Some of you know that I have a habit of taking classes when I am not teaching, and the massive amount of work I am getting done on my sabbatical has not stopped me from doing this again. This time, this spring quarter, I girded my loins and took a French class. The instructor warned me, back in March, that this particular class was a lot of work. Il ne me trompait pas.
I did every homework assignment, every essay, and sat every exam, including the oral. I worked my ass off. At first the other students treated me as if I had a skin disease. Then, later, when they realized that I usually knew the answers, they regarded me with a little more respect. They were shameless about telling me how little they studied. I was just as shameless about telling them they were fucking up.
Et enfin, je l'ai fini et alors je me suis perdue. Qu'est-ce qu'on peut faire, quand on n'a plus de devoirs?
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About Me
- Angry Professor
- I am a tenured faculty member at a large state university. My teaching efforts primarily consist of delivering statistics lectures to social science majors. These experiences have colored my perspective somewhat.
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23 comments:
On trouve des autres devoirs. Insofar as I remember my French.
Allez a l'exterieur!
Bravo! I was half expecting a revelatory nude image because of the title without it occurring to me that French might be difficult to learn (I'm fluent in French & English)
Venez faire un tour à Québec!
T'inquiete pas...you'll find something to do sans devoirs.
Apropos of nothing; something I've wondered, and would like to know...
What's the history behind the name of the blog?
I seem to recall putting it in my RSS reader ages ago (after Google recommended it) because of the name, thinking it was to do with programming.
It clearly isn't, but I'm still reading (obviously!)
Wow, your french is really good! You should come visit Montreal! (Seriously - poutine and real bagels.)
Des vacances à Paris! Pourquoi pas?
AP, good to hear from you. And "allez vous!"
PJH - The Angry Professor can correct me but I believe this refers to a passing grade. In the days before rampant grade inflation, earning a "C" was not such a disgrace - gentlemen could earn a C without having to hide their heads.
My understanding is that a "gentleman's C" was the grade given to someone who clearly could not pass the course, but whose connections were so powerful that he could not be given a failing grade. Legacy students at the Ivy leagues are often referring to as passing with a "gentleman's C." C'est vrai, n'est-ce pas, AP?
Precious. My French prof. promised to pass me if I skipped taking the course over...
Some are just not inclined to second languages.
Michael Ward - I think it went further than that. As I understand it, a "real gentleman" wouldn't even try for an A, because that would be showing off or something. Also, people who work to get A's in classes are probably low-class type people who will have to work for a living when they leave university.
So, if I grasp the social nuances correctly, a "Gentleman's C" is a deliberate bid for mediocrity.
Tu pourrais lire un roman long, comme _Madame Bovary_, c'est formidable.
The conversation about "a gentleman's C" has been really informative. Thanks! :-)
Ah, tres bien, mais maintenant il faut lire qu'elque chose en francais. Ou peut-etre vous pourriez etudier une autre langue! (Apres avoir etudie le francais, le latin est un peu plus facile, et on peut l'etudier sans prof si on a de l'ambition...)
Thanks to those who answered my question :)
Ensuite, on cherche quelque-chose à lire, quelque-chose à regarder (comme un film), quelque-chose à chanter...
Sounds like as splendid a thing to study as when I did as a young-un. Gutenberg project has a good selection of goodies to read in French; I can only imagine one can rent French movies, and I might have to go see if this is true; it's always a good time for a small Truffaut festival.
It is a shame the students treated you so badly. If they had half a brain they would talk and learn from you.
@Tout le monde - Merci à tous! Je viens de finir de lire Souvenirs d'enfance, de Marcel Pagnol. Moi, je les aime! Malheureusement, je n'arrive pas à trouver aucun livrel de Georges Simenon. (Je n'ai pas lu un livre en papier il y a deux ans!) Si quelqu'un sait où peut-on les trouver, dites-moi, s'il vous plaît!
@Everyone - Thanks, all! I have just finished reading Marcel Pagnol's Souvenirs d'enfance. I love them! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any of Georges Simenon's books in electronic format. (I haven't read a paper book in two years!). If anyone knows where to find them, please tell me!
@PJH, garlicknitter has the right of it. A deliberate bid for mediocrity -- better than I could have put it myself.
http://www.archambault.ca/qmi/search/ExtendedSearchResults.jsp?searchType=ALL&searchType=ALL&erpId=ACH&searchMode=simple&searchInput=Georges+Simenon&searchSubmit.x=0&searchSubmit.y=0
That's a link to an extensive list of Simenon titles, though on paper. Try it, it doesn't hurt, I promise.
Merci bien, Anonymous@9:55. J'en ai beaucoup en papier de Simenon.
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