Bonjour! My name is Chris Jacquart, your French teacher for the 2010-2011 school year.
I am a native of Milwaukee and live on the East Side. I am married and have two children and a schnauzer. I enjoy reading, traveling, surfing, mountain climbing/hiking, yoga, gardening, cooking, and am currently learning to play the violin with my daughter. At home we speak English and French, but enjoy learning and speaking other languages such as German and Spanish as a family activity in our spare time. Our time spent learning languages has allowed our family to meet new people and establish relationships in the culture that are priceless. “Par les yeux du langage” (Through the eyes of language) became my motto for active participation in another culture. One can really see and do more when language is not a barrier. My current endeavor in education is to study English Language Learning to help non native French speakers understand both the English and French language as they grow in their fluency.
This will be my eigth year working as a French language teacher in the Shorewood School District, but I have over ten years of experience at a K-12 teacher. I graduated with a degree in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and also completed a K-12 certification, Spanish minor and French master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This year I will be teaching eight grade French at SIS and Beginning (I) and Advanced French (IV) levels at the high school. I will be building beginning language skills in level one and deeping language structures and cultural awareness in level four.
My philosophy for learning is that each student is unique, and each person learns in a different way. I support differentiation and strive to help students discover their individuality along with their strengths and weaknesses while working alongside them. I teach in a hands-on manner and use creativity to construct meaning to aid long term memory. One area I will give attention to is teaching students how to be reflective about what they are learning. There is so much information that we can access through the internet but making connections and sense of it all will help students retain and remember vital information in a meaningful way. Finally, I will be teaching using problem-based learning in order for students to learn strategies about how best to approach challenges in the language or culture and how to go about resolving them.
I am looking forward to working with you during this school year and appreciate any comments or suggestions that would help make this a successful year!
