It's the French way, it appears...
You've got to laugh!
Gwilym has begun his school year very gently, with odds and ends and no homework so far.
Catrin has had a bit of homework and tests. Hard tests! Maths that is about the level Gwilym was at, by the sound of it (long multiplication etc.) and a French test. I expect she'll get the kind of marks a dog would get in the French test, but we'll see!
There is this approach that seems quite widespread in France of first exposing what the student does not know by setting them something that is frankly much too hard. Like our dictée of Madame Bovary in grammar, for example. I seem to recall having 17 faults, which would leave me with a score of 3/20 or 6%!
The theory seems to be that this will create a desire to learn in the student and motivate them to great efforts of study.
It makes a kind of sense to me, but I also imagine a little fledgling swallow chick being told by its mama "Now today I want you to fly to Africa, ok? Be sure to be back for tea!"
It isn't like that. They begin by hopping and gliding and they build up...
Still, Catrin is cool with it. In fact she's coming on very well. She's had a good re-entry.
And I bumped into Gwilym's teacher from last year in the yard yesterday. She asked how Gwilym was doing, and was glad to hear all was well. I asked about her class, and she said "They'll be ok" with a kind of determined look. Then she said "Catrin speaks so well now. What progress! What progress!" Catrin was there to hear her, too, thankfully.
Gwilym has begun his school year very gently, with odds and ends and no homework so far.
Catrin has had a bit of homework and tests. Hard tests! Maths that is about the level Gwilym was at, by the sound of it (long multiplication etc.) and a French test. I expect she'll get the kind of marks a dog would get in the French test, but we'll see!
There is this approach that seems quite widespread in France of first exposing what the student does not know by setting them something that is frankly much too hard. Like our dictée of Madame Bovary in grammar, for example. I seem to recall having 17 faults, which would leave me with a score of 3/20 or 6%!
The theory seems to be that this will create a desire to learn in the student and motivate them to great efforts of study.
It makes a kind of sense to me, but I also imagine a little fledgling swallow chick being told by its mama "Now today I want you to fly to Africa, ok? Be sure to be back for tea!"
It isn't like that. They begin by hopping and gliding and they build up...
Still, Catrin is cool with it. In fact she's coming on very well. She's had a good re-entry.
And I bumped into Gwilym's teacher from last year in the yard yesterday. She asked how Gwilym was doing, and was glad to hear all was well. I asked about her class, and she said "They'll be ok" with a kind of determined look. Then she said "Catrin speaks so well now. What progress! What progress!" Catrin was there to hear her, too, thankfully.
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Incidently the RSS feed may not be working.
Martin
Ooh! Is there an RSS feed?
Blogger gets clogged from time to time - maybe it cuts the RSS feed periodically.