In September in class, we have studied citizenship in Athens in the 5th Century BC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learnt what it was to be a citizen: A citizen was someone who had rights, and duties*, who could vote, who could be elected and who could express himself ( only men could be citizens in Athens at that time).

Citizenship in Athens in the 5th century BC was worth being studied because Athens in the 5^th century BC was a powerful city and was the very first democracy in history! Athens defeated* the Persian Empire. The cities around Athens wanted to be allied with Athens to be protected, in return they paid a tribute*.

This way Athens became very powerful. Moreover Athens was the largest city of Greece; it controlled a wide territory called the Attica.

 In Athens power was well balanced since it was distributed between:

 The Ecclesia also called assembly of citizens: it gathers Athens’40 000 citizens

 The Helié which had the judiciary power

The magistrates who had the executive power.

 The constitution was based on equality:  isonomy (equality between citizens)*. It is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people: that’s what Pericles (famous Athenian magistrate) said in the funeral oration he delivered in 430 BC. People were drawn to be in the assemblies except magistrates who were elected: it was very fair, wasn’t it?  If poor people were drawn, they received the misthos* (an allowance) so they could go full time into politics.

But, Athens was not a perfect democracy because all human beings living in the Attica did not have the same rights and were not considered as citizens: there were Metics ( foreigners ), slaves and women who had no rights at all ! The misthos was not high enough, and Isonomy only concerned an élite. On top of that we must admit that drawing people could be dangerous: could you imagine drawing the president of France from the French population?

 Anyway, it’s really worth studying Athens in the 5^th century BC since it helps to know more about the roots of our political system!

Some help:

 * duties = devoirs

 * defeated = to defeat someone = battre quelqu’un ( sur le plan militaire)

* a tribute = un tribut

* isonomy = isonomie = l’égalité entre citoyens

* misthos = aide financière pour que les plus  pauvres puissent participer à la

vie politique

 

 

Hi!

I would like to say few words on an excellent film called"The

Butterfly Effect" ! It deals with a boy who can come back in his past to

change some events...and when he does this everything changes in his present

life, so he always wants to change his life again and again in the hope to have a perfect life! The actor is Ashton Kutcher... that gives another

good reason to watch this movie, don't you think?

 

I think this movie is very interesting because it helps to understand the effect of the past on our lives. And this movie also conveys an important message:it's pointless to have regrets! Changing things can also sometimes make things worse.

I really hope you enjoy this film.

The European section in Saint-John Perse opened in 1995.

Today our lycée has three European classes: One in seconde, one in première and one in terminale. For the students in the section, English classes are complemented with History and Geography classes in English.

In seconde the whole syllabus is taught in English whereas in première and terminale students have history and geography classes in French and on top of that two extra hours to learn history and geography in English.

Mrs Vercruysse, Mrs Sandoval and Ms Humbert and Ms Bizieau are teaching English to European classes this year. Mr Boustourre is teaching history and geography in English.

For the students, it’s an opportunity to improve their language skills while learning more about British and American history and civilisation.

When they take the Baccalauréat, students have to take an oral exam of history and geography in English. If they get at least 10/20 in that exam and at least 12/20 in the English written exam, they get a European Bac (Baccalauréat avec la mention européenne).

Our students are very motivated and love English: this blog will show that to you!

Welcome, we hope you enjoy your visit.