Having heard horror stories about the French grading system, we were happily surprised to see that all three did great—which to me is an indication that children don't always take after their parents, or at least their dad.
Our kids' school uses a letter grade scale established by the European Commission that is gaining popularity among some French primary schools and is similar to the one used in the United States.
When we decided to come to Paris people would tell us what a great experience it would be for the kids. Half jokingly, we'd say, "The kids? We're doing this for us!" But since we had to bring the kids along, we figured it would be nice if they learned some French, so we didn't consider putting them in an English-speaking school. We also ruled out French public schools because we didn't want to traumatize them at such a young age.
Through friends we heard about Ecole Active Bilingue (EAB)-Monceau, a small private French school that's under contract with the French government, which means it's run privately but is sort of a public school because they follow the national curriculum and the government pays for their teachers (which makes the school very affordable). EAB offers an adaptation program for international students that helps them adapt to the French language and school system. After their first year, students in the adaptation track move into the regular French classes without having to repeat the year.
Most classes are in French, and from the very first day the teachers spoke to them only in French. For a while Nicolás, when asked how he liked the school, said it was boring because all they did was sit all day and not understand anything (he also questioned the "Active" in their name). Evidently this is a great way to learn a language and the results can be seen already. It's amazing how effortlessly they're just absorbing the language and now they understand quite a bit and are speaking some. But what impresses us the most is the beautiful French accent they are acquiring, which I think is half the battle when learning French. Not surprisingly, they are now pedantically correcting us when we mispronunciate. One of them, who shall remain nameless because he probably would not like this to be known publicly, sometimes likes to speak French à la Americaine (as in, par-lay voo frahn-say?) and got in trouble for this because his teacher thought he was making fun of a kid in his class who apparently speaks French that way. Or maybe he was making fun and got what he deserved.
The only problem I've seen with the adaptation program is that because English is the main language for most kids, apart from practicing French à la Americaine they don't have many opportunities to use the language outside the classroom.
A couple of their classes are in English, for which they have an English teacher, Mme. Pinchon, who's actually Irish. English, of course, and History. They're learning French history, way back since the Lascaux caves, famous for their Paleolithic paintings, and one day one of them mentioned in a matter-of-fact way that Charlemagne was a great promoter of education; and that he was the son of King Pepin the Short. They're currently learning about the Battle of Hastings during the Norman conquest of England. How can they remember all that yet not remember to pick up their clothes every day?
The teachers have been great. They are not the warm and fuzzy kind they were used to in the U.S., but they are also not the stereotypical French teacher. Their philosophy seems to be that these kids did not choose to move to France, so before they are thrown into the French system they are entitled to an adaptation period. So, for example, because they know kids are putting forth their best effort every day, they leave only a bit of homework, which is fine with us. Helicopter-parenting has not arrived in France, so there is very little parent involvement within the school, which is also fine with us.
They get an hour for lunch (and play time) and one short recess in the morning and another in the afternoon. They have lunch at the cantine (cafeteria), which is quite different from the cafeteria in their US school, where pretty much all they got was pizza, chicken nuggets, and other finger food. We decided to give it a try at least during the first trimester, and since it hasn’t been totally horrible for them we've called the experiment a success (though they might argue with us on that: the other day we heard Daniela say she doesn't like the cantine because they serve parent food, not kid food).
All of them made good friends quickly, which is probably the key to their quick adaptation to the new school and environment and is likely why they've put up with this whole adventure. Since the school is right next to Parc Monceau, just about every day several families head over to the park. We look forward to more of those instant playdates once the temperature warms up a bit.
Having our kids in a French school has added an extra dimension to our stay that we would not have had otherwise. In a way the school is our main connection to French life, it's what differentiates us from regular tourists. Dianny and I have also met a lot of parents and made good friends through the school, many of them American, even a couple of Colombians. Most are people who've been transferred by the organization they work for (for example Google, Accenture, Unesco, OECD), others who've moved their work to Paris, and also a couple of families who like us moved here just because they wanted to or to expose their kids to a new culture and language. Most are here for at least two years. But regardless of the circumstances that got us here, we all have one thing in common, that of being so grateful for the opportunity of being in this fabulous city and for the wonderful school experience our kids are enjoying.
I recently read an article on the New York Times about an American family's difficulties and struggles with their new Russian school after they moved to Moscow in 2007. It made me realize how lucky we've been during this whole adventure and how easy the transition was for everyone.
(URL of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/my-familys-experiment-in-extreme-schooling.html)