Ach, as I sit here a week after my trip to Paris and Switzerland, the blues are still here. It%26#39;s the first time that I have felt so down for so long! I think it%26#39;s because I%26#39;m not sure when we%26#39;ll be able to afford to go next.
In the meantime, I%26#39;m getting serious about sending my son to the French International school here in town. He%26#39;ll be in kindergarten next year and he%26#39;s starting to lose his French as he gets more into his friends and less into poor moi! He%26#39;s in a great school now and I ache to have to leave it, but the lure of a bilingual school is almost irresistible. Not only is it great for him and allows him to converse with my family, 1/2 of whom speak no English, but it%26#39;s such a great experience in the long run...isn%26#39;t it? I grew up speaking 3 languages fluently at school and a fourth at home with my mom, so the thought of having my child grow up monolingual (like my hubby is and he struggles with it) just seems so limiting.
My question is: Do any parents here send their kids to international schools in the States? If so, have you had good experiences? As for educators on this site: does anyone teach at these international schools? Not to generalize, but is their academic quality at least as good as the good rigorous schools around?
Any help (or thoughts) are much appreciated...this depressed girl is trying to cheer herself up with distracting thoughts (and reading trip reports!)
Thanks much
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Many public school systems are starting to offer immersion programs. We have an International school in the public school district where I live. They offer Spanish, French, and I believe, Chinese. The school has an excellent reputation.
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My children went to the French American International School in SF, before moving to Paris. The education level was excellent and I loved the multi-cultural view they had of the world, as well as getting to hang with the kind of parents who believe in the importance of a bilingual education.
If your local int%26#39;l school is sous contrat with the French gov%26#39;t then you are assured of well trained teachers with a strong French training and a very high academic standard. If not, it will really depend on the school in your area.
If the teachers come from France (ie, sous contrat schools) there are some cultural adjustments that need to occur in both the parents%26#39; expectations and in the teachers%26#39; traditional MO. for instance, teachers from France can be gruffer than their US counterparts and parents have a MUCH more active role in a US classroom.
Your child is going to be stronger in English than in French, in bilingual education the language on the playground is the one that will be stronger, but it is still a very worthwhile endeavour.
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You might find it helpful to contact your local chapter of Alliance Francaise. They should be able to help you.
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Thanks for the info. We have gone to the Alliance Francaise - and they even teach little ones. The thing is, there is a huge difference between once a week (which our private school offers) and full immersion. There is a public school that offers full Spanish immersion, but none in French. I%26#39;d even take the Spanish immersion, but it has a so-so reputation.
Phread, it is a sous contrat school (one of 36 in the States, I understand), and it actually begins with 87% French and only 13% English. By 5th grade, it%26#39;s 50% English and 50% French. But you%26#39;re right - what%26#39;s spoken on the playground is quite an indication of the comfort level of the students! 1/3 of the students are American, 1/3 are French, and 1/3 are %26quot;other international%26quot; from all over. Many teachers are from France, sent for a set period of time. I grew up with the French system so I know what you mean about gruff/involvement. From the latter perspective, it seems that involvement is quite encouraged, which is great. The headmistress seems very open and said all the right things. That said, I%26#39;ve been at least 2 families who had a terrible experience - but you can%26#39;t please everyone!
All in all, we%26#39;re leaning towards it - not only for the experience for my son, but also because I tend to be so comfortable with international expats here - I feel a sense of compatriotism, no matter where they%26#39;re from (or perhaps common displacement!) It%26#39;s funny because I have no %26quot;native%26quot; accent from anywhere - whatever language I speak, I%26#39;m asked where I%26#39;m from! It%26#39;s rather disconcerting.
Thanks for all your advice.
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%26lt;%26lt;what%26#39;s spoken on the playground%26gt;%26gt; At FAIS they told us that this will almost always be the language of the country.
%26lt;%26lt;From the latter perspective, it seems that involvement is quite encouraged, which is great.%26gt;%26gt; It was the French teachers who had to adjust to family involvement and for the most part they enjoyed the change. They also had to adjust to being tutoyed and spoken on a first name basis by their students!
%26lt;%26lt;I%26#39;ve been at least 2 families who had a terrible experience - but you can%26#39;t please everyone%26gt;%26gt; The school experience is generally only as good as the family-teacher relationship, so it will change from year to year, regardless of the school I can not stress this enough. No matter how much you love the school, if you do not like the teacher that is with your child all day, you will have a terrible experience. The inverse is more or less true, as well.
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Our daughter attends Dallas International School where the curriculum is taught 50% French, 40% English and 10% Spanish. This has been a very rewarding experience for both her and us. She is very stimulated with school activities and friends she meets in class and we parents have formed wonderful friendships with other parents, most of whom are French.
There is a similar school near you, the French International School of Philadelphia; you may want to contact http://www.efiponline.com/. Overall the curriculum is the same as is taught in France which is as rigorous as any found in the US.
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Welcome back Gambader! I%26#39;m sorry I can%26#39;t provide any information on french schools in America, but I%26#39;m glad to hear you had a wonderful time in France. Since our children are so close in age, I would love to hear about the sights you saw %26amp; your suggestions for our Paris visit in May.
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Hi,
First of all, thanks for the welcome!! We had such a great time. But I confess that we didn%26#39;t do most of the stuff I had planned on doing! Which is the first hint, I suppose!
I remember that I wanted to tell you about things, but I have been so bluesy that I haven%26#39;t had the energy.
These are some of the highlights for my son:
The Jardins de Luxembourg playground. It costs some (a couple of Euros each) but is fun! Also, the Jardins de Luxembourg has a great carousel where the kids can hold a little stick and as they pass by the guy who runs the carousel, they try to catch a little locket (?) of sorts! He loved it. At theJardins, we also went to see the Guignol show (puppet) - my son understands some French, but even if your son doesn%26#39;t, it%26#39;s so fun. Times are listed in the Pariscope that you buy on Wednesday. Two other activities that we didn%26#39;t have access to/take advantage of in the Jardins: Mule rides: my son really wanted to, but we ran out of time; and renting little boats that they can guide remotely, which isn%26#39;t available in the winter.
Tuileries/Louvres area: We didn%26#39;t go into the Louvre with him, but we went on the Carousel and on the Ferris Wheel. The latter was not enjoyable (chiefly SCARY), but won%26#39;t be there anyhow when you%26#39;re there.
Notre Dame: He loved going in there with my husband, who is a history buff and explained to him lots of details (and made up others).
Bateaux Mouches: I wanted to take him on the Croisieres Enchantee, which is a special boat ride for kids with two elves narrating (in French) - but we couldn%26#39;t get the times right. He loved the Bateaux Mouches.
Les Egouts. My son loves all that involves pipes and waste products. In fact, when he grows up he wants to become a plumber or a trolley driver (oh joy) So we had to do the tour of the underground sewers. He LOVED it.
Bus Adventure and Metro Adventure: he and my husband would pick a bus route or a metro route blindly, then see where it led them. I know, weird, but that took a whole cold afternoon while I was shopping.
The Eiffel Tower! He and my husband went ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! They loved it. I hate heights, so I stayed below.
Hotel de Ville: We loved the skating, and again the Carousel. Not sure it will be there when you go.
Up and down the Champs Elysees. They raced up to the Arc de TRiomphe, then back down to Sephora, where I was shopping.
WALKING WALKING WALKING: We walked up the seine, down the scene, all over the right bank and left bank, crossed every pont. The ONLY way we could walk this much was with a stroller! We had no longer been using a stroller for him, but I did research and found that the Maclaren Triumph fits kids up to 50 (or 60?) lbs. Even though it was a little short for him, we bought it. BRILLIANT idea. He was able to nap away his jet lag every afternoon while we did our thing, and we were able to walk walk walk while he hung out and people/building watched.
Essentials:
The stroller
A TV with access to French Cartoons: This was essential in the evenings - allowed us to decompress and him to hear French! He doesn%26#39;t watch lots of TV at home, so this was a wonderful treat for him, and allowed us to have our market bought romantic dinner at the same time.
Restaurants that had kid friendly foods: Pizza del Arte on St. Germain/St. Michel intersection and in the Montparnasse mall; And Hippopotamus all over the City. They each had kids%26#39; menus at reasonable prices with good selections for kids.
REALLY Useful:
My son had received the leapster LMAX for Christmas with 3 programs. Oh my goodness, what an amazing buy. We could literally sit in a cafe for 2 hours and he would play with the thing. Again, that%26#39;s not something we like to overuse at home, but on this trip, it was awesome. Between that and his little cars, I could shop for 1/2 day and he was happily hanging out in the stroller! IN the States, I can%26#39;t even buy bananas without eliciting major complaints from him.
So as you can see, the trip included some kid stuff, but also distraction/convenience gadgets to allow us the luxury of walking around.
Are you still using Pascal? If so, let me know and I will tell you our experience there.
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Phread, I so thoroughly agree with you. It really does all boil down to the relationship with the teacher. But it does help that if the relationship is a little tense, a supportive administration can intercede and come to an amicable resolution. PLus it helps for parents to know (and like) each other. In my current school, I know all 18 parents and would never to hesitate to pick up the phone to address any issue or vice versa - or to invite any of the kids to my house for fun time. It%26#39;s great.
Today I asked my child which he%26#39;d prefer - the French School or his current school. He thought about it and said %26quot;well, %26lt;current school%26gt; would be the easier choice, but I might be better off in a school that teaches French too%26quot;! Mind you, he%26#39;s not even 5 years old! Out of the mouths of babes...
Sarastro (sp?) The EFIP is the school we%26#39;re considering! Thank you for the legwork - it%26#39;s good to know that Dallas has one too. And I love that the kids there learn Spanish too! I think EFIP offers Spanish and even Arabic, but it%26#39;s after school.
Thank you ladies. This board is so helpful.
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Gambader-
I felt badly taking up this post on french schools in the US with my general questions about youyr trip. I started a different thread to keep the topic clean for others who visit this topic. Thanks for ALL your help %26amp; tips!
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