Let them eat cake

Have you ever had a day where you thought, "I just can't get enough of my job?! I can't believe I am paid to have so much fun!!" Some days, when the kids are smiling and speaking French and listening and responding, I feel that I could do this job every day for the rest of my life! Other days when I get cold glares and kids talking back to me after simply asking them to put away their ipods and cell phones and focus on my well-prepared lesson, I just want to escape to a remote island and sip pina coladas. Luckily, I usually enjoy my time with the kiddies. Last Tuesday, I had one of those love-my-job-forever days!

I waited to post about this entry until I received a few parental permission slips to show you their pictures. I asked them to prepare a presentation on some French figure, real or fictional. They were invited to bring food, costumes, music, video clips, paintings, perfume, etc. to share with the class. They had a few minutes to set up their booths and then we all walked around the room to meet these francophone figures. Many students went the extra mile! As you see here, one girl from French 1 purchased a wedding dress from DI, just so she could look like Marie Antoinette. She did her hair all up and brought in a strawberry shortcake. When Marie Antoinette's people were starving, she is falsely identified as saying, "Let them eat cake!" Though she most likely did not say those exact words, she was very naive to the plight of her people and spent much of the kingdom's money on wigs and pastries to avoid thinking about them. She was called, Madame Deficit. This high school girl did a great job, explaining the pressures that Marie Antoinette had to face in her life.

Another student presented Napoleon Bonaparte. He made Napoleon cookies with three completely different dough recipes. How impressive! Did you know that Napoleon was only 5'6"? He was a small man, but definitely a hero in the eyes of the French. Just don't mention Waterloo to them when you go over to visit. He restored order to France after the bloody Revolution. It is only too bad that he stretched his troops too thin by going into the cold wasteland of Siberia! Who does that?

The Eiffel Tower was build by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World's Fair. It commemorated 100 years since the French Revolution. The French originally did not like the structure and wanted to tear it down. Luckily, they found use for it as a radio tower in the early 1900s. Each time they thought about tearing it down, it just didn't happen. Today, many tourists travel great distances with the Eiffel Tower at the top of their To-Do list. Can you imagine what Paris would be like without it?

One girl presented Erik or The Phantom of the Opera. Did you know that there is really a lake under the Opera House in Paris. Could he have existed? Hmmmm....

The original Phantom was so ugly--nothing at all like the romantic and mysterious figure we see as we watch Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical.