French school internship gives as much as it takes

The doors are always open at Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans, a French immersion school in the heart of New Orleans. Tulane junior Ariana Bostick says that her public service internship at the school this fall “has given me so much perspective into the education system and made me realize how lucky I've been.”

Bostick is one of the school's “most dedicated and positive” student interns, says her supervisor, school director Jean-Jacques Grandière. Lycée Français is a public charter school that follows the French national curriculum.

Lycée currently enrolls pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children and plans to expand through the 12th grade in the future, which would make it the first of its kind in the nation.

Having attended a French immersion high school herself in Oakland, Calif., and continuously studying the language at Tulane, Bostick seems to be an ideal intern for the school. After all, who better to teach French to young students than current students of the language themselves?

Bostick began her internship through the Tulane Center for Public Service with the simple intention of improving her speaking skills and attaining work experience. But she says that she has since gained a wealth of knowledge, insight and appreciation toward education that she never thought possible.

“I figured it would be an interesting and different way to improve my proficiency in French. I never expected that teaching these young children would make me learn so much about myself,” she says.

Due to her work at lycée, Bostick says that she can see herself working in public education in the future. “There is nothing that compares to seeing young children learn and knowing that you're the one who has helped them. The lycée is pure inspiration.”

Julia Gautreaux is a sophomore communication major.