Henri Mari Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa was a French painter famous for his cariacature-esque scenes depicting can-can dancers at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. He painted around the turn of the century in Paris' Montmartre neighborhood where bohemian France, absinthe, and frivolity combined to inspire many an artist and writer to produce groundbreaking works. Gertrude Stein, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Picasso, Dali, and others all congregated around this little slice of Parisian life. His style is post-impressionistic mixed with art nouveau. Some examples:
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| T.L. painted numerous posters advertising bars, restaurants, clubs, and certain dancers like Jane Avril. He loved to hang out in the opera and the seedier burlesque clubs trying to capture peoples' movements and dress. This is on of my favorites. the image is from this site. |
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| T.L. painted this in 1890, and it shows a dancer at the Moulin Rouge amongst a more high-brow crowd. It is currently displayed in Philadelphia. This image is from wikipaintings.
One of the first things I noticed upon arriving at this school was the emphasis on art inside. Each classroom has a number, but they are subtle. The real identifier for each classroom is the Toulouse-Lautrec painting posted next to the door. Numerous student paintings, projects, and collages also line the halls.
T.L is my main administrative school, which means that they've been dealing with my paperwork and making sure that I get paid. Everyone that I've met within the administration is very nice and they've helped me to adjust to my Friday schedule at this school just fine. The director told me an interesting tid bit about his job within the school system; administrators are in charge of the physical integrity of their schools after hours, so most schools have subsidized housing either on or near the campus for the director, the equivalent to a vice principal, secretary, and head chef. The secretary's main job after school hours is to make sure the campus is secure. How interesting.
I will work with four different teachers here. One is from America, one is a former Yugoslavian, and the others are French. I just observed on my first day, and did the same kind of question and answer introduction as I did in A.L. Most of the kids seemed genuinely interested in having me around. Some of the better questions of the day included: Do you know Michael Jordan? Have you been to Montana (I was surprised he even knew where that was)? Do you eat hamburgers every day? There was more talk of Texas as well.
Nothing went wrong yesterday! It was a first. Since things went pretty smoothly in both of my school this week, it looks like I will be given small groups of 5 to 8 students this coming week. I'm supposed to talk with them and work on conversation skills that pertain to the vocabulary they're learning in class. Since next week is the last before the big Toussaint break, I'll explain the holiday later, I figured it would be a good time to go over Halloween and, if we have time, the presidential election. If there any past middle school teachers in the crowd, I'm always open to suggestions and ideas.
Have a lovely fin de la semaine!
P.S. There are also some Lagniappe Livin' readers from Poland and Belgium. Welcome, Bienvenu
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