海角大神

Yes, images of fresh baguettes and varieties of cheese I could never conceive of filled my head as I contemplated relocating to Paris. But I鈥檝e been most thrilled about French school.

This is clearly not scientific. But I鈥檝e envied 鈥淓uropean education鈥� since my first game of Trivial Pursuit with my husband, a Spaniard. I鈥檒l spare myself from revealing too much and just say that he smoked me.

The French people I know continuously confirm the hunch that they just simply know more, or at least more about the world in which we live. One friend told me high school was the most demanding time period of her life, even though she has a master's degree and has lived in three foreign countries.

I have a daughter who will eventually be attending French school. 聽And I鈥檝e imagined what that means for her education. I鈥檝e also formed notions of the social aspects, mostly from the book 鈥溾�� by Pamela Druckerman, an American journalist and mother in France. Granted, her book focuses on one upper-socio-economic bracket and it鈥檚 anecdotal, just like this blog. But she paints a picture of little tots who eat beets and blue cheese and 鈥� having continuously received tough love from their parents and caretakers 鈥� never throw food in restaurants. 鈥淚magine that,鈥� I said to my husband, almost giddy.

So it was with a certain sinking feeling that I stumbled upon a study by French economist Claudia Senik, who seeks to understand why the French are among the world鈥檚 gloomiest pessimists. One of her theories is that the French are taught to be unhappy in a school system that is overly rigorous and rigid. 鈥淚 knew it was too good to be true,鈥� I told my husband.

As early as this fall, my daughter will be starting the 鈥渕aternelle,鈥� the all-day public preschool for kids between the ages of 3 and 6 in France. They are raved about, not just for the support they give to working parents but for the social skills they instill, and for providing the building blocks of a French public school education.

And yet, I had wondered about the hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. That鈥檚 a long day. And how strict are they anyway?

I met Ms. Senik in her office. She certainly didn鈥檛 look gloomy. Wearing a cheerful, peach top, she smiled often. I asked her if she herself was a pessimist. She said no, but she happened to excel at the subjects that are prioritized in the French education system. Then, after the main interview was over, I asked if I鈥檇 be creating a pessimist by enrolling my child in school.

鈥淗ow old is she?鈥� she asked, and when I told her she鈥檒l be turning 3 this year, she said, 鈥渘o, you鈥檒l be fine, she鈥檒l be in the maternelle.鈥� Apparently the gloom-inducing demands of school begin later 鈥� at elementary school.

It鈥檚 hard to believe on the face of things, since what I鈥檝e loved most about Paris so far is how stimulating it is for kids. There are parks at every corner, it seems. There are open fields to play in and gardens with flowers to smell. There are play centers for when it rains. There are amazing public pools. And all of these places are full of happy kids. I feel like my daughter has experienced more in the past month than she has her entire life. And she seems to be loving it too.

I鈥檝e signed her up for school, knowing that it will be a long day in a foreign language and that it will be far more structured 鈥� and thus demanding 鈥� than anything she鈥檚 yet experienced. But I remain thrilled about it, about the exposure to French, to peers who eat whatever their parents are eating as a norm, and about the prospect of an ace Trivial Pursuit partner later in life.