La classe de francais is a very unique class.

French students have had the same teacher, Madame Vargas-Curatola, since seventh grade. As the class-size dwindled and the incoming freshman classes stopped taking French, we persevered and strived to stand out. There’s been many a time when our photo has been featured on the website for merely placing in top positions in national French classes.

This class has presented many more opportunities than just taking nationally acclaimed tests. Have you been able to watch an opera in French and understand it? This is what our class is able to do – last year we went to the Met Opera Cinderella (or Cendrillon) and were able to disregard the subtitles that were offered to us. We have been exposed to French classics that are butchered in English and less magical without the native language. For example, Le Petit Prince loses all its charm when he’s called the Little Prince and doesn’t say: “Dessine-moi un mouton.” Even in English literature, you can get a deeper understanding — the truly learned love to sprinkle French phrases to add another layer of complexity (c’est la vie!).

This class has promoted the learning of diverse nations. Even the general history class won’t mention Morocco or Belgium or Switzerland, unless it’s about World War II and neutrality. It has also inspired many to learn different languages. Last years seniors had a student who learned two additional languages, not including French. For me, I’ve always loved learning new languages: I’ve taken Spanish lessons; attempted to learn Chinese and Japanese. Madame once even taught us some Russian (как дела?).

French class helps you in school and even outside – now, we students can go to Canada or France and be able to talk with a native speaker as if we were fellow countrymen. I encourage anyone to attempt to learn a new language, but especially la langue universel de la monde!