What was your favourite subject in school?

It won’t be a surprise to know that I loved French. In my very first vocabulary test (memorising and correctly spelling twenty or so classroom items, such as, erm, the blackboard and the chalk), I scored 100%. Because most students at my school weren’t really the full-marks type, news of this spread like wildfire. For that whole week, I had kids approaching me to ask if it were really true. (It would have been a strange sort of thing to spread as a fake rumour, but whatever.)

These days, I am lucky enough to be able to teach French. Better yet, my A level students are huge animal lovers, and we always start our lessons with animal stories. One of them grew up in Canada, and she talks quite casually about the bears and coyotes encountered on her walks to school, in the same way that we in the UK might talk about seeing squirrels or pigeons.

The class have got to know Louis Catorze quite well and, although this familiarity hasn’t quite extended to the realms of sharing Le Blog with them, they love hearing about his shitty behaviour because it reminds them that their own pets (two dogs and two cats between them) are wonderful. 

We are currently studying a novel called No et Moi, whose major themes include marginalised people and systems that should look after them. We recently did a task about which systems that offer support in a person’s life, and it was very interesting to see how different minds work: one student chose official systems such as judiciary, healthcare and welfare, and the other went down the route of family, friends and pets. 

We then had the following conversation, which I have translated into English: 

Student 2: “I thought you’d like that one, Miss, because you have a cat! And pets comfort us when we’re feeling sad. Well, maybe not yours, but yeah.”

Student 1: “And it’s been proven that pet owners have reduced stress levels. Maybe not yours, but yeah.”

Student 2: “And just stroking a cat calms you down. Maybe not yours, but yeah.”

Student 1: “And they just generally make your life better. Well, maybe not yours, but yeah.”

Ok, I get the idea. My students are pretty nifty in their knowledge of No et Moi, but their understanding of all things Catorzian is utterly flawless. If there were an A level exam on Catorze, they’d be scoring full marks, for sure. 

Reduced stress? Calms you down? Excusez-moi?

For more Catorzian capers, please visit http://louiscatorze.com

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29 responses to “Louis et moi ”

  1. mcmcneil1 avatar
    mcmcneil1

    Louis looks properly appreciative of their grasp of the subject.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Haha! I would love it if he could meet them!

      Like

  2. Lou Carreras avatar

    Oh, I loved this post. Your students are quite perceptive.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      They’re great! I’m very lucky to have them. My stress levels go right down when I have a class with them.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Lou Carreras avatar

        It’s a lucky teacher who can say that about their students!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar

          Indeed! I don’t have a single awful kid this year, not one.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. mmechapeau avatar
            mmechapeau

            This sounds like a miracle. Does it happen so every year?

            Liked by 1 person

            1. iamthesunking avatar

              No. This year is very exceptional!

              Like

  3. Audrey Driscoll avatar

    OK, I believe everything you say about Louis Catorze, but he has a way of looking totally innocent in photos, like he’s about to say “Moi?”

    It’s cool that one of your students is from Canada, where French is one of our official languages.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Yes, I love hearing her stories about school life in Canada!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. mmechapeau avatar
    mmechapeau

    I love both your story and the picture. Although I’m far from understanding Timon’s behaviour, I do my best to believe this odd pet could comfort me, but it isn’t easy.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      “This odd pet! 🤣🤣🤣

      Like

  5. Herman avatar
    Herman

    Hahaha… wonderful conversation with the students. J’ai vraiment aimé ça… 😎

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Merci! I wish they could meet Catorze but then they’re lovely students and probably don’t deserve that. 😬

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Dr. CaSo avatar

    You don’t have “pet days” at your school, when everyone can bring their favourite pet? That’d be so fun, Le Roi would enjoy it so much 😆

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Oh God, imagine the screaming!

      Like

  7. Kate Crimmins avatar

    Got to love him. He gives you so much to talk about!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      He does indeed! Not always in a good way, but hey ho.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. sevencatsandcounting avatar

    Ironically, your wonderful blog posts are a huge stress reliever for me and I’m sure many others.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Thank you! I love yours too!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. snowpackjack avatar

    I try not to miss a post about Le Roi, but I never tell my cat about his adventures. I don’t want her to develop any ideas.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Definitely don’t tell your cat! 🤣🤣🤣

      Like

  10. supernaturally2a7c33b058 avatar
    supernaturally2a7c33b058

    Louiscatorze is so beautiful! Thanks for reporting on him.

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Thank you! He is the devil himself!

      Like

  11. cat9984 avatar

    Love the picture. He is a beautiful creature.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Erm, I dunno … 😬

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Charles Huss avatar

    That is funny. I understand your pain. Living with a difficult cat is, well, difficult, but when he is gone, you will wonder how to get on without him. I’m curious. Do you teach high school kids? I learned Spanish in high school, but after two years, I never became fluent. Now I can count to twenty in Spanish. That’s it. I have been learning German for over a decade now and still am not fluent. I guess language learning is not my thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar

      Yes, I teach ages 13 to 18. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

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