I have a little funny story for you Raz…
So ( I am french originally) I have started to read a little biography by a lady named Myriam Meyer. She is a teacher for high school in French literature, latin and classical greek.
She was sent about 10 years ago when she was still very young by the French department of education to an area in Seine et Marne near Paris to a highs school where most children are from inner city so practically all students from North Africa immigration at first generation. Now France has, I personally think, a terrible issue with these areas where there has been lack of attention, lack of funding, so there’s poverty, hopelessness, drug traffic where there is in fact for some tons of money, and so many kids leave schools before the end of terms.
But for this school , the team is made of two directors a woman and a man, in fact dedicated to the welfare of their students, and they manage their school with an iron fist establishing by a daily basis some safety so much so that immigrants from other areas are dreaming to get their kids in the public high school…
And this is where this fact is for you , Raz… When the young Myriiam arrived , first she was dubbed a bourgeoise by the tow directors, and deemed she wouldn’t last , but as she showed grit, they became close friends, and she in fact was extremely subtle in finding out what were the different facets of her students an even though at first they were incredibly ruthless to her, and undisciplined, … she slowly managed to teach them latin which was her first assignment before being given six months later French literature too…
She slowly learnt some tenets of the spoken Arab which really helped her in her communication by answering rapidly some of the jokes of her students, some of the really funny passages of the book.
And this is here Raz where she started to have visits from parents, sometimes not knowing French hbut their own chilldren would be the translators and they would plead her to take their kids to teach them ’ the dead words’. and felt incredibly proud that their children would become good latin students.
So I started reading this book which is both hilarious as how she manages her own situation and heartbreaking as the slow miracle of education, or simply finding g a teacher who gets to love them, can help kids who live in such chaotic environment.
