Emma Lampson: Can’t wait to go back!
I didn’t know what to expect when I got on the tram heading to Collége Jean Vilar, a local public middle school, for the first time. I was definitely excited, but knew it was going to be a challenge, and many questions were nagging on my brain.
School of Education student Emma Lampson works with students at Collége Jean Villar.
How would the children receive me? Would they work well with me or write me off immediately? Would they have the drive necessary to learn English – the same drive I constantly search for each day I enter into my French 1 class – or will they simply ignore my efforts? All of these questions bogged my mind as we rode along towards our destination. Immediately, I noticed that the ride towards Collége Jean Vilar was not as picturesque or beautiful as the rest of Angers. A little rougher around the edges and a little more intense than the candy and clothing store-lined streets of downtown Angers, the area surrounding Jean Vilar definitely felt like a hard working community. Walking into the front gates of the school, it was time to see if we were ready.
The classroom looked like any other I’ve ever been into – off-white walls, desks in a row, artwork hanging almost everywhere. This classroom was quite different than those I had attended, however. The particular class we are working with is part of the S.E.G.P.A. program at Collége Jean Vilar – Section d’enseignement général et professionnel adapté. Like an American special education program, you could definitely see some of the students struggling and getting frustrated with the activities. As the children filed in, we introduced ourselves – in French and English – and explained that we would be playing a game, much to the students’ delight. We went right into playing a toothpick game to help with their problem solving skills – and English — and you could see the frustration and eventual gladness when they successfully found a way to continue the game. With some of the cards – they had to make sure that all four toothpicks were touching at all times and they could only move one with each of their moves – making the shapes was difficult and frustrating for the kids, but they began helping each other to find solutions. I noticed that when they became stuck on a certain shape, they seemed distressed for a moment and continued working it out in their heads, eventually finding a way to stay in the game. I could really see the gears in their minds working and the cognitive dissonance the students were faced with made the game quite beneficial in other aspects of learning. The students now in a problem-solving mindset, I could see the game getting easier and easier with each round we played. Much to the delight of their wonderful teacher, Gwen, the kids were working through the problems on their own and working on their English a little bit on the way to finding the answer. After the toothpick game we worked on some vocabulary and time flew by, and all of a sudden the children were streaming out and yelling excited “Goodbyes” to all of us.
I really enjoyed my first day at Jean Vilar. The students were rambunctious and energetic, like any other class full of twelve year olds would be, but they were incredibly driven and focused. They used each activity to better themselves and I could really see the gears in their minds working. I can’t wait to go back!
