Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

FLASH: French taxpayers pay Société Générale 1.6 BILLION euros in tax deduction for Kerviel rogue trading losses!

French justice has spoken!

Jerome Kerviel, the young trader who managed to cause Société Générale 5 billion euros in losses has been declared guilty.

The charges:  '"abus de confiance", "faux et usage de faux" et "introduction frauduleuse de données dans un système informatique"-- breach of trust, forgery and fraudulent data entry.

Kerviel's defense tried unsuccessfully to prove that his bosses at Société Générale knew about his trades, but this was rejected by the court. (Ignorance really is bliss. Especially since "Kerviel had been placing bets outside his trading limit for more than two years. The bank has said it booked 1.4 billion euros in profit in the fourth quarter of 2007 from his unauthorized dealings."- NYT)

The Tribunal stated that Kerviel's acts had "hurt the world economic order" and condemned him to three years in prison and the repayment of 4.9 billion euros.

According to Le Monde, Kerviel sat "pale in his dark suit" when the verdict was announced. 

You'd be pale too if you had calculated, as Le Monde did,  that at at 2300 monthly salary, payment would take 170,000 years !

Mr. Kerviel's lawyer called the ruling "unreasonable" and said he planned to appeal.

The court's decision should feed speculation in a multitude of areas. Financial regulation. The culture of excessive risk. The importance of having bosses with some idea of what they're doing.  French justice (Kerviel was really the ONLY person charged?) And, of course, for HR directors, the risks of hiring from outside the grandes écoles.

 FLASH: French taxpayers pay Société Générale 1.6 BILLION euros in tax deduction for extraordinary losses !

Paris Writers News October 2010 Update !

This month, news from Jennifer Butler, Edith Kunz, Heather Reyes, Janice Barnett, Alyssa Landry, Stephen Clarke, Anne Korkeakivi, Jonathan Fenbey, Frances Gendlin, Peter Gumbel, Donald Morrison, Margo Berdeshevsky, Jen Dick, Festival America, Banned Book Week, Bilingual Acting Workshop, Writers’ Meetup, PWN Paris Short Story Contest !

 

New books !

 

Jennifer Butler's new book, James Jennifer Georgina, will be published by Irma Boom, the acclaimed book designer. A remarkable and innovative memoir of a personal and family odyssey through 1,000+ postcards that Jennifer sent to daughter Georgina during ten years of globe-trotting, in an effort to wrest husband James from his alcoholism.

“Designer Irma Boom invented a revolutionary articulated spine especially for this book, meaning that, despite its thickness, the book will lie open at any page.”

“In an internet age where “publishing” is now a virtual, impermanent, rescindable act, and bound volumes have given way to amorphous “content”, James Jennifer Georgina relishes its material existence. This is entirely appropriate for a book celebrating physical ephemera that were almost accidentally preserved, giving the family a stolen perspective on its past.”

Post cards are joined by 21 conversations, “three articulate characters sound like a mix between a Woody Allen film and a Harold Pinter play.'"

Donald Morrison, author of the incendiary Time cover article, “The Death of French Culture” now has a book by the same name! With Antoine Compagnon. (Watch for our upcoming interview)

Margo Berdeshevky’s *"Letter from Paris", including her *ranslations 
of 2 poems by José Saramago*, a Paris photo portfolio is on the front 
page of *"Poetry International's Weblog." 

 

Peter Gumbel’s essay On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers has hit the best seller lists and received positive press coverage in all major French and international reviews. Given my longstanding interest in the French education system and the excellence of his book, I am exceptionally running three detailed interviews with Peter (click to read parts one, two, and three).

 

Anne Korkeakivi’s short story, Ilunga, has been published in the Yale Review to critical acclaim (Anne is one of the 12 finalist judges for the Paris Short Story Contest : deadline November 30)

 

Stephen Clarke, author of the bestselling Merde series, has written the introduction to City Lit Paris’s Perfect Gems to City Writing, edited by Heather Reyes. Sylvia Whitman of the famous Shakespeare & Company Bookstore called it: “A great and eclectic set of writings and an original book on Paris”

 

 

 

Edith Kunz, author of Fatale How French Women Do It,  has broken uncharted waters with her humorous new book, The Merits of Middle Aged Men—and Where to Find Them.

 

Frances Gendlin’s  new 2011 editions of my guides "Culture Shock! Paris" and "Culture Shock! San Francisco"-- are coming to bookshops soon.

 

Other news briefs: singer, playwrite Alyssa Landry appears with French star Kad Merad in musical comedy Rendez-Vous (now playing); Janet Skeslien Charles, author of Moonlight in Odessa, has been named Program Director at the American Library in Paris; Nicola Keegan's acclaimed debut Swimming has just come out in French and HEBREW! (Janet and Nicola are both Paris Short Story Contest judges) ; Amanda Walsh, PWN video journalist, is editing a series of shorts about Festival America (including interview with Jake Lamar!)

 

Selected Literary Events, readings, meet-ups

(for complete listing see http://parisreadingsmonthlylisting.blogspot.com/ or links to book events on sidebar)

 2 October 10:00 A.M. American Library in Paris Used Book Sale. Starts at 10h00. Support the Library and find something wonderful to read! AT: The American Library in Paris. 10 Rue du Général Camou 75007 Paris, France Métro: Alma-Marceau

Also: banned book week!!!* And BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED ! And PAN ART SHOW  (1-10 OCT)! 

 3 October 4:00 P.M.: Leigh Hobbs will give a special signing of his wonderful books for children including the latest Mr Chicken Goes to Paris – Mr Chicken loves to travel and so when his French friend Yvette invites him to visit, he studies his maps, grabs his cambera and catches a taxi to the airport. Bring your kids along! (Signing only not reading) AT: Shakespeare & Co. 37 Rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Paris

 4 October 9:00 P.M. SpokenWord Open Mic at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide. The format: 1. Sign up on the night. 2. Spoken word (poetry, prose, stand up, anything): you get 5 minutes, with a warning bell at 4.45 to let you know you have 15 seconds to finish 3. Acoustic songs: you get to do one whole song, 5 mins or even a bit longer. 4. We do 2 rounds and if there's space you can often have a go in both. AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide 103 rue Julien Lacroix Métro: Belleville or Pyrénées

6 October 6:30 P.M. Famed writer Michael Moorcock, author of Mother London, the Jerry Cornelius novels and the epic fantasy Elric cycle, will be reading, talking and signing his books. AT: At the BNF (Bibliotheque National Francaise), Quai Francois Mauriac 13eme. Métro: Bibliothèque François Mitterand

6 October 7:30 P.M. Journalist and biographer Jonathan Fenby presents The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved.  AT: The American Library in Paris. 10 Rue du Général Camou 75007 Paris, France Métro: Alma-Marceau

7 October Writers’ discussion Meet-up  Lieu St. Victor 11 rue Monge 75005 Paris Comment nous retrouver"call my mobile: 06.35.21.80.86"

 8 October The Department of Global Communications cordially invites you to a talk by Peter Gumbel, the author of “On achève bien les écoliers,” who will be speaking on the culture of French schools.   (See Paris Writers News Interviews with Peter Gumbel here) Pease confirm by return email, places will be limited:  [email protected] or 01 40 62 08 23.AUP Grand salon  31 avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris 

10 October 12 P.M. to 4 P.M. SOS Help Fall Booksale. AT: Orrick Law Offices 31 ave Perre Ier de Serbie 75016 Paris M° Alma Marceau or Etoile/ Bus 32,92

 11 October 9:00 P.M. SpokenWord Open Mic at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide.  AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide 103 rue Julien Lacroix Métro: Belleville or Pyrénée

 11 October 7:00 P.M.: Discussion at Shakespeare and Co. about Haifa, the subject of the latest issue of Mediterraneans, with the founding editor of the review, Kenneth Brown and journalist and political activist Dominique Vidal. AT: Shakespeare & Co 37 Rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Paris Métro: Saint Michel

13 October 7:30 P.M. Evenings with an Author: Melinda Blau   AT: The American Library in Paris. 10 Rue du Général Camou 75007 Paris, France Métro: Alma-Marceau

 

14 October 7:00 P.M.: The Village Voice Bookshop invites you to hear C. K. Williams read from and discuss his collection of poetry,  AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

17 October Terrance Gelenter's PARIS in NY Lit Fest  Renowned authors gather to discuss Paris and their work-Judith Jones, Pete Hamill, Joan Nathan, Raymond Sokolov and Robert O Paxton-for more info and reservations, contact http://www.paris-expat.com/contact.html

15 October 7:00 P.M Susan Vreeland reads from and discusses her latest novel, Luncheon of the Boating Party. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

18 October 7:00 P.M.: British journalists Ed Howker and Shiv Malik will be discussing The Jilted Generation at Shakespeare and Co

18 October 9:00 P.M. SpokenWord Open Mic at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide. 

19 October 7:30 P.M. IVY Writers Paris presented by Michelle Noteboom & Jennifer K Dick invite you to come out for a spectacular bilingual reading with French poet, art critic and translator Jacques Demarcq, American poet and hybrid text author Laura Mullen and American poet and founding publisher of Futurepoem Books Dan Machlin. AT: Le Next 17 rue Tiquetonne, 75002 Paris (M° Etienne Marcel /RER Les Halles) Pour plus d'infos, voir http://ivywritersparis.blogspot.com

 20 October 7:30 P.M. Thomas Kennedy discusses his new novel, In the Company of Angels a luminous love story about a Chilean torture survivor . AT:The American Library in Paris. 10 Rue du Général Camou 75007 Paris, France Métro: Alma-Marceau 

 25 October 7:00 P.M. Thomas E. Kennedy will read from In the Company of Angels,. AT: Shakespeare & Co 37 Rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Paris Métro: Saint Michel

 25 October 7:00 P.M. Kazim Ali at the Red Wheelbarrow AT: 22 rue Saint Paul 75004. Métro: Saint Paul

 25 October 9:00 P.M. SpokenWord Open Mic at Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide. 

 26 October 7:00 P.M. Jerome Rothenberg with Kazim Ali. AT: The Highlander, 8 rue de Nevers, Metro Pont Neuf or Odéon

 29 October 8:30 P.M. WORD the first open mic/slam/improvisation night upstairs in the library at Shakespeare and Company. Everyone welcome to watch or participate! Chaired by Adam Biles, Paris poets Heather Hartley and Rufo Quintavalle will kick of the evening.  AT: Shakespeare & Co 37 Rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Paris Métro: Saint Michel

 

Contests

Don’t miss!

 Paris Writers News Short Story Contest About Paris: deadline November 30 !

Download, print and post our new flyer Download Paris_ShortStory-R1!   

( many thanks to designer Peggy Ford-Fyffe King!)

Shakespeare & Co Novella Contest : deadline December 31 !

 

Workshops and retreats

 8 October 10:00 A.M. : Shakespeare and Company welcomes the Faber & Faber Academy back for a new writing workshop from 8-10 October – Adventures in Non-Fiction led by acclaimed writers Jon Ronson (Them: Adventures with Extremists, The Men who Stare at Goats) and Francis Wheen (How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World). There are only a few places left so if you are interested in participating please see http://www.faber.co.uk/article/2010/3/adventures-in-non-fiction-investigations-and-manif/

 

9 October 2:00 P.M. Atelier d'écriture avec Pierre Ménard. AT: Centre d'animation Château Landon, 22 rue du Château Landon, 75010. http://www.liminaire.fr

 Atelier de théâtre en anglais de 2h JEUNES de 7 à 11 ans – les samedis de 17h à 19h.  L’atelier requiert un niveau intermédiaire-débutant d’anglais parlé.Lieu / Address 35, rue St. Roch 75001 Paris, 6è étage Salle Ghesquière. Métro Pyramides, Opéra, Tuileries

 Creative arts center in Burgundy offerings writing events and a space ( 5 bedroom house s that sleeps up to twelve and a large studio/ workspace) for retreats/ group space to writers and writing groups. Full, half board or self catering available (excellent kitchen facilities). For more information, contact Janice  Barnett http://thereallybigburgundydream.blogspot.com 0345 47 95 02

 

 Paris: Casting for Varian Fry Project

Casting Native and Non-Native English Speakers for the Varian Fry Project
 All actors must speak English, although for some parts, as indicated by nationality, accents are appropriate. We are looking for:  
- 2 American men, ages 30-45 (Varian Fry and American Consul/Harry Bingham/Charlie Fawcett)
- 1 American woman, 25-35 (Mary Jayne Gold)
- 1 German man, 25 or so (Beamish)
- 2 French men, ages 25-40
- 1 Polish woman, Lena Fishman, 25-35
Auditions will be held in the afternoon on Friday, October 8th, and Saturday, October 9th by appointment.  Please send your CV and headshot to [email protected] to schedule an audition.

 

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Interview with Peter Gumbel Part Three: Can French Education be Reformed?

In this exceptional three part series, Eve and Laurel Zuckerman discuss On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers, with author Peter Gumbel, international journalist and professor at Sciences Po.

Peter Gumbel’s essay, which documents how certain teaching practices common in France can destroy confidence and make children ill, has been acclaimed both in France and abroad and is now a bestseller.

Gumbel demonstrates, to an extent that will surprise even the system’s critics, how French teaching methods shortchange not only the less able students, but the most gifted students as well. He makes several specific suggestions, such as replacing the 0-20 grading system with A,B, C and D, teacher exchanges and introduction of  internationally recognized "best practices" into the classroom. (see parts one and two)

But is change really possible? Interview by Laurel Zuckerman.

 Interview with Peter Gumbel Part Three: Can the System be Reformed?

Laurel Zuckerman :  Peter, I completely agree with you about changing the grading system and the necessity for sending young teachers abroad in order to expose them to other norms and classroom practices. I think you are 100% right about the fundamental importance of good teacher training (see part one). But my questions concern the system’s ability to evolve.  You seem to be optimistic. Why?

 

Peter Gumbel :  Optimism is perhaps overstating it, but I'm not as pessimistic as some others for several reasons. 
The first is that the system is so clearly failing the 10 million students it is supposed to educate that the political pressure for change is mounting. The devastating critique of schools earlier this year from the Cour des comptes is one clear sign of that pressure, but many other groups are weighing in, including employers and the armed forces. 

Secondly, some things are already changing: look at the Grandes Ecoles, and the way they have opened their doors to the world. More than 20% of the students on the prestigious MBA course at HEC are now non-French! Ecole Polytechnique this year has 700 foreign students. At Sciences Po, every undergraduate is required to spend their third year abroad. All this will introduce French students to other teaching cultures and different classroom behavior, and to judge from students I know who have been abroad, it's always an eye opener. 

And of course, since the Grandes Ecoles are at the pinnacle of this heavily centralized system, what they do inevitably spreads down through the rest. That's why I'm watching the current debate about how the Grandes Ecoles pick their French students - and who they pick - with great interest. This debate is not just about giving kids from deprived backgrounds access to an elitist system; it's about the very admission criteria of that system in the first place. 

 

LZ In On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers, you detail classroom behaviors by teachers that are both inefficient and devastating for students. How to improve the classroom methods of teachers in place? (EN is France’s largest source of civil servants, with nearly 1 million government functionaries. How to retrain all these people—who cannot in any case be removed?)

 PG Yes, the Education nationale is now larger, in sheer numbers, than the Red Army...

You'll probably notice that in the book I am careful not to attack teachers. As everywhere, there are some wonderful, inspirational teachers in France, some truly awful ones, and everyone else is somewhere on the scale in between. 

Teachers, in fact, have become scapegoats for a system that is antiquated. They are badly paid, unmotivated, poorly trained (especially in modern classroom teaching methods) and have borne the brunt of all government "reform" attempts over the past 15 years, which all more or less consist of cutting staff. 

Moreover, there is a curious and dangerous antagonism in France between teachers and parents, who tend to blame the "profs" for all their kids troubles.

The key for me is that there needs first and foremost to be a huge rethink of what school is really about. Once that’s done,  there has to be a total revamp of teacher training to fit with the new definition (not just affecting new teachers, but on-the-job training for existing ones too).

I strongly believe that the mandate of French school should be enlarged. Now it’s simply a place where knowledge is transferred from an omnipotent authority (the teacher) to passive recipients (the pupils). It's high time for French schools also to be concerned with the personal development of their students, to build their self-confidence, to foster their creativity, to encourage them to participate and think for themselves.

Once that's clear, then you totally transform teacher training to focus on modern classroom techniques, psychological motivation and other practices that will help French teachers do a better job overall.

What really impressed me in Finland, the country that comes top of all the international studies, is that aspiring teachers there go through a lengthy grounding in every aspect of child development, and also spend a lot of time simulating a variety of classroom situations. And then, once they are let loose in the classroom, they are treated like professionals who know how to do their job, and are left to get on with it.

In France, the training is minimal or non-existent (15,000 new teachers this year set foot in classrooms with zero training!). And teachers here are not treated like professionals, but like 19th century factory workers in the industrial revolution, who, Charlie Chaplin-like, simply carry out the orders of central authorities - and are assessed by whether they get to the end of the school program, and not by how many of their pupils actually managed to keep up!

  

LZ How to reform teacher training? It seems to me to be a structural problem. In France 100% of college and lycée teachers pass the CAPES or agrégation competive exams. What is, in your opinion, the impact of these concours on problems we see in teacher training?

PG It's great to have teachers who are qualified to teach their subjects. That ensures a high level of academic quality in French schools (unlike in, say, the US, where a surprisingly large number of teachers end up teaching subjects they aren't very good at themselves). 

What needs to change here is 1) there needs to be a huge injection of genuine "pédagogie" - modern, science-based, proven best international practices that use a large array of psychological, social and other tools to create a fertile and positive classroom atmosphere.

And 2) it's time to introduce into the concours a human element. It's not enough to be good at math to teach math. You also need to have the aptitude and personality to be a teacher. The obvious way to do that is to ensure the concours includes a variety of questions that test knowledge of teaching methods (see above). But also, there should be an oral exam, too, that takes a look at each potential teacher's motivation and personality. That's what happens in Finland, for example.

 LZ I agree with you that a strength of the French system is that teachers are qualified to teach their subject. That is a significant advantage. But how to reconcile “pedagogical” training and the “human element” with a high stakes exam situation?

 In many respects, the concours process itself subjects future teachers to the antithesis of good teaching practice—flat out competition, excessive criticism, focus on impressing judges (as opposed to communicating with students) and the mastery of arcane skills which are often detrimental in the classroom. 

In your book you show that cruel behaviors suffered in the prepas are internalized and repeated by those who experienced them. Is not the same true for the competitive exam teacher recruitment process?

 Can teacher training in France be significantly improved without changing the current methods of selection?

 PG I don't have an issue with people competing to become teachers. (In Finland, only 1 candidate in 10 makes the cut). It all depends on the criteria that are used to pick the winners. If a strong human element is introduced as part of the concours, it would inevitably change what the judges are looking for. If you clearly have to demonstrate your ability to empathize with and motivate students, then some of the intellectual hazing that's part of the current system would actually weigh against the tough-nut candidates.

 LZ What about money? At present, huge budgets, human resources, time and energy go into organizing the competitive exams for recruiting teachers. Each year about 100,000 candidates compete for about 10,000 civil servant slots in Education Nationale. Universities mobilize to provide preparatory classes (each candidate prepares for at least one year); and the exam itself requires buildings, staff, correctors, etc--the budgetary, human and intellectual investment in SELECTION is immense. It appears that so much effort goes in to SELECTING and ELIMINATING candidates that there is very little time, energy and budget left over for actually TRAINING them.

 As a practical matter, how to increase and improve teacher training without a major shift of resources?  

 PG Yes of course you're right: there does need to be a huge shift in the allocation of resources. 

Interestingly, the French used to be near or at the top of the list of countries that spent big on education. It's one reason why they used to boast that they had one of the best school systems in the world. In the past decade, however, many other countries have caught up and overtaken the French, who have slipped backed slightly in the percentage of GDP that they spend on schools.

There is a very substantial educational bureaucracy - about 300,000 of the 1.1 million jobs in Education nationale are non-teaching positions. So there is room there to shift resources down the system to the classrooms and to teacher training. 

It seems inevitable, to me at least, that a real reform of the education system will require much more power and autonomy being given to schools themselves. In other words, a significant decentralization. That, I suspect, will be the next real battle if any government does get serious about improving the system, since the teachers' unions and civil servants engaged in education derive all their clout from this centralized system. 

But if you read the various recent reports on education carefully, not just the Cour des comptes, but also the ones by Richard Descoings and Benoit Apparu, for example, you'll see that they all talk about the need to loosen the reins and give more decision-making ability to the grassroots.

(Little footnote: that's how the Finns reformed their system in the 1970s and 1980s. They essentially ended their centralized control and handed the financing for schools to local authorities, the equivalent of the communes in France)

 LZ I definitely agree with you on autonomy. But is this not in conflict with the idea of a centralized national civil service (the famous “grille salariale”)?

For teachers this means that salary increases come from senority and (for an elite) passing the agrégation exam. Being or becoming a good teacher is not rewarded.

How to fix the reward system to encourage teachers –and administrators--to update their skills?

 PG I think the biggest motivator would be job satisfaction. If you are treated like a professional and trusted to do the job well, if your work is valued by society and you collaborate well with your colleagues at a school that is a real community with team spirit, then teaching could be fantastic. At the moment, the French are a million miles away from that, and I can sense the huge dissatisfaction that results. 

Interestingly, I've had a lot of reaction to my book from teachers themselves, and with only a few exceptions, they have been very supportive. They know the system doesn't work. They bear the brunt of the blame. (You can see some of those reactions in the Cahiers Pédagogiques review of my book, and also in the comments on Amazon)

I'm sure that empowering teachers is the right way to fix many of the problems in the system. 

As for salary: this is a very tricky issue. Teachers here are relatively poorly paid. (The Finns earn about twice as much, for example). I know that there are efforts in places like the US to grade teachers and give them financial incentives, but it's hard to make it work well. What criteria do you use to grade a teacher? Civil service status here is a reward in itself.

  LZ :  Peter, thank you so much for your thoughtful detailed answers. As a last question, I would like to return to the situation in the grandes écoles where I have difficulty sharing your optimism (Science Po and Richard Descoings are, I think, remarkable, innovative exceptions) 

 I completely agree with you about the grandes écoles and the importance of the admission criteria, as do the members of the government.

 “We are going to throw open the doors of places where tomorrow’s elite are formed,” Sarkozy declared in December 2008. “Social mobility is jeopardized by our inability to adapt our competitive exams,” stated Valérie Pécresse, minister of higher education and HEC grad, in October 2009 “Le contenu même des épreuves peut entrainer une certaine  discrimination,” charged Luc Chatel, Minister of Education.

  However, when President Sarkozy demanded that elite grandes écoles increase the number of financial need students from 10-15% at HEC, Ecole Polytechnique and Centrale to 30%., the initial response of the President of the Conference of Grandes Ecoles was to reject categorically quotas.  “Quality will suffer,” their representative body, the CGE, objected. “We are a meritocracy and should remain one.” The voluntary targets for financial aid students were adopted only under extreme pressure from the government and do not necessarily represent a real change in attitude by the elites.

Is there not a danger that France’s grandes écoles will return to business as usual the second the pressure is off?

How to overcome ingrained and powerful forces of reaction from both left and right?

 PG I don't share your skepticism. I have found the Grandes Ecoles to be very savvy, astutely aware of the educational system's failings and increasingly focused outward. They compete on an international level with the Harvards and Oxfords of this world, and they can see what others do, including trying to broaden student intake. What they don't want, and I can understand this, is a prescriptive government saying: here are specific percentages you need to meet. Quotas don't really work well anywhere - look at California and the whole issue of affirmative action at universities there. The Grandes Ecoles want to be allowed to set their own admissions criteria (as Harvard and Oxford are) without a bunch of overexcited politicians telling them what to do all the time. 

On scholarships, if you look at the numbers, there has been a significant increase in the past few years, a reversal of the trend of the 1980s and 90s, when fewer and fewer kids from poor and deprived backgrounds went to the Grandes Ecoles. So the movement is in the right direction. These elite institutions should be encouraged to go further and rewarded when they do so - but not given specific numbers. That's so French! Exactly the sort of centralizing, knee-jerk reflex that has gotten the educational system in this country into the mess it's currently in...

 Peter Gumbel's essay, On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers, is available in French bookstores and on amazon, FNAC and other bookselling sites.

Peter Gumbel on his bestselling essay on the French education system

Authors speak with authors

Eve  and Laurel Zuckerman question journalist Peter Gumbel about his new essay On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers, a fascinating analysis of the impact of French classroom practices that has attracted major media interest in France and abroad.

The interview was recorded in French (which Peter Gumbel speaks fluently) and English in a café on rue de Rivoli just before the book came out. It is divided into three parts. The first part, published in English below, is based on my questions for Paris Writers News.  The second part, in French, was based on questions from lycéenne Eve Zuckerman for the French high school newspaper, L’Inébranlable. The third part deals with reform: Is change possible and, if so, how? 

 

 On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers (They Shoot Schoolchildren, Don't They?) 

From the Publisher’s blurb:

71 % of French students regularly suffer from « l’irritability».

63 % suffer from nervousness.

One out of four has stomach pains or headaches every week.

40 % complain of frequent insomnia.

Why is France the only country in the world to discourage children in the name of what they are not, instead of encouraging them for what they are?

 

In this exceptionally convincing and well-argued analysis of the French education system based on a close reading of international studies as well as interviews and research, acclaimed journalist Peter Gumbel explores the culture of failure, of humiliation, and of harsh--even cruel--practices which perpetuate and accentuate inequalities in France.

Gumbel demonstrates, to an extent that will surprise even the system’s critics, how French teaching methods shortchange not only the less able students, but the most gifted students as well.

Full disclosure: Having explored French teacher training in Sorbonne Confidential, I believe that On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers should be required reading for all parents, teachers, and students in France and beyond.

  

 Laurel Zuckerman: The launch of On Achève Bien les Ecoliers is a phenomenal success. Could you talk about how your publisher achieved this? 

Peter Gumbel: It started with the proposal itself. I pitched this to my publisher and he took it to his comité de lecture (which decides whether to publish). He called me up afterward and said: I had a pretty strange afternoon. Half the people thought you were completely right, and half thought you were completely wrong and they spent the whole afternoon arguing. If that’s going to be the reaction in France you’re on to something.

He was very smart about trying to find a national magazine that would be interested in having it. So they went to all the magazines in June July. Nouvel Obs was interested but wanted to have an exclusive. The negotiation was done with the editor in chief. We said, you can have exclusive rights but you need to put it on the cover.

That kicked it off and then the British press picked up on it

LZ What do you have lined up on TV and radio?

PG Well, it’s been wall to wall really, France inter, Humeur Vagabonde, early morning segments, phone ins, France 24, JDD and the most terrifying this of all, I was invited to do a debate with the bête noir of the education establishment, Jean Pierre Brighelli who’s a flaming reactionary. He’s a very aggressive debater and I did a face off with him which will run on France 5. I had to really prepare well. He’s a formidable character. I fundamentally disagree with him. In his book he describes the methods of humiliation I completely disagree with. He even mentioned that one of his students committed suicide and said these things happen.

 LZ How long have you been working with your French publisher Grasset?

PG They published a previous essay of mine in  2006 called French Vertigo about the French economy where I took an opposite view of what everyone else was saying. I said France was reforming itself and let me show you how. Interesting enough, I see that French Vertigo has been given a new lease of life by this new book.

 LZ Is On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers going to come out in English and if so will you keep the title (They Shoot Schoolchildren, Don’t They? )

PG I wrote this for the French. If I were to do a book in English I would need to rewrite it because I’m so focusing on things the French will know.

LZ In your book you go into the causes in detail. What solutions do you propose?

PG I outline key steps that I believe are needed to reform the system. They are, briefly,

- 1) a massive overhaul of teacher training to introduce international, proven "best practices" into French classrooms, as well as some basic psychological training (ie the importance of motivation and positive feedback) and a lot of practical experience and classroom simulations. New teachers shouldn't be allowed to set foot in a classroom until they feel comfortable they know how to handle a variety of situations. I also think teacher training needs to be a continuous career-long undertaking, with regular refresher courses etc.

- 2) There needs to be a much clearer national debate and consensus around what school is for and what it should be like for kids. That's hard, but my hope in writing this book is that it might stir the pot a bit.

- And 3) I advocate international exchanges of teachers, allowing French ones to get out of the country for a few weeks or months to see how others do it (and vice versa). That could open some eyes. 

LZ Based on what you found out writing this book, do you see any lessons for the British, who are facing serious problems with their school system?

PG What I learned is that almost no one has a school system that is really good. Every country has its own problems. And in Britain there is the chronic decline in standards. Foreign languages are no longer obligatory. And that’s not very clever. What’s good in France is that they insist on a high level of general culture

 LZ Do you think that it’s possible—not utopian—to maintain a high level without brutalizing the children?

PG Yes, brutalization doesn’t work. All the research out there shows that effective teaching is personalized teaching in the classroom with different students learning at different speeds. A good teacher can deal with this. It’s very difficult to do. Countries that have done that have success and countries that have not don’t.

I think the key is teacher training. Very intensive, very smart teacher training.

  For more information, see The Guardian,  Time and Le Monde.

 On Achève Bien Les Ecoliers is available at all French bookstores and on amazon, fnac and other sites.

***

Peter Gumbel is an award winning journalist and author who has lived in Paris since 2002. He spent 16 years at The Wall Street Journal in a number of international assignments including Moscow and Berlin, and has also worked as a senior writer for TIME and Europe Editor for Fortune Magazine. His latest book, on the French education system, They Shoot School Kids, Don't They was published in 2010.

Read more: http://business.time.com/author/petergumbeltime/#ixzz23glEfQ1J

More - yawn - strikes in France

 Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

Too much wine?

Too much fine cheese?

Too much of that great public party we call strikes? 

After a day of transportation turmoil which, as always, hits people who work for a living and who can be fired if they don't, the unions' only question is: should the next strike be on a Saturday or a weekday?

Hmmmm.

I'm as much as a dreamer as anyone, but even John Lennon knew that two plus two equals four. Or, in other terms, people can't really retire on full pension if there's no money to pay for the pension. Striking may be fun, but it can't change that fact any more than yelling can reverse gravity.

In that great philosophical treatise, Monty Python's Life of Brian, the question of morally valid but physically impossible demands was explored in depth (you know the scene, where the man dressed as a woman demands the RIGHT to have babies).  Youtube didn't have that scene, so I offer you "What have the Romans ever done for us?" instead. As for strikes, check out this article from Le Figaro which claims that France loses more days to strikes than any other country in Europe (We're number one !) 

Conservative family values take to prime time TV in USA ! (and Carla Bruni sings the blues).

Three videos for a little Franco-American fun:

Sarah Palin's daughter shakes it up. John McCain's daughter tweets. And Carla Bruni, once considered wild, sings the blues! 

ROMA: EU threat to sanction France provokes angry questions. What happened to billions Europe spent for Roma integration?

 "That's enough!" (Ca suffit!) 

European Commissioner Viviane Reding's threat to impose sanctions on France may have backfired.

Instead of apologizing for expelling Roma who are illegally occupying sites, French officials are insisting on their right to enforce the law.

And, if reader reactions are any indication, they appear to be supported by large swarths of the French public.

An article in Le Figaro entitled EU threatens to sanction France for sending Rom back , drew comments hostile to the EU. (883 comments less than 1 day after publication!)

Many pointed out that the Commissioner in question, Vivane Reding, comes from Luxembourg, which, they claim, admits no Rom at all.

Others asked what happened to the billions of Euros allocated to countries like Bulgaria and Romania to help them integrate the Roma.

Billions?

I thought the commentators must be exagerating (since obviously no integration has taken place).

So I looked it up.

Sure enough! According to EUROPA press release, 17.5 BILLION euros were allocated to 12 member states to help the Roma, including 13.3 billion from the European Social Fund (27% of its budget) for the period 2007-2013.

Ms. Reding may have done everyone a great favor here in provoking a backlash.

Now, finally, the real ROMA scandal might be dealt with. Where did the money go?

Here's Europa's press release  : Les Roms dans l’UE: questions et réponses, Bruxelles, August 25, 2010

"Il est difficile de chiffrer avec précision les financements de l’UE spécifiquement destinés aux Roms. Cependant, selon une analyse du Fonds social européen (FSE), les programmes opérationnels 2007‑2013 de 12 États membres (Bulgarie, Espagne, Finlande, Grèce, Hongrie, Irlande, Italie, Pologne, République tchèque, Roumanie, Slovaquie et Slovénie) sont consacrés aux Roms (entre autres groupes vulnérables). Au total, ces pays ont affecté un budget de 17,5 milliards d’euros (dont 13,3 milliards d’euros provenant du FSE) à des mesures en faveur des Roms et d’autres groupes vulnérables. Cela représente 27 % de leur budget au sein du Fonds social européen. En Hongrie et en Roumanie, les Roms sont les bénéficiaires potentiels de plus de 50 % des interventions programmées du FSE, tandis qu'en Irlande, 99,5 % des activités du FSE prévues pour la période 2007‑2013 peuvent être consacrées aux gens du" voyage.

via europa.eu

France bans burqa

 The French parliament adopted a law which outlaws the wearing of the full body veil, or burqa, in all public spaces.

The Senate voted 246 votes to 1 to ban the burqa (also known as the niqab) which entirely covers a woman's body and face in public.

People --read men--forcing women to wear a burqa can be fined 30,000 euros and sentenced up to one year in jail.

Women who wear the burqa in public can be fined 150 euros and, if caught wearing the garment repeatedly, obliged to take citizenship classes.

There is, however, a grace period. These penalities will not start being applied until six months after the law is finalized.

It is estimated that 2000 women in France wear the burqa, one third of whom are converts to Islam. There is concern among lawmakers that the practice, which is linked to a fundamentalist version of Islam incompatible with women's rights in France, appears to be spreading.

For background, see: 

Request to Become French Citizen Rejected After Man Forces Wife to Wear Burqa,

Can France Revoke Citizenship? Not for Welfare Fraud or Polygamy

and French Politicians call for Commission to Stop Spread of Burqa.

Paris Writers News September 2010 Update !

 This month, news from Peter Gumbel, Irene Babinet, Douglas Kennedy, Julian Corkle, Susan Loomis, Ghyslain Martin, Ken Mackenzie, Terrance Gelenter, Jake Lamar, Ruth Yunker, Anne Marsella, Lizzie Harwood, Elizabeth Murray, Valentine de Ganay, Lauren Grodstein, Charles Glass, Penelope Fletcher, Wordmeadow Writing Workshops, Festival America and the Paris Short Story Contest!

 

New Books!

On achève bien les écoliers by Peter Gumbel

Under the provocative title (literally :They shoot schoolchildren, don’t they?) this French essay which Nouvel Observateur called a “must read for all parents” argues that it is NOT NORMAL to produce French schoolchildren that are anxious, afflicted by low self-esteem and afraid to speak up. It is time, senior journalist and Science Po professor Peter Gumbel suggests, to put an end to cruel and unnecessary classroom practices in France.

Those of you who know me will understand how crucial I think this topic is. I will be posting an interview with Peter Gumbel in the coming week. Watch this space—or the Sorbonne Confidential blog--for more…

 

 Not for the likes of us by Irene Babinet

“Told with humour this largely autobiographical book charts the author's working-class but unconventional life.  Starting with the adoption of her son Luke in Brazil in 1976, it follows her to Paris in the 60s,the breakdown of her marriage and her life as a single parent on a houseboat on the Thames.  In 1998 she moved with her partner to the South of France where her life --and her son's--was turned upside down by breast cancer in 2002.”

 This title will be available soon.

 Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar by Diane Connell

"... the ultimate feel-good novel, a book that will have the reader laughing out loud on the back of a bus as it follows Julian's bumpy journey through adolescence, fibbing his way through school and a series of dead-end jobs, to find his ultimate calling as creator of 'The Hog'. It's as if Crocodile Dundee has crashed Muriel's wedding and run off into the desert with Priscilla."

 

 Me, Myself and Paris by Ruth Yunker

"Me, Myself & Paris is what Paris looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like, to an American woman, free and unfettered, sense of humor and bonhomie alive and well, alone and loving it, in the most beautiful and temperamental city in the world."

 

 

 

This is, of course, the French rentrée littéraire! For books, authors and more infor, see FRENCH RENTREE LITTERAIRE!

Paris Short Story Contest:

Paris Writers News is delighted to announce the distinguished EDITORIAL COMMITTEE  FOR the SHORT STORY CONTEST ABOUT PARIS !

The Editorial Committee selects the shortlist of stories that go to the finalist judges and votes on the $200 Editorial Committee prize.   We are extremely pleased to have united a talented group of writers and editors specialized in different areas (short story, novels, non-fiction, journalism, travel, humor, blogging, academia)--all passionate and discerning readers. 

Many thanks to our Editorial Committee team: 

 Beth Arnold : Award winning writer and journalist for Rolling Stone, GQ, InStyle, Self, American Way, Premiere, and online at The Huffington Post, Salon.com and Vogue.com

Jennifer K. Dick : Author of Fluorescence and Patina, co-founder of Ivy writers series and associate professor of American Literature

Kristin Espinasse : Author of Words in a French Life and the extremely popular blog, French Word A Day 

Karen Fawcett :  Publisher and editor of the widely-read Bonjour Paris,  journalist 

Rosalia Gitau : Short story writer and journalist for Paris Writers News, Transparency International and Huffpost

Hilary Kaiser : Author of French War Brides and Veteran Recall, former tenured associate professor at the University of Paris

Dimitri Keramitas : Short story writer, reviewer and teacher

Marcia Lebre : Director of the Paris Writers Workshop since 1998

Meredith Mullins: Internationally exhibited photographer and writer, author of In a Paris Moment

Thirza Valois : Author of the acclaimed Around and About Paris series

Christopher Vanier : Author of Caribbean Chemistry

Eve Zuckerman : Editor in chief of L'Inébranlable 

Laurel Zuckerman: author of Sorbonne Confidential and Editor of Paris Writers News

(PARIS WRITERS NEWS SHORT STORY CONTEST  Deadline: 30 November 2010 !)

FESTIVAL AMERICA : Three days of literary heaven! Not to be missed readings, conferences, concerts, and book in Vincennes, September 24-26! Also, watch for readings and events our local Paris Bookstores and the American Library! (see sidebar for links)

Adam HASLETT, Amanda BOYDEN, Barry GIFFORD, Benjamin PERCY, Bret Easton ELLIS, Claire MESSUD, Colin HARRISON, Colum McCANN, Craig JOHNSON, Dan FANTE, Dany LAFERRIERE, Don WINSLOW, Douglas KENNEDY, Eduardo MANET, Enrique SERNA, Ethan CANIN, Gil ADAMSON, Guadalupe NETTEL, Guillermo ARRIAGA, Harlyn GERONIMO, J. M. SERVÍN, Jake LAMAR, James FREY, James GRADY, James NOËL, Jay McINERNEY, Jayne Anne PHILLIPS, John BIGUENET, Jon RAYMOND, Joseph BOYDEN, Karla SUAREZ, Kim THÚY, Lauren GROFF, Leonardo PADURA, Louise ERDRICH, Lydia LUNCH, Lyonel TROUILLOT, Mauricio SEGURA, Monique PROULX, Nadine BISMUTH, Nancy LEE, Nathan SELLYN, Nick FLYNN, Pierre SZALOWSKI, Richard LANGE, Richard PRICE, Richard RUSSO, Richard VAN CAMP, Ron RASH, Sergio GONZÁLEZ RODRÍGUEZ, Steve ERICKSON, Stuart DYBEK, Tania JAMES, Wendy GUERRA, Yanick LAHENS, Ying CHEN AT: various locations in Vincennes and around, Festival America, www.festival-america.org

 

Events, readings and writer meetups !

 

 6 September 7:00 P.M. Mingmei Yip will read from her latest novel Petals from the Sky, a Buddhist, interracial love story set in Hong Kong, Manhattan and Paris. She will also talk about Chinese Geisha culture, lover stories of Buddhist nuns and sing to the accompaniment of a qin, the geisha's instrument. http://www.mingmeiyip.comAT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/

  
12 September 7:30 P.M. Ken Mackenzie, Abraham (in English). The play is about a young man obsessed by the Biblical Abraham-Isaac story and worried about his father, who is having an affair with a younger woman, struggling to expose government corruption – and suffering from a stroke. A South African-born writer and journalist, Mackenziehas published two novels, short stories and poetry and worked for The Times, The Economist and West Africa magazine before coming to Paris in 1989 to work for the International Herald Tribune. AT Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001, Metro Tuileries 06 14 67 18 58 Moving Parts www.stefcampion.com/Movpart/MPhome.html

 13 September 7:00 P.M. One of the most original and impressive novelists working in the English language today, Richard Flanagan, will read from Wanting. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/

 15 September 7:00 P.M. Douglas Kennedy, author of twelve books -- three travel books and nine novels -- he has been described by Le Monde as the best known American writer in France. AT: the American Library 10, rue Général Camou 75007, RER-M° Alma-Marceau. www.americanlibraryinparis.org
 

19 September 7:00 P.M. Barbara Hammond Eva the Chaste, a new monologue play. A special performance just outside Shakespeare and Company (please note the play will be cancelled if there is rain). AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. 


20 September from 9:00 P.M. to LATE: SpokenWord! Share your work on any theme or work on the theme of the night. Join SpokenWord Paris’ meetup group or see their blog at : http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/ AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix Metro Belleville/Pyrénées 75020 Paris

 21 September 19h30 Writings on Writing: Susan Loomis  on cookbook writing and the sociology of food--At the American Library

23 September 7:00 P.M. In collaboration with Festival America at Vincennes we present two of America’s most exciting writers Nick Flynn and Adam Haslette who will be reading from a selection of their work. Afterwards stay for piano music (upstairs) with jazz maestro Steve Tromans. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/

 

23 September 7:00 P.M. To launch Festival America, two authors, Ethan Canin & Aleksandar Hemon, will present their latest novel, America America and The Lazarus Project.AT: The Village Voice Bookstore, 6 rue Princesse, Paris 6°, m° St Germain, or Mabillon. http://www.villagevoicebookshop.com/

 25 September 3:00 P.M., American author Don DeLillo will read from his work. Théâtre de Odéon – Grande salle (6 to 18€) 01 44 85 40 40 www.theatre-odeon.fr

 26 September 7:30 P.M. Ghyslain Martin, Les Enfants du Soleil (en français) AT Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris, Metro : Tuileries 06 14 67 18 58 Moving Parts www.stefcampion.com/Movpart/MPhome.html

 

 27 September 7:00 P.M. Anne Marsella will read from The Baby of Belleville, her delightful new novel filled with intrigue, eccentric characters and many surprises. . Her previous books are an acclaimed collection of stories, The Lost and Found and Other Stories (NYU Press), Patsy Boone (Editions de la Différence) and the novel Remedy (Portobello, 2007). AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/

 

29 September 19h30 Valenine de Ganay, co-author, with Laurent Le Bon of Courances,discusses one of the great gardens of France, the first in the Library's four part series on gardens--at The American Library

30 September 2010, 7:00 P.M.

John Connolly
is a successful thriller author. He will present his last novel The Gates. John Connolly is based in Dublin but divides his time between his native city and the United States.
 Free, reservations [email protected]. AT : Le Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. www.centreculturelirlandais.com, Tel: 01 58 52 10 30.

 

30 September 7:00 P.M. Elizabeth Murray presents Monet's Passion: Ideas Inspiration and Insights from the Painters Garden, AT: WH Smith, 248, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris M° Concorde Exit: rue Cambon. For more info: http://www.whsmith.fr/ They would like you to RESERVE, so see the site for details.

 

 Reminder: Now is the time to sign up for CONTINUING EDUCATION CLASSES AT THE SORBONNE AND LECTURES AT COLLEGE DE FRANCE

 

New Interviews:

 

 Lauren Grodstein (with Pamela Leavy)

 Terrance Gelenter (with Laurel Zuckerman)

 Charles Glass (with Laurel Zuckerman)

Mary Duncan (filmed by Amanda Walsh)

Also, Richard Nahem conducted an excellent interview with Penelope Fletcher on Eye Prefer Paris!

 

Workshops

WORDMEADOW WRITING WORKSHOPS in the French Alps: 24 - 28 OCTOBER 2010       -         JAY GRIFFITHS  & PAUL HENRY for information: www.wordmeadow.com

NEW BLOG:

Lizzie Harwood, writer and editor living in Paris, launches a blog about writing (www.lizzieharwood.com) talking about finding and keeping grip on that Holy Grail called inspiration -"when parenting, life's dramas and writing fear conspire against you."

French politician calls on government to force QUICK fast food chain to offer non-Halal meat

 He's young, good-looking and he has a cause! 

 Charles Aslangul (21) is a  City councilor in Bry sur Marne* (UMP) and president of a new movement baptised "Ordre Republicain".

His mission?

Prevent the fast food hamburger joint called QUICK from serving Halal burgers.

What's Halal? It's like Kosher but for Muslims.

QUICK, a for-profit fast food chain, noticed an opportunity. France has six million Muslims that will spend $5.7 billion dollars this year on Halal food--that's twice the organic market (Halal Food Takes an Upscale turn in France-NYT). 

So QUICK did a test. Eight outlets served Halal for six months. Conclusion: sales took off ! Clients liked Halal! The number of restaurants was expanded to 22.

The mayor of Roubaix, a city in northern France with a large Muslim population, filed a complaint : discriminatory! sectarian! no pork! (France has a huge pork industry)

But, as happens in capitalism, clients voted with their feet (um, mouths).

 I didn't really pay attention (despite writing about discrimination in Sorbonne Confidential) until QUICK went Halal on the edge of my town, and otherwise reasonable people went ballistic. 

"We will not tremble before the multinational QUICK!" young Aslangul thundered. He bravely put up posters saying: "Only Halal? No thank you!" And he was not alone.

What's so terrible about a restaurant serving only Halal meat? I wondered. The taste? The cost? The fact that junk food's terrible for you?

No! he explained in an interview. "It's a question of the "principles of secularism, equality and individual liberties" It's about fighting discrimination !

 What's wrong with letting the individual consumer choose freely between  QUICK's Halal junk food and McDO's patriotic junk food?

"To fail to offer a choice and to impose Halal food is discriminatory and at the same time closes Islam on itself!"

Since when did American style junk food become a core French value worth defending in court?

I should have the right, a young mother told me, to take my kids to QUICK without forcing them to eat ritual religious food!

French people fighting for the right to feed their kids American-style junk food processed with industrial pork? 

As silly as this looks -- defending patriotic  McDO-style junk food instead of QUICK Halal junk food--this is a debate to follow. 

How will McDo (as McDonald's is known here) respond? With French patriotism? Organic? Kosher? More pork? Or a Halal offer of its own?

There's a lot of irony in seeing French politicians equate crappy American-inspired junk food with democratic freedoms. (see Quick Halal: vive la malbouffe pour tous!") But let's not laugh too soon: as a nutcase pastor in Florida  promotes "International Burn a Koran Day", can France be far behind? 

The violent emotional reaction by French pols and otherwise reasonable housewives should not be underestimated. What's really being expressed here is fear. Not of porkless meat, but of the growth of the Muslim religion in France.

***********************

*Bry sur Marne is the quaint and peaceful town of 16,000 I immortalized in Sorbonne Confidential as "Beauté sur Marne".