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Around Town

Back to school

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 20th, 2007 issue

The whys and wherefores, ways and means of journalism don’t really make for scintillating conversation.

Nobody sits around at the pub discussing the flow of copy from writer to editor to copy editor, back to writer, back to copy, over to production, and back to all the parties originally involved. Thrilling stuff.
So what could I say to a group of 16-year-olds that would keep them interested, engaged and off their cell phones for 90 minutes?
The Francouzské lyceum, or French School, invited me to participate in its annual English week. A brilliant concept: Say farewell to the school year with a series of visiting “instructors” from the outside world, tours of English-language bookshops and other little trips. For students, it’s a break from the usual routine. You don’t have to sit through physics, math or smoking class.
I suspect the exercise also gives harried teachers an opportunity to read essays, catch up on grading, and add damaging evidence to those permanent records I used to hear so much about.
And these guys need a break. While I envy the school’s diversity — who wouldn’t want to learn multiple languages and meet kids from France, Canada, the Netherlands, Vietnam and other far-off lands, as well as Czechs and Slovaks? — the building is not air-conditioned (no surprise). And it caters to students of all ages. So, when the younger children exploded into the courtyard for recess, we had to shut the windows.
Oh, well. It’s better than standing in line at the Foreigners’ Police, but not by much.
Each class develops, over the course of a year, its own identity. There is always a good class, a rowdy group, the slackers, etc. I spoke with four groups over a grueling six-hour day, outlining the life of a writer (two minutes), newspaper hierarchy (three, if I managed to drag it out) and the comings and goings of Brangelina (40 minutes, if I cut the yammering short) — international superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who are in town for Jolie’s roll in the thriller Wanted. Turns out the famous family had been in or around the school. Students were allowed to take pictures of Brad and Angelina — are you reading this, National Enquirer? — but not of the children. When I mentioned this to teachers, they just chuckled. Been the same for a month, it seems.
Students in the first and last classes were talkative and interesting. They asked a lot of questions, several of which had nothing to do with income. I reassured them that, despite my haggard appearance, journalists earn enough to pay rent, most of the time. But if they really wanted to make good money, Us magazine offers 6,000 Kč ($280) a day to hound certain celebrity couples.
On the other hand, the classes before and after lunch …
For lunch, the regular French school instructors suggested a stroll over to a nearby restaurant — so I never got a chance to peek into the cafeteria to see what the French call Freedom Fries.
We discussed food during our walk. I mentioned a quite disappointing recent meal at a French restaurant in town (my notes included, “if your grandmother served this at a family reunion, you’d splatter it on her lace doilies and scowl. Give it up, granny.”) Said one of the teachers, “I hope it’s not my husband’s restaurant.”
Another one of those heartwarming “small world” stories.
The best restaurateurs develop thick skins. Even at top-notch restaurants customers complain, waiters spill soup on a guest’s new Prada outfit, kitchen equipment falters, causing delays in service, and cantankerous critics expect perfection. Teachers are also thick-skinned sorts. They learn to shrug off all manner of disruption.
Not that I know anything about that.
All I know: So long as they have a Brad and Angelina sighting in their recent past, I can keep a group of students actively engaged for a good 45 minutes of a 90-minute period.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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