Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-11-18


French only is spoken the girls be-
ing fined the immense sum of one
cent every time they forget and use
an English expression When the
fines have accumulated sufficiently
there is Jam for tea or some spe-
cial dainty or entertainment for the
group.
1T is most unusual opportunity
for these girls to acquire a ready use
of conversational French" said Prof
F. c. Chalfant, head of the modern
language department, in discussing
the new enterprise. you see, they
are under the constant supervision
of a native French woman of educa-
tion and refinement, whose accent is
perfect and who can teach them to
use the idiom so that, by the time
they have lived together a year in
this way, they are ready to take adj
vanced courses in the language in
/ the classroom We give the euuiva-
lent of three semester hours credit
for the French they acquire in this
way. 1t is, of course, necessary that
the preceptress make a recommen-
dation in each case that the student
] deserves the credit She knows from
her close contact with the girls
whether they have learned enough
of the language to justify college
credit. We consider ourselves very
fortunate indeed to have found a
woman of Mile. Petits ability and
training for this position, for she
fits it exactly"
Mile. Petit comes to WASHINGTON
from St GATHERINGS College, ST.
Paul, Mimi, where she has taught
French while completing her study
of English as one of the group Of
the government students sent from
France to the United States, by the
Association of American Colleges.
Il came on my diploma from the
normal school in the North of France
where ! was educated, at Dohem, for
II years, said Mile Petit. 1--WE be-
gin the training of our teachers in
France the minute they enter school.
Even the very little children have
their attention called constantly to
the manner of doing things, saying
You must notice, for some day you
will be called upon to do it. You
are going to be teacher
THE course for teachers is very
thorough. They get a good founda-
ton in everything -physics, chemis-
try, languages, mathematics, history,
home economies, everything. So it
never happens as with your high
school teaching that a pupil shall
say, I can't take that college course
because l have not had the pre-
requisite courses. "
Mile. Petit was for six years a
teacher in girls school at the
French coast resort of Dieppe LIE
Association Dieppois, 100 miles from
her home, which was a suburb of
Arras near the Belgian border in
France
'Arras was, as you know, de-
stroyed by the bombardment of the
Germans she said. From our
home we could see both the French
and German lines, and some forty
miles beyond the German trenches.
You know it is a very flat country
there My father was principal of
a school in Arras. When the war
first began his school building was
taken by the military and he had to
wait until they relinquished it be-
fore he could resume teaching. He
Kept on, however, as soon as posi-
BILE. For whether there was war or
peace France must educate her chill
dren for the future. |, too, con-
tinued my teaching until | came to
America three years ago.
when the first announcement was
made OF these scholarships in Ameri-
ca there were but a very few more
applicants than the 100 for whom
there were places. So we did not
have to take examinations, only to
present our diploma and talk with
the American college women in
charge of the awards. But the very
next year there were 1000 applicants,
so they had to establish an examina-
ton system.
This is worthy of some note, for
it is one indication of the greater
freedom which has come to the wo-
men OF France through the war.
Women proved in time of necessity
that they could do as we'll as men
in many different situations. For
example, for the first time in the
history OF the Central School for En-
.F.tV,