CULTURAL CONUNDRUMS: Students

This topic was something I really didn't know anything about before TAPIF, because it's certainly not something that's studied in French classes. What are French high school students like? Well, after over six months spent with them, I can tell you they're an interesting bunch.

Teachers are supposed to be held in high regard in school, so I encountered some unspoken rules at the beginning of the year. When walking in the halls, students are really conscious of making sure they don't stand in a teacher's way. They're also not allowed to enter the room until the teacher allows them, and then they have to stand at their desks until they are told to sit down. After this, though, it's pretty much a free-for-all in most cases. There are "rules" like no gum or cell phones, but no one really seems to follow them and the teachers don't enforce them that much. Coincidentally, I saw an article on Facebook yesterday about how French students are some of the worst-behaved.

I attached some Polyvore collages of the "French high school student starter pack" below. It's an unofficial uniform from which almost no one veers. Like all other Frenchies, the students wear scarves quite a bit--even the boys! In the fall and winter, most wore sweaters or hoodies. Now that it's warming up, they'll wear tshirts or casual button-up tops. Skinny jeans are a staple. Again, even for the boys. All of this is in grays, blacks, and whites in general. Both boys and girls wear sneakers 99% of the time. Yes, sneakers with jeans! The boys almost all have the same haircut that's super short on the sides and long on top, slicked back. Girls wear their hair long and natural, with minimal makeup.

By far one of the weirder things I've witnessed while working in a high school is seeing even the youngest students in school smoking cigarettes. The legal age to buy cigarettes in France is 18, but noooooo one follows this! Upon asking a few classes, it really does seem to be something that's done to look cool. A terminale student told me that cigarettes should never be banned because, "they're the heart and soul of this country, and you can seduce with them!" Hmmm.

In general, they're what you'd expect from teenagers--not keen on showing enthusiasm in school, walking around in packs with their friends, dabbing, listening to loud rap music (usually JUL, *eye roll*), and taking selfies in the halls. They all have the "too cool for you" gaze down pat, and it can be pretty intimidating. Luckily, most of them are nice/put up with me, and have given me plenty of hilarious quotes. I'll leave you with one of my recent faves, said while talking about whether or not zoos are good for animals, "When you see a baby beer in the zoo, it makes you sad it's not with the other beers."