Accurate, Succinct, Unhelpful

January 28, 2008 in The Way It Were
Tags: bonjour, french, humiliation, pedagogy, phone, student, student teacher, teacher

In the middle of the lesson, the phone rings. On behalf of my master teacher, I answer it.
My standard greeting: “Bonjour?”
Whoever said four years of high school French wouldn’t help anyone? If you have, you’ve never been a student teacher, a practical joker or to Belgium.
The standard response: “I’m sorry, I was trying to call [...]