Students share what it was like having teachers from France in the classroom
November 8, 2017
ERIN, Ontario – Students in the Upper Grand District School Board had the opportunity to meet with teachers from France, and are sharing their experiences. Three teachers from l’Académie Clermont-Ferrand school district visited UGDSB schools from October 24 to November 1.
In April 2016, the Upper Grand DSB created a partnership between l’Académie Clermont-Ferrand, a school board district in the region of Auvergne in France. The goal of this partnership is to connect one learning environment with another, both virtually and through student exchanges.
The teachers visiting from France were fortunate enough to be able to see some of our schools, meet with UGDSB students and staff and really experience what it is like in our board.
When reflecting about the positive experience, Jet, an EDHS grade 9 student said, “It was amazing. I learned a lot, like how to speak more French and how to understand it…I learned how different our classes are from theirs.”
The teachers that visited, Mme Claire Détuy, Mme Elizabeth Bouver-Guillot and Monsier William Grollet, spent some time in a grade 9 French class at Erin District High School. The students in this class were happy to have the visitors and said that these interactions provided a great opportunity for students to use their French in an authentic way.
Zack and Teagan said that the experience was a great learning opportunity. They said having them in the classroom allowed a greater learning experience because there were multiple teachers in the class that could help answer their questions. They also learned how different classes work in France. “They don’t have semesters, they have all their classes in one long semester…On Wednesday afternoons they don’t have classes so they can catch up on homework and play sports.”
This experience not only helped Erin DHS students learn about going to school in France, but it also served as an educational opportunity for the teachers involved in terms of learning about the Canadian education system. When the teachers were not interacting with students, they had the opportunity to attend two different FSL teacher workshops.
The teachers were not at Erin DHS for their whole visit, they also had the chance to visit Erin PS, Guelph CVI, Wellington Heights SS, Centre Dufferin HS and Orangeville DSS.
Grade 9 EDHS student, Hope, speaks for her whole class when saying, “We were all very thankful that the professors could spare some time to come visit us and we would all like to say thank you from Mme Schillings’ class.”
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