Monday 25 May 2009

Journal Entry 4: 2nd March 2009

After what was a fairly promising start to the semester, since the 2nd February the university has actually been on strike. I'm now editing this on the 22nd March, and the strikes still haven't finished. It started out quite innocently, with lessons simply not happening, but it developed into frequent manifestations, and the university buildings' doors being blocked up with desks and chairs from the inside, to physically prevent anybody from getting into the building. There's now an extensive picket line and there's a student presence on campus every morning from 7am to ensure the blockades stand strong. With things being the way there are, there is not much to report on my progress at university in France, so instead I will try and explain why the French are striking from the information I have gleaned from various sources.

At first it was the lecturers themselves striking - this coincided with some general strikes and protests across France in response to the government's handling of the current economic crisis. In the education sector it seems the government has announced job cuts - this is right across the education system, from schools up to university level, and the strikes have reflected this. In addition to this, it also seems to be partly due to lecturers losing power over how their time is structured, and having to surrender power over what their research focuses on to their superiors - in fact, it seems to be this restructuring within the university staff that has been the least popular. Now, the students are involved with the strikes too, I believe merely to support the staff, though that is not to say that the changes have not been unpopular with the students too, just that the students have not been affected as directly as the staff, until the strikes began anyway!

Personally, while France is famous for permanently being on strike, and these strikes have interfered with my studies, I do feel that maybe we should take a leaf out of their book in some respects. Whatever we may judge of their strikes as a country, they have the gumption to actually do something when they're not happy, and make a stand. We may grumble and moan about things, but how often do we make a stand and insist that something is changed? Students in the UK are charged approximately £3000 in tuition fees each year, which along with maintenance loans means an average 3 year student leaves university with a massive £18,000 worth of debt - and now there is talk of the tuition fees being increased again.

As previously stated, I am now editing this on the 22nd March. By my calculations 6 weeks of teaching have been missed due to the strikes. As it stands, it is uncertain as to what the university intend to do about the missed teaching, but as far as I can see, even if the strikes finish tomorrow, making up 6 weeks of teaching including the week's holiday set aside for Easter, and the 1 week of study leave for revision, instead of finishing exams on the 6th May, I actually wouldn't finish until the 3rd or 4th week in June. This incurs extra financial strain as well as extending the year well beyond the term dates given. I appreciate it's due to unforeseen circumstances and that until Rennes II have said how they intend to resolve the problems created by the strikes that there isn't much point in worrying, but I think given how long this has been the situation for several of us in France, it's time for Exeter to make a decision on how to assess us and let us know. My reasoning is that I don't see how the university can make up all 6 weeks of teaching, and consequently to base our assessment on French exams when we haven't benefited from all the teaching we should have had, the results aren't a good indicator of our progress.

As far as the standard of my French is concerned, I feel like I am finally improving as a result of my time here. I spent 5 days of half term week in Paris with a French friend, as well as my parents and some old colleagues from Exeter being there at the same time. I noticed that when I was talking to French people, even if they persisted in speaking to me in English, I responded automatically in French, without even having to stop and think to make the transition from one language to another. What does frustrate me is grammar that I still haven't grasped, although this is fairly minimal, the main culprit being when to use direct and when to use indirect pronouns. It's not that I don't understand the difference, more that I just can't get my head around when to use which, but Caroline corrects me and we've gone over it a few times - hopefully with some exercises I might be able to master it.

I feel this stay in Paris differed to my last visit there, and offered me a different side of Paris. Last time, that is to say, my visit to Gaby in November, I feel I discovered the tourist side of Paris, whereas this time, being with Caroline, and her cousins who live in Paris, I feel I got a taste of the more Parisian side of Paris, so to speak. Having a mixture of people there was also entertaining, and the Sunday evening when I went for a meal with my parents, Caroline, and my friends from the Clog, was lovely.

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