“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
– William Butler Yeats
Life and school in Paris has been an incredible experience so far. While immersing myself into French culture, I’ve had to adapt to situations such as being comfortable standing cheek-to-cheek with strangers on a crowded metro, and I’ve come to see many aspects of everyday life in a new way. One adjustment has involved my experience at school. The French university system is much different than what I am used to back home. Here is a list of some of the comparisons I have noticed:
- The French grading system is based on a 20-point grading scale, and they have a different way of assigning grades. Grade 15-20 is an A; 14 is A-; 12-13 is B+; 11 is B, etc. In France no one EVER receives a 20 and grades above 16 are rare. The average grade is 10. At home, if I got 15 out of 20 on a test that would be a C! But in France, it’s an A.
- My classes at home meet 2-3 times per week for 50-75 minutes. However, here in France, each elective only meets once per week, but classes last four hours. Fortunately, we get two breaks during class. This gives us time to get coffee from the coffee machines, and for the professors and French students to go outside to have a cigarette.
- In my French language class at home I am used to everything being constantly translated and explained in English. However, in my French class here NO English is spoken. With students coming from all over the world, such as Costa Rica, Japan, and China, we don’t have one common language that we can use to communicate with each other. So, we only speak French. Even when I am confused and don’t understand the meaning of a word or phrase, my French teacher uses French to describe whatever I’m not understanding. Sometimes this also requires some amusing gestures and hand movements.
- At home I go to a secular public university, but the university that I am attending in Paris is a Catholic university. This creates no differences in the content of my classes, but it is unique for me to see a cross hanging above the blackboard at the front of every classroom, and to eat lunch in the cafeteria among priests and nuns.
- Back in the U.S. most of my classes have at least 50 students. My classes are much smaller here, with the largest class at about 20 students, and the smallest with 11 students.
- Having such small class sizes affects the way the class is taught. It is a much more laid back and conversational way of teaching than what I am used to. The professors do not just stand up in front of the class and give a lecture. Instead, they sit at a desk at the front of the class and interact with us much more. All of my professors know my name and I think the students participate more with this style of teaching than in the lecture halls back home.
Overall, my experience studying at L’Institut Catholique de Paris, "The Catho," has not been worse or better than WSU, just different.
Very interesting! People are always asking what it is like to go to a new university in a foreign country, but everywhere is different and sometimes it can be difficult to answer that question. The differences you mention sound like they would make for an interesting experience. I thought the fact that professors are more likely to sit and talk with students, rather than give a lecture is suprising. That is something I've never experienced before. I really like how you described your experience as not worse or better, just different. People sometimes might try to compare places, but often times it truly is that places/experiences are just different.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I read your blog on the chateaux as well and loved it. I am very jealous and it made me want to go someday!!
Kacie McPartland
EA Peer Advisor