In an elocution competition organized by the French Department, teams of tenth graders argued in favor of a woman they believe deserves more widespread recognition, and to be honored at the Lycée.
Just two percent of streets in France are named after women. The situation is not much better in the United States, a fact which many American feminists decry. We shared this observation with our 10th graders in French class and decided to focus this year’s eloquence contest on the subject of the place of women in public spaces. And because we are never better served than by ourselves, in order to add fuel to the fire of feminism, we developed the following project: rename three rooms at the Lycée, our city, so that these rooms bear not a number but a woman’s name. During the month-long contest, teams created speeches that present a woman who, in their eyes, deserves to be honored. The woman could come from all fields–literary, athletic, political, artistic, science–and all backgrounds and languages. The sole requirement is that the person reflects the values of the mission of our school.
The contest has another purpose: to prepare students for the “Grand Oral,” an essential part of the French Baccalaureate exam. With a focus on public speaking, the contest teaches students to assert their identity with confidence and to find ease in oration, while training them in the art of argument and persuasion. With the support of the Cultural Center for this project, we were fortunate to welcome Stéphane de Freitas, founder of Eloquentia and French author of a book on the power of speaking in class. During two fruitful Zoom sessions with students, he presented his method, shared useful technical advice and worked with students to improve the work of one group in each class.
In this year’s competition, semi-finalists were selected from all four 10th-grade French Literature classes. Students worked together to choose winners in early rounds. The final selection on December 15 brought together eight team finalists, who presented the woman of their choice to all students in front of a jury composed of Evelyne Estey, Head of School; Jérémie Bourdon, Director of Secondary; Aude Fourmont in Specialized Support, along with Joëlle Reilly and Catherine Reed of the English Department.
Many great women were presented. The winning teams of this 2021 contest did a particularly outstanding job of arguing in support of three remarkable women : Joséphine Baker, Simone de Beauvoir and Billie Jean King.
Watch their final performances below:
Place aux femmes ! On March 8, International Women’s Day, we will hold a ceremony to inaugurate the new room names of the three winning groups. A plaque, French style–enameled with white letters on a blue background–will be placed at the doors of three spaces in the Lycée. In this way, the students’ words will become an act and through this transformation of the Lycée spaces. Students will bear witness to three women whom they recognize themselves in, who inspire them, whom they feel connected to, and who make them dream.
About the Author :
French teacher in the Secondary, Frédérique joined the Lycée in 2020. She holds a PhD in French language and literature from Emory University and has taught at the university level (Emory, Columbia University, Clark Atlanta University), écoles de commerce in France and Institut Français, as well as in high school and middle school. She is a specialist in the work of Salvador Dalí, a curator and an art critic for the magazine Artpress.