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WEEK of October 1, 2007
@BFS! archives

Parlez-Vous Français? Then You've Come to the Right Place

by Jeffrey Stanley

A teacher of French, Latin, and afterschool, a middle school advisor, a member of the Spiritual Life Committee, and a clerk of the faculty Gay-Straight Alliance, Marie-Christine Perry has a very busy life at BFS. In the past twelve months, that busy life became even fuller as she became a teacher to New York City's French-speaking community through French Education in New York. Make that, Education Française à New York (EFNY).

“Several French parents involved in the project, among them Isabelle Jouanneau, the parent of a BFS alum and French Professor at Columbia, sought me out,” explained Mme. Perry. EFNY was started a few years ago by native French-speaking parents who were seeking affordable education options for their French-speaking children. “The goal of this program,” she continued, “is to provide a free French education to Francophone children living in New York City through the public school system.”

Marie-Christine has been working at P.S. 38 in Boerum Hill since September 2006, teaching a group of first through fourth grade Francophone students from all over the world. They meet after school twice a week for two-hour sessions. “They are French-speaking at home,” she said, “and have various abilities in reading and writing French. Most of them are completely fluent.” Marie-Christine not only helps the students with their written and spoken language skills but teaches them French history, geography and culture. She was first attracted to the program because it’s nonprofit, free for students, and enacted through the public school system. “These families cannot afford a private French education such as that provided by Lycée Français or UNIS, for example.” In that sense, participating in the program is a form of community service for her, an attitude that she links to the BFS culture.

One of Mme. Perry’s many passions is knitting (above with student, and with teaching colleague Michael Kabot). On every “Day 5” she holds a knitting circle in the Cafeteria from 8 to 10 am, open to all members of the community. Please plan to attend!

Also, because the EFNY students are already fluent French speakers, classes there transcend the normal French language courses she teaches at Brooklyn Friends, letting her flex different muscles. Still, she has felt the effects of cross-pollenization on both sets of courses. “I get reminded every time that the purpose of learning a language is communication.”

Born in Toulouse, France, Marie-Christine is the oldest of seven children. Her father was a colonel in the French Army so she became a peregrine at a young age. “Basically we traveled. We moved every couple of years. We lived in Germany, in Africa.” She rarely stayed at anyone school for more than two years, so forming lasting bonds with kids her own age was difficult. Still she loved the experience. “Stressful? No! It was life. In my experience I didn't think it was weird.”

As soon as her siblings came of age, most of them couldn’t wait to get married, buy homes and put down roots, but Marie-Christine continued to wander. “For me, growing up that way gave me a sense that the world is a small place. And we had had an interesting life food-wise. It was always exciting.” Her culinary passion and French accent would eventually lead to one of several career detours.

Marie-Christine left Paris in 1968, a turbulent time for France’s youth culture. “I went to fight in the Sorbonne, all that stuff,” she said, referring to the cultural revolution which began with a student revolt at the University of Paris, also known as La Sorbonne. “There were no exams that year, nothing. So I ended up being a French governess in Oslo, Norway, for about a year and half.” The family she worked for was Italian, which led to her moving to Rome and learning Italian. “I was just hanging out, doing some translations. My family was in Senegal and my father said I should come, so I ended up going there and going back to school.”

After graduating from the University of Dakar, she was ready to travel again. She hadn't settled on a career yet but she knew she had a passion for language. “By now I was fluent in Italian so I decided I should next learn English.” She traveled to Boston and went to art school there. “But then I ran out of American encouragement for me to keep renewing my visa,” she said with a laugh, “and by then I had a girlfriend so we decided to move to Paris.”

There she sought jobs cooking and worked with a chef while taking art classes on the side. “I was thinking maybe of being a museum curator. I got particularly interested in Egyptian antiquities.” Her thirst for new languages still unquenched, she also took classes in Polish and Russian. “Basically I was just doing what I liked to learn, and the French system is very good for that because it's free. You can just keep signing up!”

Although she had soon become a working, professional chef, her mind kept drifting back to her time in the States. “And then I met another American woman in Paris. I quit my job and left everything and went to San Francisco.” Because of her French accent everyone expected her to be a good chef. “The jobs came easy,” she said.

Still, she felt that something was missing from her life. Cooking hadn’t done it. Art hadn't done it. Languages alone hadn’t done it. San Francisco hadn’t done it. “I had always wanted to teach. So I decided to go back to school and get a Montessori teaching credential.” This experience led to a full-time position as a middle school teacher at an independent school outside of San Francisco.

It was during these years that Marie-Christine adopted her son, Stéphane. "I could see early on that he was really talented," she said. She enrolled him in music programs at an early age and he excelled at violin and piano. Today Stéphane is a gifted, classically trained musician. When Marie-Christine decided to move to New York her son chose to remain on the west coast. “And so, here I am now at BFS.”