Lesson Learned

I am done with the stage (working during the holidays) and couldn’t be more relieved. Those classes were out of control. Well, there was one class in particular that was out of control. Brian came up with an activity that I thought sounded fun, but the students must have disagreed. We passed around a sheet of paper to each student that was full of the beginning of a sentence. You had to fill in the end of the sentence (be creative, we encouraged them) and pass it on to the next person, who would in turn complete the next sentence. In the end, each student should have a unique story.

The stories were not all that unique, unfortunately. They all had something in common. Some smartass completed each sentence with, get ready for it, “fuck you.” For example, “The two teenagers decided to fuck you.” Maybe they didn’t realize how vulgar this is in English, but give me a break. After that, we gave them a written assignment and had them fill in evaluations. To my surprise, most of the students had nothing but good things to say about us.

I should reiterate that my classes during the stage weren’t all so bad, but this particular class was awful. The other assistant said he’d never do it again, and I never will if I can afford not to.   I should have just gone to Paris like everyone else.  This was hardly fun.  Unlike in my actual classes, I felt like I had no control or respect here.

My apartment has been used mainly by assistants for the past several years. When I moved in, everything they had left behind was still there. Some of my favorites are the bathroom decorations. We have a dedicated toilet room that’s small enough to fit a toilet and your body. When you sit down, you’re facing the door. Someone in the past taped this cartoon to the door, probably to serve as a constant reminder that their work isn’t so bad. The fact that, to boost my spirits, I need someone to tell me “at least you’re not wiping asses for a living” depresses me even more.

Related posts:

1. Les Vacances, le travail
2. Stereotypes
3. Bienvenue aux Lycées!
4. Vacation, finally