Je Ne Sais Quoi: An Essay about Madame Zuclich
“She’s absent today,” my French class’s 25-year-old substitute said.
“What? Are you serious?” the class questioned. Some were shocked. Some roared with joy. I was at a loss for words. That February day was the first time that Madame Zuclich, my French teacher of Croatian descent, was absent from class. My day was finished before it had even started.
Madame has taught at my high school, Long Island Lutheran, for over thirty years. I have sat in her classroom since grade eight, diligently paying attention to her every French word. Madame Zuclich is someone that you’ve never met in your life. She is a dame with a fabulous certain je ne sais quoi about her. Madame is a brown-haired, olive-skinned, well-dressed older woman, with a penchant for pink nails and high-heeled shoes. Madame has an enthusiastic, cheerful disposition. She’s fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and of course, le francais. Though Madame teaches French from levels one to five, 180 days a year, she is always ebullient, always has a bright sourire (smile) on her face. With her vibrant, bursting energy, Madame makes learning French an exciting, amusing, pleasurable experience.
I was overjoyed last summer when I received my schedule for the upcoming sophomore year. Luckily enough, I was placed into French III at first period of the day. Knowing that I would see my favorite teacher first thing in the morning made waking up at six o’ clock a.m. a pleasure.
Madame starts off class by handing out photocopied euros as a reward for following her directions. Each lesson is carefully and meticulously planned. Firstly, she writes down the class’s devoirs for the evening, then calling on one of her students to translate the homework. Each student is given a French name to be referred to for the entire year. My name, since eighth grade, has been Dani, a takeoff from my birth name, Danielle. Following this routine, the class practices speaking in French. Usually, the class speaks about its activities for the weekend, last night’s homework, or practices using recently-learned verbs and tenses.
Puis (then), Madame teaches us our daily expression du jour (expression of the day), the most interesting and exciting part of class. The expression is a French phrase or idiom that will enhance the student’s vocabulary for travel and communication. The expression is quite similar to a tear-off page-a-day calendar. Occasionally, the class is also given a verb du jour featuring the many irregular past, present, and future verb tenses. Afterwards, Madame hands out one of our triweekly quizzes, based on freshly-taught material. The rest of the period is mainly spent correcting homework or learning new material.
One moment when Madame and I became closer occurred when we both decided to read Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, an eye-opening English-language novel about the art of French parenting. I had discovered the novel at my local bookstore, and knew that I just had to read it. I devoured the fascinating piece, and professed my love for the book to Madame. Luckily enough, she was very much interested in reading the novel. Madame and I bonded over insightful lessons from the novel on what it means to be part of the French culture. Before and after class, we had brief but lively discussions of what the novel taught us. Often times in class, Madame calls on moi to cite examples from the novel to add insight into our lessons. Reading Bringing Up Bebe along with Madame caused me to feel closer to French. I felt like I had discovered “a whole new world.”
What makes Madame so special is her love and devotion to her students. Madame is a truly kindhearted woman. She wants her students to succeed, to feel enlightened, and to become a part of another culture. Madame turns learning a second language into a lively, facile process. I now look at the world in a whole new manner. She has spurred me to speak French with my mother, to watch countless numbers of foreign films, and to attempt to read French-language editions of Vogue and Elle. Madame has encouraged me to consider French as a major in college. She has given me the desire to travel and study abroad. Because of Madame Zuclich, I have greatly improved my geography! I’ve become more open-minded and tolerant toward all cultures.
Although she may give a myriad of quizzes and tests, hours of homework, and overly comprehensive reading passages, I still feel anadoration towards her. I admire her; I respect her. Madame may be the only person I truly love outside of my circle of friends and my family. If there’s one thing you learn from Madame Zuclich’s class, it’s how to immerse yourself in a whole new world.
“She’s absent today,” my French class’s 25-year-old substitute said.
“What? Are you serious?” the class questioned. Some were shocked. Some roared with joy. I was at a loss for words. That February day was the first time that Madame Zuclich, my French teacher of Croatian descent, was absent from class. My day was finished before it had even started.
Madame has taught at my high school, Long Island Lutheran, for over thirty years. I have sat in her classroom since grade eight, diligently paying attention to her every French word. Madame Zuclich is someone that you’ve never met in your life. She is a dame with a fabulous certain je ne sais quoi about her. Madame is a brown-haired, olive-skinned, well-dressed older woman, with a penchant for pink nails and high-heeled shoes. Madame has an enthusiastic, cheerful disposition. She’s fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and of course, le francais. Though Madame teaches French from levels one to five, 180 days a year, she is always ebullient, always has a bright sourire (smile) on her face. With her vibrant, bursting energy, Madame makes learning French an exciting, amusing, pleasurable experience.
I was overjoyed last summer when I received my schedule for the upcoming sophomore year. Luckily enough, I was placed into French III at first period of the day. Knowing that I would see my favorite teacher first thing in the morning made waking up at six o’ clock a.m. a pleasure.
Madame starts off class by handing out photocopied euros as a reward for following her directions. Each lesson is carefully and meticulously planned. Firstly, she writes down the class’s devoirs for the evening, then calling on one of her students to translate the homework. Each student is given a French name to be referred to for the entire year. My name, since eighth grade, has been Dani, a takeoff from my birth name, Danielle. Following this routine, the class practices speaking in French. Usually, the class speaks about its activities for the weekend, last night’s homework, or practices using recently-learned verbs and tenses.
Puis (then), Madame teaches us our daily expression du jour (expression of the day), the most interesting and exciting part of class. The expression is a French phrase or idiom that will enhance the student’s vocabulary for travel and communication. The expression is quite similar to a tear-off page-a-day calendar. Occasionally, the class is also given a verb du jour featuring the many irregular past, present, and future verb tenses. Afterwards, Madame hands out one of our triweekly quizzes, based on freshly-taught material. The rest of the period is mainly spent correcting homework or learning new material.
One moment when Madame and I became closer occurred when we both decided to read Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, an eye-opening English-language novel about the art of French parenting. I had discovered the novel at my local bookstore, and knew that I just had to read it. I devoured the fascinating piece, and professed my love for the book to Madame. Luckily enough, she was very much interested in reading the novel. Madame and I bonded over insightful lessons from the novel on what it means to be part of the French culture. Before and after class, we had brief but lively discussions of what the novel taught us. Often times in class, Madame calls on moi to cite examples from the novel to add insight into our lessons. Reading Bringing Up Bebe along with Madame caused me to feel closer to French. I felt like I had discovered “a whole new world.”
What makes Madame so special is her love and devotion to her students. Madame is a truly kindhearted woman. She wants her students to succeed, to feel enlightened, and to become a part of another culture. Madame turns learning a second language into a lively, facile process. I now look at the world in a whole new manner. She has spurred me to speak French with my mother, to watch countless numbers of foreign films, and to attempt to read French-language editions of Vogue and Elle. Madame has encouraged me to consider French as a major in college. She has given me the desire to travel and study abroad. Because of Madame Zuclich, I have greatly improved my geography! I’ve become more open-minded and tolerant toward all cultures.
Although she may give a myriad of quizzes and tests, hours of homework, and overly comprehensive reading passages, I still feel anadoration towards her. I admire her; I respect her. Madame may be the only person I truly love outside of my circle of friends and my family. If there’s one thing you learn from Madame Zuclich’s class, it’s how to immerse yourself in a whole new world.
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