• --games: crossword puzzle, word search 

• 2e Euro: Irish Nationalism
• --Discussion of common knowledge about Ireland and Irish stereotypes
• --History of Ireland's struggle for independence (discussion beginning with 19th century regardless of the fact that Ireland has been fighting for battles between its own tribes or against England since before there was written history)
• --The term "Nation" in "Nationalism": Word association
• --Independence from Britain and America's success in breaking away
• --Irish immigration and pride in America; Irish struggle in America
• --The founding of Chicago (1/5 population Irish 15 years after its incorporation as a city 1850)
• --SouthSide Irish Theme Song