Well, it was only a little knife...

Today was my first day as an English Teaching Assistant at the nearby, ritzy, private catholic school St. Jean de Passy. Its a smarmy place that's the french equivalent of K-12 where the kids all wear designer things and the twelve year old girls have nicer boots than I do. (My ego continues to be on the decline).

I went early and met up with Monsieur Pelletier, the Surveillant for the 5th and 6th grade boys, which is basically like their guidance counselor and their dean combined. He explained to me that the class that I was in was the most notoriously "difficult" class in the entire school. Showing me a class portrait, he pointed out the two "really nice" boys that would be "my friends," and then about 8 that were "difficult." His finger rested for several moments on the photo of one young hooligan. This conversation followed:

M. Pelletier: If this one gives you even the slightest trouble, send him straight to me.
Me: Oh? Why?
M. Pelletier: He has been, how do you say? Ah, dangerous lately.
Me: * bewildered look *
M. Pelletier: Well, he brought a knife to school a month ago
Me: Seriously? In the States, he'd have been expelled for that!
M. Pelletier: Well, it was only a little knife...
Me: * incredulous face *
M. Pelletier: You see, he had a bit of a dispute with another classmate, but he was a lot shorter than the other boy. So he had to make up for the height difference in some way. He didn't really intend to use the knife or anything.

As I walked into the classroom ten minutes later, a frazzled-looking Math teacher was leaving. She looked at me and whispered "Bon Courage!" (rough translation: good luck/prepare yourself).

In the end, the class wasn't that bad. I just helped out today and watched as Mlle. Daphne Delfosse ran the class. She managed to retain control of the 10-year-olds. Next week, I start conducting english discussion sections on my own with half of the class at a time. Daphne tells me that last semester, they threw paper balls at the English Assistant, so to gain their respect, I should avoid smiling and make fun of them as much as possible. Gah. I can see an onslaught of paper balls and a knife-wielding ten year old in my future....