The new French teacher, Madame Alicia Garnier, arrived at Archbishop Carroll this year to get back to teaching after a long break and a lot of moving around.
The students are the best part of the new job, according to Mme. Garnier, but the technology?
“All the websites and cross checking to make sure grades are right” is her least favorite part, Mme. Garnier said.
Mme. Garnier said teaching high school students in France and in the United States is pretty much the same.
“Teenagers are teenagers,” Mme. Garnier said. ”There’s not a lot of difference.”
However, Mme. Garnier said the school community is better in Carroll than in other places in which she has taught.
“School life is so much more vibrant,” Mme. Garnier said. “The community is more involved in things.”
She’s liked by her students.
“She is very smart and helps us learn French,” said sophomore Jan Bach. “Best teacher ever,”
She’s also liked by her colleagues.
“She’s been working hard to teach the kids French properly,” said Mrs. Diane Gimpel, whose classroom on the first floor on the west side is right near Mme. Garnier’s classroom. “She seems to be enjoying her work, and I’m glad I get to have her as a colleague.”
Mme. Garnier was born and raised in the suburbs of Paris, France. She got degrees in French and English literature at the University of Paris 13.
She taught for 10 years in a primary school in Paris, but 14 years ago, her husband’s studies brought them to Montreal, a city in Québec, where Mme. Garnier took a break from teaching and worked elsewhere.
After 10 years in Canada, her husband’s work moved them to the U.S.
She spent the first four years as a stay-at-home mom to take care of her three young children. However, this year, when she realized she missed teaching, she found herself in Archbishop Carroll teaching four periods with a mix of juniors, sophomores and freshmen.
Mme. Garnier likes her time at Carroll so far and isn’t planning on leaving any time soon,
“As long as they want me, I’ll be here,” she said.
