There is nothing quite like a room full of students laughing in unison, which is what I often have the joy of hearing at the Lycée Français, just like I did a few days ago while visiting the cafeteria.
As I am fortunate to be able to do most lunchtimes, I was wishing “bon appétit” to one of our grades when a young man invited me over to his table, pointing at the clocks on the walls around the room, those same clocks which are there to help students manage their schedules over the course of a given day.
“Monsieur?” asked the boy. And suddenly there was quiet. “Monsieur, please look at the time. It’s five o’clock already, sorry I mean to say 5:10, actually it’s 5:20, Monsieur, and it’s time for us all to go home. Can we please leave, Monsieur?”
Bursts of laughter
To be honest, in the few seconds it took me to find and focus on the clock to which our student was pointing, it was 5:40. Before I could blink, 5:50. Our cafeteria clocks had gone wild, the hands on each were out of control, time as we knew it had accelerated, seconds had become minutes and minutes had become hours. And seeing the look of puzzlement, dare I say amazement on my face, the cafeteria burst into laughter.
They were right. My watch might have said noon, but if the cafeteria clocks indicated 6:10, well then, it was time, so to speak, for our students to go home! “You’re right, chers élèves,” I replied, our clocks now saying 6:30, 6:35, 6:40. “Allez, put away your trays, have a good evening and I look forward very much to seeing you tomorrow!” To which those who could hear me responded “Merci beaucoup, Monsieur” and began arranging their plates and glasses to depart, doubled up with laughter as they proceeded.
Well-being
I had to laugh myself, of course. But in the instant which followed I also had a thought. No doubt because we had focused so much this past year on the well-being of our students and in that process had done so much research into this subject, the name which popped into my head was that of University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman, author of a compelling, convincing book entitled Authentic Happiness.
For Seligman, several elements contribute to creating an experience of happiness: pleasure, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Without deconstructing these terms in detail, it was clear to me that the laughter of our students that midday (or should I say evening?) reflected happiness along all five dimensions. From the delight they felt at their discovery to the joy they experienced in sharing that delight with others, the happiness of our students was striking. What a priority it is, I said to myself: to help each student fulfill his or her potential in our demanding bilingual program and at the same time to nurture that sense of harmony with self and the world at large which manifests itself in laughter.
“Wait. Are you sure?” I asked our students. “It’s 7:20 now and your classes will soon be starting. Why are you all here so early? I know…it’s breakfast you are having!” And we laughed again.
About the Author :
Sean Lynch was Head of School at the Lycée Français de New York from 2011 to 2018, after having spent 15 years at another French bilingual school outside of Paris: the Lycée International de St. Germain-en-Laye. Holding both French and American nationalities, educated in France (Sciences Po Paris) and the United States (Yale), and as the proud husband of a French-American spouse and father of two French-American daughters, Sean Lynch has spent his entire professional and personal life at the junction between the languages, cultures and educational systems of France and the United States. In addition to being passionate about education, he loves everything related to the mountains, particularly the Parc National du Mercantour.