france exchange trip exchange trip october 2015 ... there was only one complaint from the trip –...
TRANSCRIPT
FranceExchangeTripOctober2015
AnthonyBrammer,GemmaCherry
HealthandSocialCare
Imagineaschoolof16-19yearoldlearnerswherethewholeclass
automaticallyrespectfullystandupwhenanadultcomesintotheroom.NotjustforthePrincipal;notevenjustforaLecturer;butanyadult!And…
theydon’tsitdownorstarttalkingagainuntiltheyaretoldthattheycando.
Imaginethediningareaintheschoolafterlunch,wherewithoutprompts,andwithoutquestion,allthestudentstaketheirdirtypotsaway,wipetheirtablesdown,andputtheirchairsontopsothattherosteredtwoorthreestudentscansweepandmopthefloorbefore
theafternoonclassescanstart.
Imagineawholeclassofstudentsbeingontimeandpreparedfortheir8o’clocklesson,puttingtheir
mobilephonesinatraybytheclassroomdoorastheyentered,puttingtheirchewingguminthebinbeforethelessonstarts,gettingpensandpaperoutready(allwithoutprompts!)andmakingan
activecontributionthroughoutthelessonwhichlastsfortwohourswithoutabreak…andaSociologylessonwheretheteachernaturallychallengedlearners’languageandmathsskillsfromstarttofinish!
Atonepoint,alearnerwasrequiredtoreadfromtheirhandoutaparagraphwhichhadbeenwritteninEnglish–withwaryglancesoverto“LesAnglais”sittinginthecornerincasetheypronounced
thingsslightlywrong.(Almostwordperfect–andtheonlybitofthelessonweunderstood.)
MaisonFamilialeRurale,SainteFlorine,isakindofacademyfor200-300younglearnersinoneof
themostruralandmostdeprivedareasofFrance.Thereisaboardingfacilityforlearnerswholivetoofar
awaytocommuteeverydayduringtheweek.MFRoffersanalternative
totraditionalacademicteaching,whichwewouldcallvocationalstudiesandthequalificationtasks
wererecognisableprojectsthatBTEC,CACHE/NCFEandCity&Guildsrequirefromourstudents.
Theirstudyprogrammeinvolvesclassroomteaching,work
experience,andenrichmentactivitiesthatembedteamworkingandcompetition–weobservedagroupofHealthandSocialCarestudentsinatwo-hourBadmintonlesson,andasmallgroupof14-
16yearoldshavingaQ&Asessionwithaguestspeakerwhowastheninvitedtohavelunchwiththewholestaffteam.
Thebuildingwasonceastate-runschoolthathadcloseddownduetolackofnumbers,andthewallswereliterallycrumblingaroundus.Therewasonecaretakerwhodidthedecorating,repairs,
fetchingandcarrying,gardening,etc.Ohandwasonescortdutyforadaytrip,too.
ThepurposeofourtripwastogainabetterunderstandingofwhatkindofvocationalhealthandsocialcarestudiestakeplaceinFrance,andwhatideaswecanpinchfromthem.Eventually,theaimwouldbetohavestudentexchangevisitsbetweenourselvesandthem,andthistripwasallabout
buildingstrongrelationshipsandriskassessingthepotentialforsuchexchanges.Inthelongterm,thesuccessofourtripwilldependuponthesuccessofafutureexchangeprogramme,butthefirstbitofourremit,tobuildrelationshipsandpinchideasfromthem,wasdefinitelyachieved.
WehadanaudiencewiththeMayor,whoiseffectivelythelocalauthority’selectedcouncilleader.
ImagineourcouncilleaderhavinganhourwithFrench-speakingteachersfromafar-awaycounty.Doyouevenknowwhoourcouncilleaderisthesedays?TheMayorcandidlyspokeabouthowsheoverseestheirlocalbenefitssystem;ifyou’reoutofworkinSainteFlorine,youhavetogotothe
TownHalltoaskforvouchersthatpayforfood,clothes,orrent;nomobilephonesorJeremyKylethereforBenefitsStreetoccupants.
Wehadalookroundtheirlocalhospital,andneighbouringnursinghome.Preciselythesameethosandunderpinningvaluesthatweteachourstudentsbeforetheygooutonplacement:puttingthe
personatthecentreoftheircare,treatingpeoplewithrespect,dignity,andprivacy,andsoon.Refreshingtoseethathundredsofmilesawayinadifferentcountrytheystilldothingsright.
Weweretreatedlikeroyaltyforthewholeofourstay.EvenourGuestHousehostwentoutofherwaytomakeuswanttocomeback.Thelearnerswerealldesperatetohavetheirphotographtakenwithus,andthestaffweredelightedtoseethattheoldstereotypeofstuck-uphumourlessBritish
wasjustafallacy.Bytheendoftheweek,eventhelanguagebarrierandthehugeculturaldifferencesbecameminimal,andtheweekwasroundedoffbyaFranco-AustralianbluesduogivingaconcerttoteachersandstudentsfromtheconfederationofMFRschoolsintheregion.
Therewasonlyonecomplaintfromthetrip–notasingleglassofwineorsliceofcheeseallweekL
The school canteen, students had to
wipe down the tables and chairs and
stack them (like the picture below)
Students also had to sweep and mop
the floor after their meal