Why are American primary schools better than the French ones?

 

 Why are American primary schools better than the French ones?

Hello Charlie, so today I will be sharing with you my 1 year experience in a typical American primary school “Barbara Bush “ . I will try to describe,comment and share with you my thoughts after reflection and comparison with my experience in the French scholar system.

First of all different special programs exist to make all the students feel included but are also there to help them,for example I was in the ESL program so I was in a normal class but the teachers knew that english was my second language so I was allowed to get more help from them than the other students,in case I needed..

Another program “Gifted and Talented“ was for gifted students,to help them to reach for and achieve their personal best work,for they were put into a peer group that is at their advanced academic level.Most of them also came from a family where there wasn’t much money, for the parents it was good to have your children in this type of class,he would go to college for sure.

PSE also existed for students with a physical or mental handicap.

It’s really sad all this doesn’t exist in french schools; all students with their gifts,difficulties or disabilities should feel like their have their place at school

I also want to talk about the general mood and energy of the school that englobes teachers,pedagogy choices and the school’s message.

To start with, my school's one was “Success for every student” that already motivates each person in the school from the staff to the students and the teacher.

The teachers were always motivating the students,putting more attention on what we did that was good  than what was bad,or just less good. And honestly that was a game changer, the students wanted to progress,I wanted to progress ,to go to school to learn things,it made us; the students feel intelligent and important,see..IN France as a student I don’t really feel like teachers care about me ,if I am here or not it’s the same.

In terms of motivation the American system is way better(obviously), my teachers were always motivating their students telling us we could do it ,we had the capacities and especially since I was a French ESL student my teacher never made me feel inferior or incapable of learning english.I never heard,in my whole experience there a single criticism or humiliation of student in front of his classmates. So students were always participating because they knew they wouldn’t be judged by their classmates of their teacher

The ways we learned things was also way more fun than in France.We were rarely sitting in rows of chairs listening to the teacher ,we usually sat on a carpet in front of the screen with the teacher.We also worked a lot in groups two to four tables gathered,it also allowed us to chat and meet people while learning a new thing.  (I guess I shouldn’t be saying that..;oups)

We didn’t have a lot of work to do at home,that created equality between us ;there wasn’t that problem of  “did you get help from your parents” in which social inequality is present. 

Wearing uniforms also helped with that ,we were all equal. You couldn’t guess how much money your friend’s parents had or where they lived.That contributed in my opinion to the fact that everyone talked with everyone,and uniforms are actually really cool and make your life easier.In the morning when you get dressed you just hesitate between the plane blue skirt or the one with squares and not “am i going to wear a skirt or a pair of jeans''which is a much complex and long question to answer to in the morning. And uniforms are actually pretty good looking in my opinion. 

I also wanted to talk about food in American schools.

 So, when we start our day we can eat breakfast at our house but if we don’t have the time or our parents can’t afford it we can eat freely at school.A lady/man often comes at the beginning of the first class to distribute milk and another little snack for the students who want to.I think it’s really cool to that;it makes the students happy and it’s helpful for the parents as well.

At lunchtime most of the students bring their lunch boxes,often my mom did it for me in the morning s my food was generally healthy and hot.It was quite fun because when I ate in the big hall where everyone ate,(where there's was also the cafeteria)  I could see what everyone had to eat and reciprocally so we would all ask each other “what are you eating today?” and taste each other’s food.Since the US is an emmigration country we had spanish ,indian ,vietnamese, and classic american food ( there was always at least one classic peanut butter sandwich) around the table. Sometimes I ate at the cafeteria if I don't have my lunchbox ready in the morning(thanks mom!)of course it’s ironic I still thank her today for preparing my food during these whole years.Anyways the cafeteria’s food wasn’t very nice .It wasn’t fresh or healthy the only good thing to look forward to when eating there was that they sold  doritos,and when you are 10 you think eating chips is cool but it was basically it.And yes,at ten years old proposing doritos to your classementes around your table makes you look cool and helps you socialize! I Highly recommend it.

Bellow you can see pictures of my yearbook where different events are put in picture,by the way I think it’s such a cool a good thing to have a yearbook because you have memories of your class,your school and your friends that are printed in a book and you can look back years later ,show your family.In France we just have a picture of a class each year but not much more.

I also want to talk about sports. Of course we had a physical education class that is basically the same in France.But there is something we did that particularly stuck with me-i don’t know why-every morning at recess we had to do stadium tours.I remember that as a child it annoyed me more than anything else but now  that i think about it it was actually a really good request from the teacher. Preparing your body for your day is as important as preparing your brain.It was also a good moment to have a chat with your friends,to motivate each other as well. I remember while we were running my teacher was talking with one of her colleagues,both with their Starbucks coffee and I felt so mad at them;each time we stopped they kind of yelled at us in a nice way.

In French primary schools,you have about 7 subjects:French(obviously)Math,PE,a bit of English,Science,Geography, History and moral education,and lasly Art. But let’s be honest you don’t do a lot of art,maybe not even at all,and PE even in middle in high school isn’t very important.

In American school it’s pretty much the same except you have music class and computer(we learned how to do Power Points) class in addition to that and subjects like PE or Art have way more importance in your report card but also in the mentalities of the teachers . In this article I am talking about primary school but even in middle and high school in America sports are way more encouraged.Students  that are good at it are way more valued than in France.In France if for example you are really good at PE but not a really good student in the other subjects you will not be taken very seriously and your teachers might tell you that your future will be complicated. Whether in the US sports are an asset and even if your grades in the other subjects are not that good,we don’t really care because you are good at sports. And sports can have a very important place in the student’s future. It can help a lot of students to go to their dream universities.Basically if the university sees that you are very good at American football they can recruit you because you will be a good element for their team ,so it’s a win win for everybody.Of course I am simplifying the story and not giving all the informations(because I don’t know all of them) but that’s the spirit. 

It's the same thing with students who are good at music. They are part of the band in middle school or high school and are valued way more than in France. We should have a school band and an elite sport association/team.Every student should be able and encouraged to succeed at something and it shouldn’t have to be Math or english

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I am so sorry this article was pretty messy(very messy let’s be honest) . If you made it through the end congratulations and thank you so much for taking that time to read my pretty oriented preference of school.

Have a nice one

See you soon Salomé😀😀