I have learned over the past two weeks that scolding students, glaring at them with the famous teacher "look" and even writing a "mot" in their "Carnet" does not always work as effectively as we hope. French kids are very, very bavards. Even when I ask them to be quiet, yell at them to be quiet, etc. They stop for like two seconds, then continue on. They also touch each other all the time. Okay, this is not exclusive to the French, but is an international 7th/8th grade related problem, in my experience. It's an adolescent thing. Oh, and don't even get me started on how many rulers I've had to confiscate. "Boys, we don't play swords with our rulers..." Class, what is the rule about touching? "Don't touch neighbor!" Yep, my 7th and 8th graders back home have the same rule.
So, yesterday I had two kids who just couldn't stop picking at each other. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I've got quite a few tattle tales in class. Apparently, it is always the fault of someone else. "I turned around to answer him, Madame. It's his fault." After an hour of this, I was fed up. I finally said in my stern, but firm English "You know what? I don't care whose fault it is. You are both acting very childish and I simply asked you to not talk to each other. Stay facing the board, and do not talk to each other. Or, you know what I'll do, I'll make you sit together at the same table..." (Or something similar) The class was silent. Remember, I wasn't yelling, just stern. Finally, one of the girls in question said "Madame, je vous ai pas compris, mais tenez. Je pense qu'il faut que vous écriviez un mot dans mon carnet." I almost smiled. Message received.
(For those readers who are not French, the Carnet is a booklet of correspondence between the parents and teachers, in which teachers write about misbehavior, etc. The girl said - Madame, I didn't understand you, but here. I think you want to write a word in my carnet.)
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