An Anecdote
3 minute read
I love the French language. I think it is so beautiful end elegant.
In college, you are required to take a language class. Spanish has always been very difficult for me so when I saw the opportunity to try something different, I took it. French was very fun and it was something I was able to grasp and learn pretty easily…
Except for French 1 because that was a b*tch.
Ali and I decided to take French 1 at a local community college during the summer to save money and time. It was just awful from start to finish. The class was so expensive to being with, and that doesn’t include the $300 100% required textbook. The class was 6 weeks long, 4 days a week for 5 hours a day, PLUS 4 hours of online computer work per week. And if the work and the time frame weren’t difficult enough, the teacher was just terrible. She was well verse in French of course but her teaching style was so rude.
Her favorite activity was putting people, whom she knew didn’t know the answer, on the spot and then waiting for them to give her an answer anyway. She called on Ali one day and asked in French, “What is in the classroom?” to which Ali responded, in French, a desk, a light, a window.
Teacher: No. What is in the classroom?
Ali” (irritatedly repeats in French) “A desk, a light, a window…”
Teacher: No, What is in the class. There is what?
Ali: (more irritated, in French) “THERE IS A LIGHT..”
Teacher: NO! Make the whole sentence
Ali (very loud and hilariously irritated at this point): IN THE CLASSROOM! THERE! IS! A! LIGHT, A DESK AND A WINDOW!”
See, now we wouldn’t have had a problem with this if she hadn’t let the other people she called on just give one word answers. Ali knew the way to respond, but that’s not how she asked anyone else. I laughed, like everyone else, but then she called on me and I just about popped her one.
“Why are you laughing? You need to take this seriously. You sent me an email begging to be in my class and you need to take it seriously.”
It took absolutely everything inside of my being to not get up and cuss her out. How DARE SHE! Not only is she singling me out for no reason, she is sharing personal information with the entire class and trying to use it against me to make me ‘behave’ like a child! (Side Note: I actually didn’t beg. I asked if there was a chance there would be more room) I was heated. Instead of cursing her out though I responded:
“It was funny. Everyone else laughed. Why are you singling me out like that? And I didn’t beg you for anything”
“You didn’t send me an email asking to be in the class?”
“Since we are telling personal information, then yes I emailed you, but I didn’t beg for anything, I paid for this class like everyone else.”
She then asked me the same question as Ali in French to which I responded similarly. And she moved on.
Readers please believe that she did NOT get a good review from me.
She proceeded to do the same thing over the 6 week period to a lot of other students. She was always telling personal information to the class about emails they sent or even sharing that a particular person was failing to get them to ‘behave’
So readers, long story short. Research your teacher before you take a class. And don’t let them treat you like sh*t.
But other than that, French 2 and French 3 was amazing.
College and Life After 