Oxford+Academic+Program+Teacher+Seminar+(Paris),+Summer+2009

July 12-19, 2009 I attended the Oxbridge Academic Teacher Seminar in Paris. The vision of the program is to bring teachers into direct contact with writers, public figures and scholars in a historic environment surrounded by academic and cultrual resources. Where better than in Paris? The teacher seminar offered a melange of cultural enrichment, intellectual replenishment and professional developmetnt. The ultimate goal of the program is to invigorate classroom teaching with new ideas, new texts and techniques and new content and connections. There were fifteen participants from mostly private and independent schools coast to coast in the US, a teacher from the UK and an instructor from the Phillipines. Included in our group were new teachers, seasoned veterans, department heads and a librarian. We were divided into two groups - those English speaking only and my group of five francophones. We were there to pursue professional development, fulfill personal aspirations and to create and explore new intellectual interests. Each day started with a plenary session-immigration in France, the school system, the origins of Paris, a concise history of France, mysteries of the Louvre, and on being an artist in Paris in 2009. The Oxbridge Program also has a student division where we visited classrooms and had dialog exchange with teachers from around the globe and their students. Afternoons consisted of museum visits, walking tours, and Paris as our classroom with some of the most astounding visual aids the world has to offer. Our discussions continued with dinners at ethnic venues around the City of Light. The plenary session I found most interesting concerned French schools. French students spend their high school years being groomed to sit for the Baccalaureate exam often not engaging in extra-curricular activities or the pursuit of individual dreams as the French university system is almost free and open for those to attend who have passed this exam. Coincidentallyy as we discussed this topic, one of Paris' leading newspapers ran a front page article indicating that 86 percent of those who took the exam this year had passed and that perhaps the exam was being "dumbed-down" so that more students in socioeconomically disadvantaged and immigrant suburbs could meet with success. The accommodations were adequate in the student section of the city on the Left Bank. The food was superb and the program was exhilirating. I strongly recommend this program for our faculty or our students here at Ransom. Oxbridge also has programs in Oxford, Cambridge and Barcelona for teachers and students. I would be happy to discuss further this marvelous experience I had with others who might be so interested. I was made aware of this opportunity by Kate Bloomfield who paticipated in 2008. I have a plethora of materials and experiences to share with my students as we matriculate through the 2009-2010 academic year. Donald B. Bittler - World Languages Department www.oxbridgeprograms.com info@oxbridgeprograms.com