When School Days Became Different
Rea,
Today marks your last day of fifth grade! As you start your summer vacation, I’ve been thinking about how different school will be when we visit France this fall. Did you know that if you were a French student, you’d be finishing CM2 (Cours Moyen 2) instead of fifth grade?
Your school day now starts around 8:00 AM and ends at 4:00 PM, with a quick lunch and recess squeezed together in the middle. In France, students also start early, often at 8:30 AM, but something remarkable happens at lunchtime. French schools typically have a 90-minute lunch break! Many students even go home to eat with their families. This long pause for a proper meal reflects how important food culture is in France. When French students return to class, they often continue until 4:30 PM or later.
The grade system in France might seem like it’s working backward. After elementary school (école primaire), French students enter collège at age 11 – similar to when you’ll start middle school. But instead of calling it 6th grade, they call it 6ème (pronounced “see-zee-em”). Then they count backward: 5ème, 4ème, and finally 3ème. A French student would say, “I’m in 4ème,” meaning what we’d call 8th grade. Imagine counting down instead of up!
After collège, students attend lycée (pronounced “lee-say”) for three years. These grades have completely different names: seconde, première, and terminale. The word lycée comes from the ancient Greek Lykeion, which was a temple where Aristotle taught his students over 2,300 years ago. This connection to ancient learning traditions shows how much the French value education’s history.
The school year follows a different rhythm too. While you’re enjoying a long summer vacation now, French students get shorter but more frequent breaks. Their school year is organized around a pattern called “7-2” – about seven weeks of classes followed by two weeks of vacation. They have breaks in October (Toussaint), December (Christmas), February (Winter), and April (Spring), with a summer vacation that’s about eight weeks long instead of twelve. This system was designed to prevent students from getting too tired during the school year.
French students also face a different grading system. Instead of A’s, B’s, and C’s, they receive scores out of 20 points. Getting 10/20 is considered passing, while 16/20 or above is excellent. At the end of lycée, students take a major exam called the baccalauréat (or “bac” for short), which determines their future education options.
What’s fascinating is that neither system is “right” or “wrong” – they’re just different approaches that reflect each country’s values and history. The French system, with its longer lunches and frequent breaks, shows how they value balance and quality of life. The American system, with its flexibility and varied activities, reflects our emphasis on choice and diverse experiences.
When we visit France, you’ll get to see these differences firsthand – a chance to experience how another culture approaches learning and growing up.
Love, Abba
P.S. Try imagining your school day with a 90-minute lunch break. What would you do with that extra time? Would you prefer the French system of more frequent vacations or our longer summer break?
