"For Lucie, who hasjust been born" "Nice and easy!" "That's it, here we go." "We may be lucky!" "Typical, a car's coming." "Oh God, I don't believe it!" "Hurry up, damn it!" "Nice and easy!" "Don't let those four through." "Morning." "See you later." "See you later." " Morning, Jeannot." " Morning, sonny." "All right?" "Good morning, sir!" "Give me your hand." "Give me your hand properly!" "Start here, Jojo." "And then go down." "Like this?" "I can do that letter." "Come on." "Sir..." "That's good, Létitia, carry on." "You forgot to come back up." "Come back up a bit." "No, Johann, no!" "Turn the paper round." "Turn it round." " Sir..." " Turn it round, please." "Now I do a circle?" "Look at the circle." "You should come back up." "You forgot to come back up." "Sir, I..." "Stop there." "Now come back down to make a circle." "Sir, I didn't look properly." " Do it alone up to there." " Almost done!" "Look, sir." "There first." "That's good, Marie." "Look." "Start from here." "Mine's better than Létitia's!" "Carry on doing that one." "Come back up." "Do another stick." "There." "Stop." "Come up a bit." "Stop there." "What comes next?" " A circle." " Do it." "No, start a circle from the top." "Finished, sir." "Go on." "Sir, is it this morning or this afternoon now?" "is it this morning or this afternoon?" "Well?" "is it the morning or the afternoon?" "The afternoon?" "Before the afternoon, what do we do?" "We..." " Eat!" " We eat." "Have you eaten yet?" " No." "So it's..." " The morning." "The morning." "We've come to school." " What?" " We've come to school." "Until this afternoon." "Have you all finished?" "Yes, sir." "I want you all to show your work." " What do we do after?" " Let's look at Jojo's." " What do you think?" " lt's good." "Good." "You could go on... lt's a little bit good." "A little bit good." "What do you think, Jojo?" "Look." " What's it like." " Good!" "You say "good", Marie says "a little bit good"." "What about you, Létitia?" "Good." "And you, Johann?" "There may be something missing here." "The stick going down isn't here." "There!" "Who's next?" "Marie?" "So?" "What do you think?" " Good." " Not good." "It's not good?" "It's lots of good." "Lots of good?" " Except for the word "mother"." " Can you recognize it?" "It's leaning." "Because it goes up and down a bit." "But it's not bad at all, is it?" "What do you usually do to go to sleep?" ""Close your eyes and..."" "Where's our book?" " Here." " So look here." "We got to "Close your eyes..."" ""Close your eyes"..." ""Close your eyes" " "and co..."" " Count." ""...count..." ""the sl..."" " Hold on, where are you?" " "...sheep..."" "Good." ""...in your mind."" ""As long..."" ""As long as I..." " "...doesn't...."" " Don't." ""...don't have any nightmares."" "What's a nightmare?" "A nasty nightmare." "A nasty one?" "A nasty dream." "Do you ever have nightmares?" "What do you see in your nightmares?" "What do you see in them?" "Ghosts." "Ghosts?" "I don't dream about ghosts." "Axel's telling me about his nightmares." "Shall we let him?" "Can he tell us about them?" "Good." "So you saw ghosts in your dreams?" "And what happened?" " How were they dressed?" " ln white!" "Like real ghosts?" "Where were you?" "Where did it take place?" "My bedroom." "In your bedroom?" " So tell me about it." " At night." "Ghosts come out at night, right?" "Do they really exist?" "You think they do?" "Have you ever seen a real one?" "I've never seen one!" "She's scared..." ""Riotous merriment reigned during playtime." ""Riotous merriment..." ""reigned..." ""during playtime."" "Ready, Nathalie?" "Olivier too?" "Full stop." ""Half the pupils" ""played marbles in the shade of the trees." ""Half the pupils played marbles..." ""in the shade of the trees."" "Full stop." ""Others played at horses..." "Wasn't that an imperfect?" "We saw it five minutes ago." "is that how you write the imperfect?" "is that the imperfect ending?" ""Others played at horses" ""or at cars..."" "Comma." ""Others played at horses or at cars..."" ""...marching along..."" ""...marching along in an imaginary climb." Full stop." "Ready?" "I didn't say it was over." "I only said, "Full stop."" "Alizé, are you my friend?" "Jessie... are you my friend?" "Jojo, are you my friend?" " Are you my friend?" " No." "All right, sit down." "Don't you want to work today?" "I do." "I can't hear you." " l didn't hear." " l want to!" "You want to?" "So don't stop now, my boy." "Well?" "Have you almost finished?" "is there a lot left?" "Maybe you can finish without stopping now." "What?" "What?" "Yes, sir." "That's good, Jojo." "Let's see what you've written." "A quarter." "A quarter. ls that right?" "You're asked to write four fractions smaller than one." "What does that mean?" "That means... smaller..." "Than a unit." "Let's see what you've put." "Thirteen fifths." "Correct that." "Finished, Jojo?" "The fir tree's finished." " The..." " Fir tree." "Did you colour the animals in?" "The bear and the other two." " How many are left, then?" " Two more." "Two more?" " Will you do them properly?" " After the bear." "Two more after the bear?" "Well, concentrate then." "Good." "Now fractions equal to one." "What did we say, Julien?" "For a fraction to equal one, it must..." "Sausage!" "That's enough, Axel!" "Have you finished?" "Almost." "What's left now?" "I've done this one, I haven't done this one, I haven't done this one, or this one or this one." "There's still a lot left." "You told me you would finish it." "You told me you'd finish it." "It's playtime soon and you'll have to stay in, Jojo." "If you haven't finished." "Can you speed it up a bit?" "I won't say it again, all right?" " Just this one left to do." " Very good." "You two can go out." "Jojo!" "Don't put your shoes on." "Come here." "You others can go out." "Come here." "Where have you got to with your fish?" "I'll finish after playtime." "No, that's not what we agreed." " Tomorrow." " No, not tomorrow." " There's no school tomorrow." " Exactly." "When are you going to do it?" "On a school day." "Today's one!" "So you have to do it now." "You said you would, you promised." "Have you kept that promise?" "Have you finished?" "is the fish finished?" "So you have to finish it right now." "We've got snowballs too!" "Not at me!" "Why do you come to school?" "It's my mum who..." "who always wants me to come." "And you wish you didn't have to?" "What do you come to school for?" "Just to play?" "What else?" "To do my work." "What's that?" "What work?" "With the teach..." "With Tatiana and you." "What do Tatiana and I do?" "What do you learn here?" "Just how to colour things?" "Colouring's important but what else?" "Work." "What is work?" "What else is there?" "Listening..." "That's not work." " What did you do this morning?" " A drawing." "No, on the blackboard." "Loops." "Yes." "So, you're learning loops to learn to..." " To what?" "To write?" " To do sixes." "And what are we learning sixes for?" "To do sums." "To know how to count." "I can already count to six." "After five, there's six." " And after six?" " After six, there's seven." "We haven't done that yet." "After seven, there's six..." "No after seven, there's eight." "More, more." "It's all right if you spill a bit." "There, that's the flour..." "Can you pour the vanilla sugar in?" " All of it?" " Yes." "There." "There." "You turn it over and part both halves." "And you put the shell there." "It's Alizé's turn to break an egg now." "Come on, are you ready?" "There!" "It's broken!" "Straight in." "That's good!" "Broken and in the bowl." "Perfect." "Jessie now." "It's supposed to go in the bowl." "It doesn't matter." "It doesn't matter." "All right, here I go!" " Take the plunge!" " Go, Julien!" "I knew it!" "It's cooking on the floor!" "Good!" "Not like that." "Look..." "Try doing it like this." "Almost there, Guillaume!" "Good!" "Well done, Guillaume!" "Can I try another after?" "It's slippery." "Go faster!" "Out of the way!" "Olivier!" "Olivier didn't get far." "Look out!" "Yeah, Nathalie!" "Do it like before, Nathalie." "Move your fingers and make it turn." "A bit more..." "There." "Good." "What do we draw now?" "A radius." "Two of them!" "That's called the dia..." "The dia..." "You can't remember?" "The diameter!" "Come on, draw a diameter." "Finished, Nathalie?" "What do you do next?" "What do you call this section just here?" " The diameter or the radius?" " The radius." "So you take the radius and copy it how many times?" "Four." "Put your age." "How old are you?" "Four and a half." "The glass is broken!" "The little one there..." "And the big one there." "He took one of my erasers!" "Him there!" "No, it's mine." "An eraser... that was mine." " Five plus one?" " Six!" "And plus two?" " Eight!" " Write eight." "I want us to talk about your argument and that fight at playtime to try to see what it means so it doesn't happen again." "There's no sense in it." "You're here in the same class." "It's a tiny class and still you fight." "If you have anything to say, say it now." "Say what you have to say and we'll try to sort things out." "Well?" "Do you have anything to say, Julien?" "Olivier?" "How did it all start?" "What happened?" "Well, we were playing, at tag..." "We caught him, he fell and hurt his back." "Then he caught the little ones and hurt them so we stepped in..." "Then he got up and started attacking us all." "You were angry, then?" "Was it right to blame the little ones?" "It wasn't their fault." "Was that right or not?" "All right." "And can you avoid that?" "How about Julien?" "I mean, you fought a long time." "At first, you tested each other, round and round..." "But then things degenerated, didn't they?" "Well?" "What do you think?" "I let go." "I let go of him, see..." "But after, he wouldn't let go." "Why wouldn't you let go?" "You have to talk now to get it out of the way." "What was it that made you refuse to let go?" "You wanted to show you were as strong as him?" "That's probably true, isn't it?" "Did you put up a fight or was it hard at times?" "Sometimes..." "Really?" "Sometimes it was?" "That's how it is." "Sometimes, you're stronger, sometimes he is." "You're the same age and size, you're both strong and you wanted to show one another how strong you are." "But does there have to be a winner?" "is there any sense in it?" "is it important for you?" "Maybe it's less important for him since he let go first." "I know this has been building up for a few days." "What started it?" "You get on well at times and not at all at others." "Shall we talk about it?" "is there a reason, Olivier?" "What's your problem with Julien?" "Come on, let's talk about it calmly." "What's the problem?" "You can tell him now." "Tell him in front of me." "What don't you like about him?" " lt's when he insults me..." " He insults you." "You see, Julien, the words you say can hurt him more that when you attack him physically." "That's important for him." "He doesn't like it when you say things like that." "It's easy to insult someone." "It's totally gratuitous." "A word, a nice one or a nasty one, is easy to say." "But it can hurt someone a lot." "Perhaps Olivier feels hurt by the words that you or others may have said recently." "is that it, Olivier?" "Can we stop all that?" "One other thing." "You're in a class with younger children." "The example you're giving them isn't a very good one." "You should be showing them that we can get along as friends and work together." "I think that's better." "Don't you think so too?" "What?" "What did you say?" "Like before." "There's a song about good old times." "It was like that here too." "I don't see why that should end." "From now until you leave, we need to find a more peaceful atmosphere." "What shall we do, Julien?" "Work in that direction?" "Do you feel that you can do it?" " Good." "You too?" " Me too." "Seven times zero?" "Seven times zero, zero." "Plus four, four." "Next." "Seven times zero, zero." "Don't look at me." " Seven times one, seven." " Good." "Put it down." "Three times six..." "Twelve." "Eighteen!" " Watch where you put the eight." " There." "Really?" "That's brilliant." "No, that one's a zero." "Carry on!" "Three times six, eighteen." "Eight down, one to carry." "Three times zero, zero." "Plus one, one." "Three times zero, zero." "Three times one, one." "You want to copy it out a hundred times?" "Three times one..." "Three." "Carry on!" " l've finished." " What?" "Isn't that a five?" "Five times six..." "Twenty-five?" "Recite the five times table." "Five times one, five, five times two, ten..." "Five times three, fifteen, five times four, twenty." "Five times five, twenty-five." "Five times six, thirty...." " Five times seven?" " Five times seven, thirty-five." "Five times eight..." "Forty!" "Five times nine, forty-five, five times ten, fifty." "All right. I'm waiting." "Where does it go?" "Watch it..." "There." "Where?" "There." "You want a slap?" "What's after the point?" "Three figures." " And before it?" " Another three." "Get your uncle to help you!" "Two sixes..." "Two times six slaps is how many?" "Two times six..." " Six and six?" " Twelve." "Two times six, twelve." "He's peeking in his book!" "Don't forget to carry over." "Two times six, twelve." "Plus four..." " l'm lost..." " l'm lost too." "There's a mistake there." "He hasn't shifted it." "You forgot this thingummy." "It should go here." "Here?" "is that a four?" "So the four goes here, the three here... and the eight here." "There's something wrong now." " Where am I?" " l don't get it." "He has to shift it after." "Otherwise..." "Where are you at?" "Two times..." "Nine, eighteen." "He said that." "Two times nine, eighteen..." "Two times..." "Two times six, twelve." "Plus four..." "What's up?" "Two nines, eighteen." "One to carry." "Put down eight and carry one over." "Two times six, twelve." "And one, thirteen." "Three down, one to carry." "Two times six, twelve." "And one, thirteen." "Three down..." "There's a mistake somewhere." "Look..." "Here." "Two times two, four." "Two times zero, zero..." "Two times four, eight." "No, it's right." "Two times two, four..." "Two times nine, eighteen. lt's right." "Eighteen." "Eight down, one to carry." "Two sixes, twelve." "Plus one, thirteen." "Move your finger." "That's right." "Three down, one to carry." "Twelve." "Plus one, thirteen." "Three down, one to carry." "Two ones?" " Two ones?" " Two." "Plus one, three." "Okay, that's it!" " No, it's not!" "It's not right!" " Why?" " Because it's out by two figures." " All the way along." " So?" "That's normal!" " No way." "In you go." "Stand up straight before you sit." "Sit down." "The teacher will give us some and we'll stick them in." "Yes, because he gives the orders." "We don't give the orders, you give them, sir." "Yes, but when we grow up, we'll order our children around." "Exactly!" "Maybe you'll be a teacher one day too?" "You'll order your pupils around." "Would you like that?" "You too?" "Me too, I want to do the same as you." "The same as me?" "You want to be a teacher?" " l want to be a motorcycle cop." " How about you?" "What do you want to do, Létitia?" "She wants to be a vet." "A vet?" "What's a vet?" "A doctor for animals." "You want to look after animals?" "So you want to be a veterinarian?" "A farmer gives the vet his sick animals." "And what does Jessie want to be?" "A teacher." "Teacher." "Teacher?" "Mister Jojo!" "And a motorcycle cop." "What would you do if you were a teacher?" "What do teachers do?" "They make the big ones, first years and kindergarten work." "Big ones, first year and kindergarten?" "All at once?" "No, not all at once." "One after another?" "I'll finish it later." "It's lopsided." "Like this." "It's leaning like that." "It's like this." "Look, I'll show you." "It leans like this." "is it leaning too far?" "Can you show us how, Marie?" "That's good." "Very good." "Go on." "Go on, Alizé." "Want me to do the dots for you?" "Go on." "Good." "One, two, three, four, five, six..." "What comes after six?" "What comes next?" "What did you draw just now?" "What was that red one?" "What did we learn today?" "She can't remember?" "Let's try Alizé or Marie, then." "What was the new number we just learned?" "Seven." "Who does seven come after?" "After?" "Six?" "It comes... lt comes after nine." "All right..." "We haven't learned nine yet." "After six!" "Six." "One, two, three, four, five, six..." " And then comes?" " Seven." "What comes after six?" "Marie just said it." "Wake up, will you?" "Seven!" "Count again now." "Six." "What did Marie say after six?" "She said?" "Seven." "We have to help her." "Move, Cocotte!" "Move, Joyeuse!" "Read this first..." "Then you'll be able to do it." "Her spelling is perfect." "In a dictation, she always tells me where to put the accents." "The others are always impressed." "There again, for mathematics, it's the opposite... ln mathematics, she needs..." "You have to help her along." "I don't know how you explain it but I explain it to her the way I learned it." "That's a good way too." "It's not easy though." "I can tell she's lost at times." "Then I think I got it wrong." "I say to Pascal," ""Tell her your way, maybe she'll understand better." ""lt must be the words I use, so you explain."" "I told my brother, Alain," ""You're younger, maybe you know equations better."" "He said he didn't learn that way either." "I tell her to do as usual and let Mr Lopez correct it." "I hope we'll understand then because we're at a loss." "If you were totally available, I don't think it would change." "I don't think so." "That's how it is." "She feels freer with people from the outside... than with her parents." "Well now, this may be hard to say..." " l don't think this is true of you - but you mustn't take offence at this as a mother because her development is what counts." "She could be happier." "I mean, she isn't..." "So, in a way, if she seems less close to you, I'd say it's just a transition." "A necessary one." "What seems most important to me is to see her develop and be happy, even if she's a bit more distant with you." "It must be hard for you." "True, it's not easy." "But we've got used to her being distant from us, often off by herself, alone." "What surprised me was when she spoke to me out of the blue." "Out of the blue?" "I thought I was hearing things, that it wasn't her." "Then we carried on talking for part of playtime like that." "It was wonderful." "I can believe that if you hear her voice all of a sudden, it makes you wonder." "As a matter of fact, she's Gemini like me." "But we're not at all alike." "Usually, they say that Geminis have a hidden side." "The ascendants must be different." "It's true, she tends to live... ln another world." "In her own world." "Let's correct the dictation." "Everyone ready?" "Another dictation... I was saying that to myself." ""Another dictation."" "I just realized that it's been thirty-five years since I started giving dictations." "You've been here for thirty-five years?" "I've been here for twenty years." " That's not bad." " You're right." "How many dictations have I given?" "A thousand..." "Two..." " More?" " Three hundred!" "More than that?" "Five hundred!" "I've never counted them." "The amount doesn't matter." "I still have another year and a half of dictations to do." "Why?" "is the school closing?" "I'm going to stop giving dictations." "You're stopping it all." "No more mathematics, no more vocabulary, no more reading." "We'll go on strike, then." "No, you won't be here any longer." "Will you be able to keep on teaching pupils?" "Help them understand their homework?" "Of course, a lot of teachers do that." "They take the time, the free time that they have and devote it, in the evenings, to helping children with homework." "But... I don't know." "There's a lot I want to do." "Like go to Tahiti?" " Not particularly." " lt's expensive." "is Tahiti better than this place?" "No, this place is better." "But there's no sea here." "You've got sea in Brittany." " Will you live upstairs?" " Where?" "Upstairs." "I don't know yet." "That would be nice." "Perhaps I'll have to move out too." "Why?" "Perhaps the new teacher will need to live at the school." "Why not nearby?" "I'll have to give up my house." "If the new one lives nearby?" "We'll have to wait and see." "But, in theory, I'll be leaving." "You'll be at middle school." "Are they clean?" "They were even dirtier earlier." "Do you think they're clean now?" "You scrubbed them to get them clean?" " So what do you need to do?" " Scrub them." " How?" " With soap." "With soap, yes." "And the sponge." "I want to see sparkling clean hands." "I can't reach the sponge." "Look, there's one behind you." "Two, in fact." "There." "And don't slam the door on your way out." "You can leave it open." "I saw a wasp." "Go and wash your hands, please." "There!" "There, you see." "I'll dry them on the cloth now." "Just a second." "Sir, look." "The thumb..." "The tiny finger and thumb are washed." "Let me see." "There's a bit left on the thumb." "On the little finger!" "The thumb's here." "What do you call this one?" "The in... dex!" " The..." " Miggle finger." " The ring.." " Finger." "The li..." " The lit..." " Litre!" "The little finger!" "He said little?" "No, he said litre!" "All done?" "I just need to rub them on the cloth." "There's a bit left on the thumb." "There!" "There's some pen on my forehead too." "On your forehead?" "How do you know?" "You can't see." "No, but Laura told me." "She did?" "Those are clean hands." "is that okay too?" "Nearly all gone." "Go and dry off." "We've got a ball like that in our car..." "And the other side?" "That's clean." "The forehead's clean too." "We've got a ball like this." "We're going to keep it here." "That's good." "Try to stay clean now." "All clean." "Do you feel better now?" "Can I wash my hands now?" "Wait a second..." "Wait." "That wasp that was outside is in the corridor." "It was in the corridor?" "It went to the door and back." "Maybe to see what you were up to?" "It came and went... lt was wondering, "ls Jojo washing his hands?" ""Does he still have ink on them?" Was it wondering that?" "It was looking at me like this when I washed my forehead." "Really?" "Maybe it wanted a closer look." "Maybe it wanted to sting me." "Cléo!" "Quick, close the gate!" "No, I'm doing it!" "Hurry!" "Jessie, pull it back!" "I'm doing it!" "Both of us!" "Out of the way, Johann!" "Out of the way!" "Cut it out, I'm doing it!" "Cut it out!" "Are you crazy?" "Just cut it out!" "I won't be able to go skating now." "What's wrong, Jojo?" "Why did you push me?" "Come on, we'll tell the teacher." " What happened?" " He just pushed me!" " Who?" " Johann!" " He pushed you?" " ln the grass." "Johann!" "Come here." "What did you do?" "I pushed Jojo." "Why did you..." "Come here." "Why did you push him?" "Come here." "Why do you push him?" " l don't know." " You don't know?" "is that a nice thing to do?" "So don't do it again!" "If he pushes you, what will you say?" "Will you be pleased?" "So don't do it, then." "Apologize to him." "I'm sorry, Jojo." "Louder." "We didn't hear." "I'm sorry, Jojo." "There." "All right now, Jojo?" "Play a bit more." "And don't argue again." "My father always said that the ground was a long way down." "He knew what he was saying!" "He was a farmhand for a long time before moving on and getting his own plot of land." "Above all, he didn't want me to do the same job as him." "When I helped him, I could see how hard it was." "That decided me to do something else." "Where was he from originally?" "My father was of Spanish origin." "He was what's known as an emigrant." "He had come to France young and worked a lot on building sites until... until he met my mother and settled in France for good." "When he decided to become French, in fact." "He hardly ever returned home, back to Andalucia." "What made you want to be a teacher?" "I wanted to from an early age, from when I first went to school." "I liked being at school a lot." "I liked it so much I'd spend the days off playing the teacher for all the children around me, even those my age." "I had a group of cousins that I used to teach like that and I really enjoyed it." "That enjoyment stayed with me and I don't think I could have done any other job." "Even now, I realize, on the verge of retirement," "that I love this work with the children." "It takes time and personal involvement and the wonderful thing is the children return it." "They return it over and over." "Your parents must have been proud of you." "For them, a son who wanted to teach was a step up." "And they fuelled that desire, even going so far as to make serious financial efforts." "I felt somehow that I was obliged to succeed." "For their sake too." "Are they still alive?" "I lost my father the year I arrived here, in Auvergne." "I got here just after." "My mother still lives down south." ""Do you hear..." ""those strange sounds?" ""ln the night..." " "the floord..." " The floorb..." ""The floorboards..." "squeak..." ""A sh..."" "Shutter." ""cr..."" "Creaks." ""The cat meows," ""the rain..." ""f..."" "Falls." ""A b..."" "Dog." ""A dog barks."" "Close it!" "Close it!" "Wait, it's the wrong way round." "It's no good." "Put it in the bin." "Come back here, Marie." "Another bad one." "Maybe like this?" "Let me try to understand." "I know what we can try." "No, stop doing it." "I understand... I understand now." "It's because there's no more paper!" "No, you're doing it upside down." "Yes, I'm doing it upside down." " No, not like that." " Stop shoving me!" "Not like that!" "It's upside down!" "Cut it out, Marie!" "Not like that. lt's upside down." "You won't understand either." "When the friend's a boy, "ami", we use this one." "You have the A, the M and the I." "When it's a girl, as in, "Létitia is Jojo's friend,"" "we use the one with the E at the end, okay?" "When it's masculine, a boy, masculine, we use "ami" with the I and when it's feminine, when it's a girl, we use "amie", with an E at the end." "Shall I show you again?" " Who do I use this for?" " A boy." " And this one?" " A girl." " Have you done your sentences?" " l have." "All right, Marie, read yours now." ""Marie..." ""and her friend..." ""her friend Jessie."" "That's good. ls it right?" "What have you written, Jojo?" ""Daddy" ""and his friend Jojo."" "Can you say that?" "Can you say that?" ""Létitia..." ""and" ""friend..."" "Her..." ""Jojo."" "No, that's no good." "You have to put" ""her" before "friend"." "The "friend" goes next to "Jojo"." "That's right." ""Her" before "friend"." "Move the "her" round." "Yes, that's it." "Over to you now, Johann." ""Johann..." ""and..."" "His..." ""pal..."" "Pal?" "I didn't give you the "pal" card." "Friend." ""Johann and..."" "He doesn't recognize it." ""His"." "Friend." "Go on, now we've told you." ""...his pal..."" "Where's he getting "pal" from?" "It's not "pal", it's "friend"." ""...friend daddy."" "All right." "If you say "mummy" instead, what do you change?" "Pal, in the feminine." "No, friend!" "We didn't get to pal yet." "Who's coming here next year?" "Julien and..." "And who else?" "Olivier." "Nathalie and Jonathan are going to a school in Issoire." "Recognize these cows?" " They're Limousines." " No, Salers." "Call yourself an expert?" "You got it wrong." "Don't you recognize the Salers' lyre-shaped horns?" "Did you recognize them?" "Here you have books on music." "There, all the books about art, the plastic arts, drawing, sculpture, photography..." "Here, the books about animals and here all the geography and history books." "In the first year of middle school, you have one hour a week in the library, working with the librarian." "We have lots of books, lots of magazines here." "We have computers." "You need to learn your way around or you won't be able to find the book you need." "How far can we count up to?" "A hundred." "A hundred then." "Are there other numbers after that?" "Can we keep going?" "How far?" "To a thousand." "Can you go further than a thousand?" "A thousand and one, a thousand and two..." " A thousand and three..." " We can go further." "How far can we go after?" "Up until..." "Can we go beyond a thousand and four?" "And five!" "Can we go even further?" "Can we say a thousand and twenty-one?" "Can we say that, Jojo?" "We can." "How far can we go after that?" "Can we keep on counting?" "Without stopping?" "Can we say two thousand?" " Three thousand?" " Three thousand, four thousand..." "Five thousand." "Six thousand." " Seven thousand." " Seven thousand, eight, nine..." "Ten thousand." "Twenty thousand." "Thirty thousand." "Forty thousand." "Fifty thousand." "Sixty thousand." "Seventy thousand." " Eighty..." " Thousand." "Ninety..." "Thousand." " After ninety..." " One hundred thousand!" "Can we go beyond that?" "We have to stop there?" "We can't go on counting?" "One billion." "What's next?" "Two..." "Two billion, three billion, four billion, five billion... eight billion..." "Can you say twelve billion?" "Fifteen billion... lt's like when you pay with notes." "With notes?" "Do you have a lot of notes in your piggy bank?" " Only two." " Two isn't bad." "Can you go beyond billions?" "Sir, look at all the animals..." "Yes, they're good." "Can you go beyond billions?" "It stops there?" "You told me we could count forever." "Can we go on counting?" "You think not?" " Jessie's crying, sir." " She's crying?" "Has she hurt herself?" " What do you think is wrong?" " Her nose." "Axel's hurt Jessie and she's crying too." "Jessie's crying?" "Hand me your plate, please." "Want some sauce?" "Hold out your plate." "Want some fish?" "There's no bones in it." "Want some sauce?" "I don't want any!" "Let's give it to your friend then." "Have a biscuit." "I have to move along?" "Look out!" "We won't know until the end of June if you're in or not, so you'll need to work hard." "Just because you're moving up to middle school, that doesn't mean you can stop now." "You'll have to remember whatever comes next so it can help you next year." "At least I think so." "Don't slacken off now." "Who's that?" "How's your father doing?" "He's okay." "is he home?" "Everything's okay, then?" " What?" " Yes and no." "What do you mean, yes and no?" "He's not totally cured." "Does he have to go back?" "So he's resting at home for now?" "You know why he's going back?" "Does he have to go back?" "Do you know why?" "He'll be okay after, won't he?" "He has to go back one more time, then it's over." "He'll rest a bit, then he'll be fine." "Has he been home for long?" "Yes, since..." "A week now?" " Three weeks." " Three weeks already?" "Since the first operation?" "Do you know what they'll do next?" "Remove his larynx." "Remove what?" " What are they removing?" " His larynx." "So that's where it was?" "They'll keep on treating him after, won't they?" "Sickness is part of life." "You try to stay healthy but then along it comes and you have to live with it." "Take a deep breath, Nathalie." "I don't believe it..." "Come on, Nathalie!" "Well done!" "I felt a drop of rain!" "Ouch!" "I felt a drop in my hair!" "You can see them. lt's raining." "A drop just landed on my foot!" "Come on!" "Axel and Alizé!" "Are you ready?" "Hold your satchel over your head!" "Ready?" "Let's go!" "Quick, Alizé, hurry!" "Axel, wait!" "Hurry up, Alizé!" "Here I come!" ""Soon..." Comma." ""it will be time..."" "Okay, Olivier?" ""Soon, it will be time..." ""for the performance..."" "How does it manage to turn?" "It follows the rails, remember." "Itjust keeps going." "What does derail mean?" "Haven't you ever seen a derailed train on TV?" "When it falls on its side." "Alizé, want to try some?" "Quick, it's runny." "It's runny!" "I'm full." "You ate too fast?" "Hey, that's my hat!" "Alizé!" "Alizé!" "Here she is!" "Go on in, this is your school." "Here's Valentin back here." "Do you know everybody?" "Sit down." "I'll introduce your friends." "The big ones first." "This is Nathalie." "Julien..." "Guillaume..." "Jonathan and Olivier, the big ones." "But only Guillaume will be left next year." "This is Axel." "And this is Laura, like you." "We'll have two Lauras." " That's Jojo!" " Yes, you know Jojo." "Come along, you little ones." "This is Johann..." "Jojo..." "Létitia..." "Jessie, with the little thing in her hair." "Over there, Marie..." "Do you know Marie?" "Have you seen your sister Marie?" "And this is Alizé." "Léa." "I'm Thomas." "Océane." "What's your name?" "What's your name?" "Tell them your name." "My name is..." "What?" "Valentin." "Here we have another Valentin." "That makes two Valentins and two Lauras as well." " Where was your old school?" " Le Vernet." "The school in Le Vernet." "You'll be with Laura and Axel next year." "There'll just be the three of you." "Did you already know Laura?" "You didn't... I knew her." "You know everyone, don't you?" "Do you want to sit with your friends over there?" "Do you want to play?" "Marie and Létitia, can you show them the games?" "Go and play Valentin." "Show him how to play." "What's the matter, Valentin?" "is something wrong?" "Mummy..." "She'll be here soon." "What do you want to do?" "Mummy..." "Your mummy's coming for you later, okay?" "Stay here with us a while and then she'll come for you." "Look, everyone else is here." "They're not crying." "Valentin!" "Your sister's here." "Want to sit next to her?" "Do you want do draw something?" "Do you want to play?" " What do you want?" " l want my mummy!" "She's gone for a walk outside but she'll be back for you soon." "I'll put you down to play here." "Your mummy will be here soon but not just yet." "Do you want to sit by Océane?" "Stay with Océane." "Can you look after your brother?" "She's coming back." "You have to wait here." "Wait for her." "Océane's waiting nice and quietly." "She's playing, so is Valentin." "Do you want to play too?" "Do you some?" "Play with him, Alizé." "Play with Valentin." "You too, Marie." "He doesn't want to?" "Leave him, then." "She's hasn't left, she's waiting." "I want to see her!" "You're going to see her." "But not just yet." "Don't shout like that." "She's coming for you later." "Want to play with a car?" "She's coming later." "She isn't lost, she's here." "The time has come to talk about your results and to see if you move up next year." "All right, Julien..." "Even though your results aren't totally satisfactory, we're sending you up to middle school." "You'll be going to that school we went to visit, the one in St Germain I'Herm, for next year." "But you'll have to knuckle down straightaway." "As I said, your results aren't totally satisfactory so maybe there's room for improvement." "In what subjects?" "Mathematics." " ls that all?" " And French." "You have your work cut out with maths and French." "I think you need to improve your attitude." "You won't have a teacher who can look after you personally anymore." "And the punishment can be harsher, according to your attitude when you refuse, when you argue or when you don't agree." "When you couldn't care less." "You make it obvious." "When you sigh... I won't be there to help." "Maybe I can help from afar but I won't be there." "Now then, Olivier..." "Off to St Germain too." "Are you pleased?" "Like Julien, you'll need to improve your results." "I've asked them to make someone available to help you with the class work to bring you up to scratch in the subjects where you're lagging behind." "It'll be just the two of you." "Since you'll be together, try to get along better." "What are you going to do?" "Stick together." "All right but don't let yourselves get isolated." "Maybe you can defend each other." "Some of them will try to beat you up at first." "It happens." "You're as strong as an ox, Julien." "If Olivier's in trouble... if he's getting attacked, maybe you could get stuck in." "In any case, you're no wimp either." "You can stand up for yourself." "Now then, what's the problem?" "You want to keep your own company?" "Or is it just that you can't manage to talk to others?" "Shall I tell you what I think?" "I think you can do it but don't really feel like it for now." "Am I wrong?" "is that right or not quite?" "Do you mind talking about it?" "We have to talk about it." "You talk a lot more with me and the others now." "But it's still hard for you at times." "I've noted that so your new teachers will know that it's hard for you." "I had to tell them." "Don't you think so?" "Was I wrong to say that?" "Tell me." "I was right to let them know so they can keep an eye on you." "is that right?" "I think you'll be okay, Nathalie." "With a bit of effort, everything will be fine." "You'll be with older children, you'll make new friends... lt'll be much better." "We have to say goodbye one day." "is that what's bothering you?" "is that it?" "All I wanted... was to carry on... helping you by letting your teachers know." "You'll work hard, I know." "You like work." "Do you think you'll need someone to help you with this problem of not being able to communicate?" "is it important?" "Were we right to talk about it?" "Do you feel better now?" "You can still come and talk to me." "Next year." "Do you have school on Saturdays?" "Come and see me then." "Would you like to come over then?" "I'll expect you every Saturday." "You'll come, won't you?" "You can tell me all about middle school, things I don't know... I'm here and I don't know what they do there." "You can tell me all about it and show me your work." "You'll tell me how you're doing..." "You can come here with Létitia." "That way, we'll still see one another." "is everyone ready?" "Good." "I stopped before you lowered your hands." "You shouldn't have." "I stopped at the same time." "You're going to leave now." "It's the last time that you'll leave this year." "Goodbye, sir!" "Can't you stop?" "Goodbye, sir." "Enjoy the holidays!" "Enjoy the holidays." "Goodbye, Johann." "Goodbye, Marie." "Létitia, goodbye." "I'll hold onto these two." "Goodbye, Laura." "Goodbye, Axel." "I have to get up for you." "Goodbye, Nathalie." "Work hard next year." "Bye." "See you around." "Goodbye, sir." "Goodbye, Jonathan." "Enjoy the holidays." "Subtitles:" "Ian Burley" "Processed by L.V.T." " Paris"