C'est l'hiver

So winter in Nevers is not an inspiring time. If the Burgundy region is known to be quite pleuvieux (rainy), occasionally, there can be winter when all of this precipitation turns into neige (snow). This winter was the coldest, snowiest winter in recent history for la Nièvre. Charming?

Well, the french have no system in place to respond to les intempéries (inclimate weather) in general, but especially when it comes to the schools. As all of France, and indeed Europe, was experiencing the same phenomenon, one result of all the snow was une manque de sel (a lack of salt) that came about almost immediately after the first bit of snow of the year. Unfortunately for the french, it kept snowing. So de-icing the roads by salting them became quite difficult, if not impossible. Fine, we cancel school in this case, right? You know, take some snow days and add them back at the end of the year. That way no one gets lost in the snow, no one risks car accidents, and those families that decide to be cautious do not see their children suffer academically. Apparently this is a very American idea. My teachers explained to me that, in France, school is seen as one of the state's obligations to its people. Alright, it is in the US too, right? Well, in France it's considered une obligation sociale (a social obligation), that is, it's more important that the school be open for children to have a place to go than it is for the learning conditions to be good and favorable. So no matter what happens with the weather, the school has to be open. So great, no confusion! Au contraire (On the contrary), it's much more confusing than if school were just to be canceled by the district. Each teacher has to determine if he or she can make it safely to school. After that, each teacher then decides if there are enough students present to continue with normal lesson plans. As for the language assistant, his or her role is considered minor enough that there's no need to le prévenir (let him or her know ahead of time). I would show up at school after walking through the snow and slippery ice, only to find out that there was no teacher or no students. How many days did we miss in January because of snow? I heard one teacher say 19, but there's actually no way to count.

Of course, this led even more teachers to râler (complain) about their students. The younger teachers, who tend to be less negative-- I'd put this positively if it seemed appropriate-- began to recall this snowstorm from 20 years ago. They reminisced about coming to school in the snow, seeing their friends, and walking long distances. They missed the hilarity, how their stories smacked of that typical elderly man who idealizes his childhood and critiques the youth of today. To their credit, however, the teachers did make a big effort to come. It's the ones who live out in the country and have to drive on back roads who simply couldn't add anything to the pity party for fear that they would make everyone else feel uncomfortable when they realized their situation wasn't too bad. When I told the teachers I thought it was outrageous that there would be no way to ratrapper (recuperate) the lost days, however, they did not think to complain about the fault in this system.

I read in The Washington Post just the other day an article about snow days in a Maryland high school with an IB program. On such days, teachers asked students to continue forward with assignments and post responses to questions on a class wiki. There were discussion boards so that students and their teacher could continue to work through ideas without even being present. While students' reactions to the system were somewhat mixed, including the comments about keeping on track from wise, responsible students and complaints about the lack of contact from more hyperactive, ultra-motivated students, the majority opinion was that in order to stay competitive and keep expectations high, the school had a certain obligation to use technology to their advantage. Those students know their exam won't be moved, since a disinterested international advisory board regulates it, and they do not want to miss out on one subject just because the buses weren't running. I printed the article and cut it down to a manageable size for my students, but I'm not sure if I'm going to work on it with them. There might be simply too much cultural noise qui les empêcherait à comprendre (that would keep them from understanding).

So, vivement le printemps (hooray for spring). It's coming soon, and maybe it'll be more inspirational, and not of complaints, but of hope and beauty.