I have always been fascinated by North American high schools and universities. They seemed to have so many rituals, so many traditions that I felt we were really missing out in France.
Take graduation, for instance. One of the rite of passage in France is the “baccalauréat”, the national high school graduation exam. Preparation starts two years beforehand and the examination, in essay-form, takes place late June, lasting typically one or two weeks. Students are tested on between 8 to 12 subjects and the passing mark is 10/20. This is such a stressful time for students that most French vow to never take the “bac” again in their life.
After all the exams are completed, students wait for a couple of weeks for the papers to be corrected. Exams results are usually announced early July. It is always a national event, as they will be published in the paper and the media will comment on the results. To know whether they pass or not, students usually go back to the high school they took the exam at. In late afternoon, a long list of successful students is pinned up on a board outside. The students rush, hoping to spot their name, and many start to exult as other cry. And… and that’s it.
No graduation party, no prom, nothing. I clearly remember hanging out with my friends before the results. I remember spotting my name on the list and being relieved. And I went back home. Come to think of it, this is the last time I saw most of my high school friends, except for two or three I’m still in contact with.
Same goes for university. We don’t “graduate”. We pass, good for us. We get our degree in the mail later, that’s about it. I learned I graduated from university early one morning — I had come to bring some paperwork and the secretary, checking my file on the computer, told my I had graduated. When I called my mum, I was already at the airport since I was coming back to Canada.
French don’t have yearbooks, school-sponsored extra-curricular activities, residences on campus… high-school and university alike are not really “shield” from the real world.
At least in India we have the graduation and the extra-curricular activities, how big or small scale depends on your school/college though.
The pics looks really nice 😉 Love the classroom shots 😉
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Some kindergartens in the US have graduation ceremonies with little caps and gowns. Totally ridiculous. Of course it is for the benefit of mommies, not the kids. Then possibly another graduation from 8th grade. A big ceremony for high school graduation. Mine was in the high school gym. My kids had theirs in the high school football stadium and half the town turned out. It was a time for clowning around and showing off. I attended my college graduation because my mother insisted. She wanted some confirmation that her money was not wasted. My final ceremony was when I finished my Master degree and my wife wanted to go.
I suppose these things are nice in a way. They mark a milestone in a person’s life, but I have mixed feelings. Perhaps they celebrate an accomplishment in a young person’s life. Perhaps they indicate the completion of a person’s education which is premature for eighth grade or high school.
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I had a kindergarden ceremony in Taiwan, and had a prom in elementary and high school. I learned I graduated from University online and soon called my mother to pick up my diploma. No photo, no convocation…I would like to be there if I could ’cause I endured 3 years of hell to achieve it.
The French systems sounds like the one in Taiwan where high school students have to take a bunch of exams in order to attend the school that they want. They care too much about grades and the reputation of school.
Hi Zhu,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I think I’ve been around yours before a long time ago… Now it’s my time to agree with you. I think that graduations from high school or university is a milestone that should be celebrated. After all when we spend years in the same school with the same friends, it’s good to have a ceremony or a dance of some kind to commemorate!
.-= N´s last blog ..Grande (petite) nouvelle ! =-.
Your uni looks pretty cool!
Those buildings are grand!
My alma alter is a bit crap. Only the main building (facade only) is grand. The rest is rubbish. Having said that, it’s pretty well-known in London. It’s University College London (UCL).
.-= London Caller´s last blog ..Green Christmas / 绿色的圣诞 / Krismas Hijau / グリーンのクリスマス =-.
We used to have provincial examinations which were probably the equivalent of the baccalauréat but, yes, we do tend to “baby” and shield kids from the real world a little longer in this country. But those graduation parties are fun!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Being Me =-.
That’s sort of sad the way graduation (or the lack of it) happens in France. I’m not big on ceremony, but looking back I have to say I think it isn’t so bad, especially graduations.
Have you been able to reconnect with hs friends on facebook??
.-= Seb´s last blog ..Drinky Bear is Our Chauffeur. Yay! =-.
@Nigel Babu – I took my French exam (the “famous” French exam!) last week in that room. Not my shoes left though 😆
@Tulsa Gentleman – Kindergarden ceremonies are totally over the top to me. Same as baby beauty pageant! That said, in a way, I wish I had graduated “properly” from high school and universities. I know it’s an artificial rite of passage… still.
@Bluefish – I feel the same as you. Four years of studying hard at university and I just left like nothing happened…
@N – That’s how I feel! I wish I had experienced that in a way. French are sometimes way too serious.
Wow, I had no idea there was no prom or graduation in France! When I graduated from my University, we actually had 2 graduations– one for the college (i.e. your major, and mine was the College of Fine Arts), and one for the whole university together. I didn’t bother to go to either and I was really regretting it later on, haha. Oh well…
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Exam is scary. Even after leaving school for many years, I still dreamed of having to sit for exam, and unprepared!
The nice thing is: when I joined a meditation class some time back, I learned that other members also had similar experience! All of them had left school for ages.
.-= Khengsiong´s last blog ..谈国语 =-.
i think france must be, in the words of jean-paul sartre, happy agony. being is what it is.
i hated the traditions of my high school. I skipped picture day so i wouldn’t have my picture in the yearbook. you were either popular, or you weren’t. i hated the clique system.
i would have preferred the french way. it sounds much more adult.
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Every Negative has a Corresponding Positive =-.
I find it so sad that France doesn’t have graduation ceremonies. I attended my Bachelors ceremony in New Zealand and it was wonderful, 3 years of hard work celebrated! I wanted to attend my Masters graduation but I was already in France. I am disappointed that when I finally finish this hell PhD there won’t be a graduation ceremony! I’ll head to the town hall and pick up my degree and that’ll be it. Luckily at my lab we have a ‘pot’ after our defence which usually turns into a huge party lasting all night.
I was quite surprised in France to see the lists of the license and masters students on the doors of our lab with all their grades at the end of the year. In NZ your grades are posted but with an ID number so no one else knows what your grades are. I like this anonymity.
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I think it is nice when you celebrate your graduation… it is once in a lifetime…for most of us.
Wow. I never knew that. The Philippines usually gets its educational rituals from the United States, so we have similar features. Even in undergrad, my college had its own yearbook (and I was a member of the yearbook team), and we have Commencement Exercises, two of them actually. One for the college, and one that is university-wide. We also had several honor ceremonies, so when I was inducted into this one three-Greek-letter honor society, I had to dress up for that. Latin honors were also given away.
.-= Linguist-in-Waiting´s last blog ..Book Review: Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro =-.
I’m really missing my undergrad years in Michigan! I’m thinking about doing un Master here in France (even though I’ve already done one in the US and been through 6 years of university…) and I know it will be so strange for me.
.-= Jennie´s last blog ..Le Marché de Noël à Chambéry =-.
@London Caller – My university was crap in France too. Asbestos everywhere, always in construction, falling apart… I do like Canadian campuses!
@Beth – I wish I had had one!
@Seb – Not really. It’s pretty easy to find me on the web though but most of my high school friends are nowhere to be found.
@Lizz – 😆 I wondered if I would have dismissed my graduation if I have had one… maybe actually. I couldn’t wait to leave high school.
@Khengsiong – Same here! And when I took the French Bac, I think even my parents had nightmares, it reminded them of their own exams 😆
@Seraphine – I wouldn’t have liked the clique thing either, I was neither popular or teased… Definitely not the sorority kind!
@Kim – Anonimity really doesn’t matter in France. I was quite surprised that students didn’t talk about their grades in Canada. I was quite opened with mine (both good and bad!) and I never knew what other got. For one class, the prof actually whispered the grades to each of the students!
@Sidney – I totally agree. At least for uni. graduate!
@Linguist-in-Waiting – You’d think French use Latin honor… but no! 😆 As far as I know, the French system has always been this way. Probably another way of being different!
@Jennie – Going to uni. in a foreign country is definitely another culture shock. I thought I knew Canada quite well… but the academic world surprises me.
Hey Zhu,
I so know what you are talking about: in Portugal, the graduation process is also very meagre (no party, no prom nothing).
We have national exams (covering between 8 to 12 subjects as well – wait…now it is less, because of the Educational reform; now kids have it easy, I think they only take 4 to 6 subjects) that start in June/July and then the results come out in July/August.
“French don’t have yearbooks, school-sponsored extra-curricular activities, residences on campus… high-school and university alike are not really “shield” from the real world.” – neither does Portugal.
Beautiful university!
Happy festivities, girl!
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So interesting to say the least, Singapore follows the British system and I know parents are all stressed out when the results are announced for Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), GCE O & A Levels 😀
Nice photos Zhu 😀
My biggest shock was when my friend mentioned that his 10 year old cousin is graduating. I was puzzled and my face looked like a joker. It’s so strange that you graduate every year 🙂 Similar to you, I had to write two horrible board exams – grade 10 and 12. Its nothing but torture…
.-= Priyank´s last blog ..Three years in Toronto =-.
Interesting, I had no idea there were no “dry grads” and that sort of nonsense going on in France.
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