A Monday November Kind-of Day

Teaching English abroad carries a conception that doesn't always have much luminosity: the before and after are recently polished glass, but the in-between is often obscure to our perception. Even in the first couple months when the routine and works tastes new, it's difficult to grasp what you're doing from the day-to-day because the day-to-day is fleeting and ever-changing. After the completion of two months and being well into my third in Deauville,  the everyday begins to have a rhythm.  To elucidate what being a TA in Deauville means, let us follow the beat of my average Monday sat working.

9am-930am English with CE at St Arnoult 

             Every morning I begin the day at St Arnoult, a small town about an eight minute drive outside of Deauville. On Monday's I begin the day with the CE, who are the second to oldest group of children we teach. At this level we begin to do a few writing exercises, but the teaching is still mostly auditory.

930am- 1015am English with CM

            CM is last two years of primary school in France, before they go off to Middle School[college]. This is the age we begin to write sentences in English together. At this age the years of repetitive English is beginning to stick and you get to teach more and more interesting material to learn how to communicate in English. Because writing often takes more time than the oral exercises, each class with the CM is 45 minutes instead of 30. 

1030am-1145am Meeting with English Team

            After finishing up at St Arnoult, I make my way back in the Yaris to Deauville to our Monday morning meetings. Due to the commute, I often arrive like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, only to find out that the big hand hits the six as I walk through the door. In this meeting we talk about what each of the TAs are doing in their respective classes and what we would like to do in the upcoming weeks. This is also a time to meet with Ivan (our advisor) about any other questions/problems in our Deauville life. 

1145am-135pm Recreation/Lunch with the Kids at Deauville

            Everyday we supervise recreation and lunch in Deauville. There are two services: the younger kids eat first while the older kids play and the second they switch. I always work the first service because I often leave before the second service is done eating to go to my next school to teach. At first the constat moving back and forth was difficult, but it keeps me attentive and engaged. This time always passes before you notice that it's gone.

2pm-245pm English with CE at Tourgieville

            After another commute I find myself in Tourgieville for the afternoon. I am only at this school 3 days a week because this school does not have class on Friday afternoons. To give them equal time in English class, the classes with this age group are adjusted to be 15 minutes longer each session. While they're the same age group as my morning class, we do not do the same content; the difficulty of the content and the way it is taught is similar but done throughout different periods. 

245-315pm English with GS/MS at Tourgieville 

            This is the youngest age group I work with, and admittedly the hardest to keep engaged. With the young ones you have to change what you're doing every three minutes or they lose interest. It's possible but it can be a challenge. 

4pm-5pm After School Activities 

            Once I have finished up at Tourgieville, I make my way back to Deauville to teach after school activities. On Monday I work with the CP, which is the youngest group at this school. Currently I do yoga inspired sport activities with them for about 45 minutes. The rest of the time they kids enjoy a snack that they bring from home.

5pm-6pm Homework Help

            The end of my everyday is spent in homework help. I work with the CM in Deauville/ I answer any questions they have and verify that they have finished their homework before the play. 

The homework is often French grammar or math. It's surprising to see how differently elementary education is taught here versus back home. Once it reaches six, we go home and there are still a few kids left who are supervised by an Animateur until 630 when the school closes.