The teachers’ lounge or salle des maîtres is
a little refuge just off the stairs on the 2nd floor. The principal is apologetic that it isn’t a larger space, but it is
comparable to those in the US, perhaps only a little smaller. But there are only 14
educators in this school, including the specialists and principal. There are
closed cubbies for all the teachers where they store some belongings (such as
tea and sugar) and receive mail.
When I first arrived in early March during
a long stretch of work without vacation days, there was one word written on the
only whiteboard in the building: Euh. There is a small sink at the far end of
the room with a pile of small coffee cups drying next to it. On the wall above
the sink is a handwritten sign imploring people to wash any dishes or cups they
use, asserting that before February vacation, the room had been left in a “lamentable state.” There is a
small fridge next to the sink and counter, and on top of it is a microwave on which is placed an espresso
machine that gets a workout during recess and after lunch. There is a bag of
small coffee packets that the teachers share.
My first day of data collection at the school, the
principal showed me to the salle des maîtres so I could quietly await the
arrival of a teacher who has agreed to welcome me into her classroom. The room
sees lots of action at about 10:10 am, just after recess begins for the children. First a woman enters and greets me, and
introduces herself as the PE teacher and offers to make me a café (espresso, bien sûr)! I
tell her that my nephew is also a PE teacher and that he will be visiting in
April, so maybe they could meet and exchange ideas. She said she would really
like that! Other teachers enter and
greet us. They have much to discuss, but at 10:30, the salle clears out, and
that first day, as on many to follow, I head into a classroom to observe.
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