Parlez-snooze Francais
HIGH SCHOOL | LEARNING | MAY 5, 2013
(I’m a French teacher at a high school. There’s a girl who is notoriously late for class and when she does come, she goes straight to sleep. Strangely, her work is always done and she aces her tests so I let her be until this exchange occurs.)
Me: “Bonjour.”
Students: “Bonjour, Madame.”
(I begin taking attendance and the girl slips into the room and into her desk, mumbling a quick “Bonjour” as she passes me.)
Me: “Today we’re going to be splitting up into groups and reading the first section of the novel and—”
Girl: “Madame, I have a slight problem.”
Me: “Yes?”
Girl: *in French* “I hate all of my classmates.”
Me: “You know this is a French III class, right?”
Girl: “I guarantee you that nobody in this room aside from you understood me.”
Me: *in French* “Class, what did Mademoiselle [name] say?”
(There’s an awkward pause and some whispering but nobody volunteers an answer so I repeat my question in English. Once again there’s nothing.)
Me: “How do you guys do your work?”
Boy: “A translator.”
Me: *to girl* “Work by yourself, dear.”
(After that I moved her into a higher French class that actually wanted to learn. She never fell asleep in my class again.)
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