Euro-Meeting

Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline

2011-09-07T16:01:00.000+02:00

Subprime Crisis

2011-09-07T15:53:00.001+02:00

By using the following graphs from the documentary Inside Job, explain how did happen the crisis?

Walmart : a multinational company

2011-09-07T15:24:00.000+02:00

Walmart is an American public multinationalcorporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehousestores. The company was the world'slargest public corporation in 2010 by revenue. The organisation has approximately2.1 million workers.
The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31,1969, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Walmart,headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, is the largest majority privateemployer Walmart is also the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In2009, it generated 51% of its US$258 billion sales in the U.S. from grocerybusiness.

Walmart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under 55 different names. Thecompany operates under its own name in the United States, including the 50states. It also operates under its own name in Puerto Rico. It operates inMexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, in Japan as Seiyu, and inIndia as Best Price. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, andCanada. Walmart's investments outside North America have had mixed results: itsoperations in the United Kingdom, South America and China are highlysuccessful, while it was forced to pull out of Germany and South Korea whenventures there were unsuccessful.

http://topbusinessworld.blogspot.com

The World of Wal-Mart

Action Alleys

Wal-Mart in China

Commercials

London 2011

2011-07-14T18:14:00.027+02:00

Le temps fort de l'année scolaire fut le séjour à Londres pour les Première et Terminale Euro, du 19 au 23 mars 2011.

Un travail en amont fut réalisé par les élèves sur le thème : Londres, ville-monde.

Les différentes caractéristiques de la métropole furent partagées entre les groupes :

La puissance économique à travers les quartiers de Canary Wharf, le magasin Harrods ou les boutiques de Camden Town, Carnaby Street, Oxford Street et Covent Garden.

La puissance politique grâce à la visite du Parlement, la rencontre avec Lord Faulkner of Worcester et la visite de l'Imperial War Museum et des Cabinet War Rooms.

La puissance culturelle selon les musées suivants : Tate Modern, British Museum, Proud Camden Gallery, Serpentine Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, National Gallery et le spectacle We Will Rock You au Dominion Theatre.

La politique de développement durable avec la visite de différents quartiers : Notting Hill, Kensington, Docklands et le Greenwich Millenium Village.

La gestion des transports : métro et Saint Pancras.

Le cosmopolitisme de la capitale : le personnel de la Saatchi Gallery ou celui de l'auberge de jeunesse.

Un livret de voyage fut produit avant le départ leur permettant aussi de travailler sur la cartographie des différents lieux.

Sur place, pour pouvoir pratiquer la langue anglaise, les élèves avaient la consigne d'effectuer des interviews de Londoniens répondant aux problématiques de leur groupe. Leurs initiatives ont parfaitement répondu aux attentes.

Ces travaux ont permis de créer un film de 50 minutes qui a été présenté aux familles lors d'une soirée rassemblant une centaine de personnes au lycée.

The Pillars of the Earth

2010-12-08T17:52:00.003+01:00

H.B.O. broadcasted Rome about the transition between Republic and Empire.

Henri VIII was, on Showtime, the hero of The Tudors.
Starz, another US cable channel, has chosen The Pillars of the Earth as their lead program last summer.

The scene takes place during the 12th century. The story is based on Ken Follett's best seller.
How was daily life in a monastery ?
How did a cathedral become a power issue ?

Feeding The World

2010-11-14T17:00:00.012+01:00

How Ethanol Fuels The Food Crisis ?

This cartoon shows a man who is filling up in a service station. We can guess thanks to the advert above him that he's acting for the planet using ethanol. He seems ecological on account of the stickers on his car : « Save The Planet » and a drawing of a green tree. All seems normal until we see the other character in the foreground. An African man is knelt next to the exhaust pipe. He may be poor owing to his thinness – we see his ribs – and the fact that he's only wearing a dirty pair of shorts. Furthermore, he's barefoot. What catches our eyes is a bucket of pop corn that he's holding. This element makes us think that he 's expecting food to fall from the pipe. He's very surprised to discover that nothing comes, as reveals his expression and his creased forehead. Throughout this cartoon, the author makes us understand that our wish to protect the planet using bio fuels makes us forget and neglect the health of the inhabitants of the South countries. This drawing shows the contrast between the North and the South population. Indeed, the black man represents the South whereas the other character is the representation of the North. Meanwhile the poor population is dying of hunger, the richest are using food to fuel their car. However, this corn could prevent undernutrition.
(Laila, Pauline, Maxime, Margaux, Christophe).

What first strikes me is the imposing yellow car. Inside, there are three persons: the father, the mother and their son. A black man is eating corn and in the same time he's pulling the car with cords. He hasn't shoes and he looks tired. He represents the poorness because he's tiny unlike the family in the big car who looks happy and who is bigger than him. It represents the richness. The driver is saying: « There! It's a win-win!!! » The first “win” is because the man can drive to save oil and the second “win” is for the black man who can eat. (Auriane, Thomas).

The scene takes place somewhere in Africa. There are two people: the first is rich and the other is poor. The poor person is a young child sitting on the ground. This one is very scrawny and is starving to death. He seems naked and he has just a plate in his hand. We think that he illustrates the South. There is also another person, who is rich and fat. He contrasts in this landscape because it's a period of drought. He's wearing a blue suit, a white shirt and a tie that proves us that he has lot of money. The big man is maybe an illustration of the North. The picture shows us the high unfairness and inequity between North and South. Moreover, the South's landscape is unbearable because the land is dry and there aren’t trees or plants. (Adélaïde, Laura).

In the background, we can see a man, his wife and their two children. They are the small farmers who produce raw materials for the northern countries. The baby is crying. The father is shouting that he can't buy anything anymore. The life's conditions are difficult. In the foreground, we can see a rich man who wears a suit. He is sitting in a big chair behind a desk We notice two computers, a phone and a financial magazine there. We can guess that he is a trader who looks after his stocks and doesn't share them with hungry people. They ask him for help and he doesn't care about them. The southern family is hungry and doesn't know how to produce more. The trader should give money to them so that they could use irrigation and chemicals products to be self-sufficient. (Fanny, Violette, Linus)

This document is divided into two parts: the left part of the cartoon represents the global north population, and the right one represents the global south population. At first, we'll speak about the cartoonist vision of the North. The car looks like a carnivorous since it has a big mouth and teeth. Next to the car, we can see a big and fat man who is feeding his vehicle with world food represented by a cornucopia, which transforms aliments in bio-fuels. On the opposite side, there are a skeletal woman with her baby who is crying because of the hunger. Thanks to Bio-fuels cars pollute less, but the food problem in the world isn't resolved. (Emma, Alex, Adèle, Amandine)

This document is a color-cartoon, drawn by Chappatte. The date of the publication is unknown. The scene takes place in a gas station. We can divide the document into two parts, the rich man on the right and the starving people on the left. It focuses on Bio Ethanol, and the problem of this sustainable solution. What first strikes me is the relaxed and rich-looking man who's serving himself with biological ethanol (made with corn). He's wearing a green shirt with a blue trouser, besides he is a white-skinned man and is a bit plump. He has got a big green car and on his license plate we can see a sticker where is written: “GO GREEN”. The man is saying:”Sorry, I'm busy saving the planet” to an Asian and an African. One of them is holding an empty bowl. First of all, the man's corpulence shows us that he's got a good way of living and enough money to buy Bio Ethanol in contrary to the two poor characters on the left, which don't have any money at all and nothing to eat. In the rich countries, the population should reduce the inequality and help the poor countries to develop the food production and to be self-sufficient. The cartoonist draws our attention to the fact that rich people are busy about environment instead of feeding the poor part of the world. To put it in a nutshell, it's good to save the planet however we shouldn't forget the people needing something to eat. If we begin to use food instead of oil, consequently the number of people who are in sub-nutrition will increase. This document highlights inequalities between North and South countries in the world. (Clara, Anna, Clémentine, Chloé)

The Millenium Development Goals

2010-09-26T10:48:00.003+02:00

Find further informations on the World Bank website

Breathingearth

2010-09-15T18:06:00.003+02:00

You can compare CO2 emissions, birth rate and death rate worldwide : here.

This interactive map shows possible impacts of the global warming : here.

Human Development

2010-09-11T11:23:00.005+02:00

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Human Development : here

Ellis Island

2010-09-03T15:56:00.002+02:00

An Interactive Tour Of Ellis Island : here

What is Ellis Island ? Where is located ?
What was its purpose ? When was it opened ?
How many rooms did the immigrants have to go through ?
Describe each of the stages ?

London in 1900

2010-08-20T15:32:00.002+02:00

The Pocket Atlas and Guide to London 1900 : here

London

2010-07-03T21:35:00.003+02:00

You can read below a preview of our trip to London. Students are ready to cross the Channel in March 2011 !

Southwark

2010-06-10T15:58:00.017+02:00

In Southwark, we can visit the Imperial War Museum which covers conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth from the First World War to the present days.

The Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms are one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum. It's a historic underground complex that housed a British government command centre throughout the Second World War and the Churchill Museum, a biographical museum exploring the life of British statesman Winston Churchill.

Westminster

2010-06-10T15:55:00.018+02:00

The district of Westminster which means "le monastère ouest" in french is located in central London. If it is famous for its huge and antique abbey, this area is also known as the seat of the British Government.

Let's begin the visit with Buckingham Palace !

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British Monarch. Built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, it was subsequently acquired by George VII in 1761 for his wife. Finally, in 1837 it became the palace of the British Monarch on Queen Victoria's accession to the throne (Queen Victoria whose statue is erected in front of the main gate of the palace). Unfortunatly, the ceremonial rooms of the palace can only be visited from July to September, so we probably won't see them.

Then, we should visit the British parliament that is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories, which is composed of two houses : the house of Lords and the house of Commons. These two houses sit in the same place : the Houses of Parliament in Westminster also known also Palace of Westminster is finally as famous for his political function as for his clock tower. The Parliament is open to United Kingdoms residents but also to overseas visitors. Actually, you can attend debates, watch judicial hearings.

In, this street, there is the very famous toy's shop : Hamleys. There are more than 1800 different toys on 7 levels. For example, the 1st floor is reserved for the board games and the sweet shop. What's more, the 3rd floor is only for the girl toys while the 5st floor is for the boys toys. Then, we will go to Covent garden where cars are prohibited so it's the perfect place for eating or doing shopping.

To conclude, we can visit the Dominion theatre where we can attend musicals like the famous We Will Rock You with the music of Queen.

Greenwich

2010-06-10T15:54:00.021+02:00

The Royal Observatory is famous as the source of the Prime Meridian line that divides the East from the West. The Prime Meridian is the meridian which has 0° like longitude. It’s an imaginary line which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.

The National Maritime Museum shows us the heritage of the English marine history.

Moreover, we can cross the Thames thanks to a foot tunnel.

Camden

2010-06-10T15:53:00.010+02:00

Camden Town is situated in the North of London. It's very famous for its punk culture and the Stables Market.

In this borough, we can visit the British museum for free ! So, you can see the wonderful Elgin Marbles, the Cristal Skull, the Egyptian room... and many objects of different cultures of all around the world like Asia, Africa...

Regent's Park is known for its many fountains, flowers, trees, boating lake, the London Zoo, and all areas where you can do many sports like Football, Tennis, Cricket, Hockey, Rugby...

The Roundhouse is a musical venue in Camden. Many popular bands came to the Roundhouse like Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Patty Smith, The Rolling Stones, Motörhead, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors... Recently, Opeth recorded a live DVD. Mc Fly, Oasis, Snow Patrol, Kasabian came to play to the Itune Festival and nextly The Dead Weather, The Chemical Brothers and Keane will play.

Kensington and Chelsea

2010-06-10T15:51:00.011+02:00

First of all, Hyde Park. It's one of the largest parks in central London and one of the Royal Park of London. This park has become a traditional location for mass demonstrations or some famous rock concerts : Queen (1976), Red Hot Chili Peepers (2004) or the Foo Fighters.

While you are walking along the Park, you can see the Round Pond; a part of Kensington Garden; the Serpentine Gallery (it is an art gallery which takes its name to the river called Serpentine); the Diana Fountain (a memorial to Diana the beloved princess of Wales); the Speakers' Corner (which is a place where everybody can speak).

On the other side of the road, the Royal Albert Hall, is located, which received more than 350 performances including classical concert, rock and pop, ballets and opera, tennis, awards ceremony, school and community events, charity performances : Pink Floyd (1969) ; The Corrs (1998) ; The Killers (2009)...

Portobello Road is a street in the Nothing Hill district known for its market (every Saturdays) and for its antique stores ! Every August, since 1996, the Portobello Film Festival has been held in locations around Portobello Road (documentaries, music films and animation...)

Tower Hamlets

2010-06-10T15:50:00.017+02:00

If you go to Tower Hamlets, you can visit some famous places and monuments like Tower bridge. Tower bridge is famous worldwide for its very special architecture : it is constituated by two towers, with a rigid suspension. It's a bascule bridge or a suspension bridge. This bridge is crossed by 40 000 persons everyday.

After, you can visit the Central Business District of Tower Hamlets : Canary Wharf. It takes place next to the Thames. In this district we can see three of the biggest skyscrapers of United Kingdom. It's located in the heart of the Docklands who is the most famous harbor center.

Then, we can go to Victoria Park. It's a large public park extending to the east of London. The entire park is located in the borough of Tower Hamlets. Moreover, every June, there is the famous Paradise Gardens Music Festival with jazz bands, street art....

Banglatown is a famous district of Tower Hamlets because it's the first to have welcomed people from Bangladesh. The most famous street of this district is Brick Lane.

The City of London

2010-06-10T15:48:00.028+02:00

This borough of London is an important economic place with the London Stock Exchange and the main bank of HSBC. What's more, there are nice monuments like St Paul's Church or the Tate Modern Museum. In order to cross the river Thames, the Millenium Bridge was built. You can also see the Gherkin.

A general view of the City of London

The Millenium bridge

St Paul's cathedral

HSBC Bank

London Stock Exchange

Tate Modern

Euroscola

2010-03-22T17:18:00.006+01:00

Remontez le compte à rebours, voguez au gré du parcours des lycéens de Racan à Strasbourg !

Finale Eurogame

2010-02-12T17:18:00.010+01:00

En fin de journée, a eu lieu la finale d'Eurogame. Les gagnants du questionnaire, qui s'est déroulé au moment du déjeuner, se sont regroupés pour former des équipes de 4 (de nationalités différentes). Parmi eux, une terminale du Lycée Racan figurait dans l'équipe verte. Le principe de la finale était de répondre à 3 questions culturelles, et 3 questions musicales. L'équipe bleue remporta les coupes. Ce fut un moment qui permit à tout le monde de se détendre après une longue journée. Enfin, tous les élèves qui ont représenté leur pays le matin ont défilé avec les drapeaux des pays membres au son de l'Hymne à la joie.

At the end of the day, the Eurogame final took place. The winners of the lunchtime questionnaire got back into their teams. One of our Lycée Racan's pupils was in the green team. The aim was to answer three cultural questions and three musical questions. The blue team won the cup. During the final we were able to relax after a long and tiring day. Last but not least, all the pupils who had represented their countries in the morning carried the European member flags around the room, accompanied by the Ode to Joy.

The german point of view;)

2010-02-12T16:57:00.011+01:00

I remember that I was so excited to go to Germany, to get the possibility to speak my language and actually be able to understand everything! Also Kehl is situated in Baden- Württemberg, in the south of Germany where I've never been before. The people I spoke to (a policeman and a bypasser) sounded strange to me because of their funny little south-accent. When we finally arrived at the townhall, everyone was so excited about the modern building, and in front of my inner eye the picture of Château town-hall appeared, so I could understand the others excitement. The bretzel (and this is how you write it!) was good and Germans do drink also mineralwater .

After the nice greeting we went shopping in Kehl. It was a shame that we didn't had more time but I enjoyed it very much. We returned to France passing the famous French-German-friendship bridge which connects Kehl and Strasbourg. Of course, we stopped and took a group picture. My friend and me were laughing about a jogger who was crossing the bridge from France to Germany, obviously he felt like taking a short trip to the neighbour-country. It's really great that there are no borders anymore and that you can cross a bridge and find yourself in another country. No borders between countries and above all no borders between "those people there" and "us", that is what being European is about.

J'étais très impatiente d'aller en Allemgne, pour avoir la possibilité de parler ma langue maternelle et être en mesure de comprendre tout ! Par ailleurs, Kehl est situé dans le Land de Bade-Wurtenberg, au Sud de l'Allemagne où je n'avais jamais mis les pieds. Le léger accent du sud du policier et du passant à qui je me suis adressé m'a semblé bien étrange. Quand nous sommes arrivés à la mairie, tous les élèves étaient très excités à propos de l'architecture de ce bâtiment. Je me suis imaginé, à mon arrivée, en face de celui de Château du Loir et j'ai ainsi pu les comprendre. Le bretzel (c'est ainsi que l'on écrit ce mot) était très bien et sachez que les Allemands boivent aussi de l'eau minérale et pas que de l'eau gazeuse comme vous pouvez l'imaginer. Après ce charmant accueil, nous avons profité d'un temps libre de shopping dans la ville. Quel dommage que nous avons pas eu plus de temps pour en profiter car j'ai beaucoup apprécié ce moment. Nous sommes rentrés en France en empruntant la fameuse passerelle entre Kehl et Strasbourg qui symbolise l'amitié franco-allemande. Nous nous sommes arrêtés sur la frontière pour une photo de groupe. Mon amie et moi avons plaisanté au sujet d'un jogger qui traversait le pont et qui, de toute évidence, avait l'impression de voyager entre la France et son pays voisin. C'est une vraie chance qu'il n'y ait plus de frontières, que nous puissions franchir un pont et se retrouver dans un autre pays. Plus de frontières entre les pays et surtout plus de différences entre "ces gens là-bas" et "nous", c'est ce qu'être européen signifie.

Dans la peau d'un parlementaire

2010-02-11T14:07:00.017+01:00

En début d'après midi, nous sommes retournés dans l'Hémicycle afin de confronter nos résultats sur chacun de nos débats. Pour voter, nous avons utilisé le système de vote qu'on nous avait montré à la séance précédente. Chaque secrétaire de séance a présenté les propositions obtenues lors des débats aux "parlementaires" afin de leur expliquer la nécessité de l'amendement. Quand un texte avait été exposé, tout un chacun avait le droit de discuter un passage de l'amendement ou d'en proposer un nouveau. Puis, arrivait le vote. Au final, la totalité des 6 amendements a été adopté.

After debating the themes, we returned in the hemicycle to share our results from each of our debates. For voting we used the voting system that showed our previous session. Each secretary of the session presented the propositions obtained at the time of the parliamentary debates, at the end they explained the necessity of the amendment. When a text was exposed, everyone had the right to discuss a passage of the amendment or propose a new on. Then came the vote. At the end a total of six amendments were adopted.

An American in the European Parliament

2010-02-05T17:09:00.016+01:00

Being the only American, it was such an interesting experience for me to meet with all these European students, and hear what they had to say. The most interesting part for me was seeing how the European Union functions. It was really fascinating to see how so many different cultures and types of people come together to work on issues. I was also surprised to see how similar the USA's parliament and the European parliament are, like the way they discuss and vote on issues. This is also a problem in the US, however on a lesser scale since national laws always overide state laws. All in all, I really believe the system is quite similar to the USA's, just more complex . It truly was a great experience for me because I learnt issues that were important to all these different countries, and that together everyone is able to work to make Europe better as a whole.

Étant la seule Américaine, c'était une expérience intéressante pour moi de rencontrer les autres étudiants européens et entendre ce qu'ils avaient à dire. Le moment le plus intéressant pour moi était de voir comment les Européens fonctionnent. C'était vraiment fascinant de voir comment les différentes cultures et les différentes personnalités viennent ensemble travailler sur leurs problèmes. J'étais seulement surprise de voir à quel point le parlement des États-Unis était semblable au Parlement européen, dans la façon qu'ils discutent , qu'ils votent. Aux États-Unis, cependant, les lois nationales dépassent souvent les lois des états. Néanmoins, je crois vraiment que le système est un peu semblable aux États-Unis, juste plus complexe. C'était vraiment une expérience géniale pour moi parce que j'ai appris les problèmes qui étaient important pour les autres pays : travailler ensemble pour une Europe meilleure.

Kehl

2010-02-05T17:01:00.024+01:00

Après avoir traversé la frontière franco-allemande symbolisée par le Rhin, nous sommes entrés dans la ville de Kehl. Franziska ( une élève Allemande actuellement dans notre lycée) nous a aidé à trouver la Mairie (Rathaus) où nous étions attendus.

Kehl est une très jolie ville dont les maisons sont de couleurs vives et les rues y sont très propres. Dès notre arrivée à la mairie, nous avons rejoint la salle de conférence afin que l'on nous présente la ville. Breztels et rafraichissements nous attendaient également. Kehl accueil !

Kehl est une ville de près de 35000 habitants qui a été détruite entièrement à chaque Guerre mondiale du fait de sa position géographique. De plus, Kehl fait partie d'un Euro district du fait de sa proximité avec Strasbourg donc les deux villes mènent des projets communs. Par exemple, les citoyens Français y habitant pourront bientôt faire leur passeport à Kehl, les ambulances allemandes seront prioritaires dans Strasbourg et vice versa.

Once we had crossed over the Rhine which marks the French-German border, we arrived in Kehl. Franziska (a German pupil whob is currently at our lycée) helped us to find the town hall where we were expected. Kelh is a very pretty town. The houses are brightly coloured and the streets are very clean. When we arrived at the town hall we went straight up to the meeting room in order to have a general presentation of the town. Kehl certainly knows how to give a warm welcome as we were provided with Bretzels and drinks. There are almost 35.000 inhabitants in Kehl and the town was partly destroyed in each world war because of its geographical position. What's more, Kehl is in the Euro district since it is close to Strasbourg and the two towns have many projects. For example, French citizens in Kehl will be soon able to get their passports there, and German ambulances have priority in Strasbourg, and the same goes for French ambulances in Kehl.

Eurogame

2010-02-05T16:57:00.013+01:00

A 13h, nous avons rejoint la salle où nous avions pris le petit déjeuner le matin même. Après avoir mangé, nous avons commencé le jeu Eurogame ! De quoi s'agit-il ? Il faut constituer une équipe de quatre personnes de nationalités différentes, ce qui nous a encouragé à aller vers les autres. Une fois les équipes prêtes, il nous a fallu répondre à un questionnaire constitué de 18 questions en 18 langues différentes. Nous nous sommes donc aventurés à la recherche de jeunes Européens capables de nous traduire chaque question. C'est à ce moment là que nous avons remarqué que les Français ont un niveau de langue plutôt moyen par rapport aux étudiants étrangers que nous avons rencontré. Cette activité a été, pour nous, enrichissante, amusante et nous a permis de faire bonnes rencontres. Il est dommage de ne pas avoir passer plus de temps avec les jeunes.

At 1 o'clock we went back to the hall where we had eaten breakfast that morning. When we had eaten, we began the Eurogame. We had to get into teams of four, with each persons being of a different nationality. This encouraged us to mix with the other pupils. When the teams were ready, we had to fill in a questionnaire with 18 different languages. In order to do this, we needed a track down pupils who were able to translate the questions for us. This was when we realised that our level of English was fairly poor compared to that the other pupils that we met. This activity was very enriching and amusing for us and it enabled us to meet some nice people. It's shame that we didn't get to spend more time with them.

La Passerelle Mimram

2010-02-05T16:56:00.025+01:00

Après avoir visité la mairie de Kehl, nous avons eu le droit à un quartier libre. Les filles du groupe se sont donc précipités vers les magasins de cosmétiques en apprenant leur bas prix et les garçons vers ceux de musique. Nous avons décidé de nous balader le long de la rue principale, en long, en large et en travers, en passant par une place où se trouvait l'Église et une sculpture représentant une Araignée. Nous sommes aussi passés dans quelques magasins de vêtements et de chaussures, ainsi qu'une librairie. Nous avons également dégusté de délicieux beignets allemands. Puis, comme il était l'heure et que nous n'avions plus un seul Euro en poche, nous avons retrouvé les professeurs pour rentrer à l'auberge. Pour cela, il nous était nécessaire de traverser la frontière, et pour la santé de tous, nous avons alors pris la direction de la passerelle Mimram afin de traverser le Rhin. Ce pont est un symbole à Strasbourg de la frontière franco-allemande. De plus, en avril dernier, les représentants des états membres de l'OTAN ont traversé ce pont pour symboliser la fraternité de pays européens, autrefois belligérants. Nous l'avons donc emprunté et nous nous sommes arrêtés au milieu pour prendre une photo de groupe afin d'immortaliser ce moment.

After visiting Kehl's city hall, we were allowed a bit of free time to do some shopping. The girls rushed towards the beauty shops because we were told cosmectics were cheaper than in France and the boys went into the music stores. We decided to go up and down the main street, across the main square where the church and a scupture of a spider were. We also went into a few clothes and shoe shops and a library. Moreover, we tasted some delicious german doughnuts. Then, since we had spent all the money we had , we met up with the teachers again in order to return to the youth hostel. To do that, we had to cross the border, and for everyone's health we decided to walk and cross the Mimram bridge which goes over the Rhine.This bridge is a symbol in Strasbourg of the open boarder between France and Germany. What's more, last April, N.A.T.O. members walked accross the Passerelle to symbolize how the alliance helped to unite the once-warring European nations. We walked accross it too, thinking about this, and stopped in the middle in order to take a group photograph to immortalize the moment.

L'arrivée au Parlement

2010-02-05T16:55:00.024+01:00

Avant d'y entrer, nous avons admirer cet imposant bâtiment qu'est le Parlement européen. La forme du bâtiment en escalier transmet l'espoir d'une union européenne qui durera longtemps. Tout le bâtiment est en verre pour assurer une totale transparence comme le promet l'Union Européenne à ses membres. Devant le bâtiment étaient disposés tous les drapeaux européens. Nous sommes ensuite rentrés dans l'enceinte après un contrôle de sécurité. Une hôtesse d'accueil nous a conduit dans une salle pour nous donner badges et programmes. Nous étions les premiers sur place, nous avons donc patienté dans la salle du petit déjeuner en attendant les autres. Nous avons échangé nos impressions devant un pain au chocolat. Une fois que les autres groupes nous aient rejoints, nous avons mangé puis nous avons été répartis en groupes de travail pour s'installer dans l'hémicycle.

Before going inside, we took a moment to admire the impressive European Parliament. The building is in the shape of a staircase which symbolises hope for a long-lasting European Union. The whole building is made of glass in order for it to be totally transparent, just as the European Union promises to be transparent to its member states. All the European flags were flying in front of the building. We then went inside for a security check. We were led into a room where we were given badges and the day's schedule. We were the first there, so we waited for the others in the breakfast hall. We discussed what we thought of the day so far over a pain au chocolat. When the other groups had joined us, we ate, then were dispatched into different work groups to take our seats in the main meeting room.

Présentation des participants

2010-02-05T16:54:00.027+01:00

Notre classe a eu la chance de participer à Euroscola. Cet événement réunit plusieurs fois par an plus de 500 jeunes originaires de chacun des pays membres de l'Union Européenne. Pour les 21 pays représentés ce jour-ci, une classe était présente au Parlement européen de Strasbourg. Chaque délégation était représentée par un ou deux élèves. Léa et Baptiste ont donc présenté le lycée Racan à l'Europe entière dans une langue autre que notre langue maternelle !

Les élèves ont évoqué leur pays, leur culture, leur histoire ainsi que leur lycée une minute durant. Nous avons aussi profiter de certains accompagnements musicaux : les Portugais en costumes traditionnels ont interprété un morceaux de leur folklore local.

Après une présentation de l'institution par les officiels, nous avons eu la possibilité de leur poser des questions, au sein de hémicycle, sur les politiques européennes et aussi tester les techniques informatiques de vote.

We were very lucky to participate in the Euroscola programme. Euroscola takes place several times a year and brings together more than 500 young people from different member states of the European Union. There was one class of pupils for each of the 21 member states that were participating. Each class was represented by one or two pupils. Léa and Baptiste were the ambassadors for Lycée Racan and spoke to the whole of Europe in a foreign language! The pupils talked about their country, their culture, their history and their lycée for a minute. We also heard a few pieces of music. The Portuguese for example wore traditional costumes and played a piece of traditional folk music. When the Parliamentary officials had presented the various European institutions, we were able to ask them questions about European policies. We also got to try out the voting system.

Auberge des Deux Rives

2010-02-05T16:50:00.024+01:00

L'auberge de jeunesse se situait au sein du Jardin des Deux Rives, du côté français. Nous avons déposé nos sacs dans les chambres et avons profité du dîner. En attendant que la salle commune ouvre, vingt élèves assis sur le sol, se sont ainsi retrouvés à jouer à d'étranges jeux français dont le but est d'être réactif (Les deux plus Britanniques d'entre nous ont fini aux deux dernières places à Jungle Speed : une spécialité française sûrement...). Par contre, le billard est un sport plus international mais Racan a tout de même triomphé. Du coup, sodas pour tout le monde ! (Nous aurons sûrement d'autres occasions de disserter sur la bière allemande). Nous sommes retournés dans nos chambres vers onze heures, gardant en mémoire que nous devions nous lever à six heures le lendemain matin.

The youth hostel was in the heart of the Jardin des Deux Rives, on the french side of the river. We left our bags in our rooms then had dinner. While we were waiting for the common room to open, twenty pupils got together on the floor to play some rather strange French games where the aim is to be the quickest possible (two of our most British pupils finished last at Jungle Speed - this must be a very French game!) Billiards on the other hand is a more international game and Racan managed to win. Everybody was therefore entitled to a fizzy drink (we will have an other opportunity to talk about German Beer) ! We went back to our rooms at about 11pm as we knew that we had to be up at 6 the next morning.

L'heure du départ

2010-02-05T16:49:00.021+01:00

Nous nous sommes donnés rendez vous au parking du Collège de Bercé, à proximité du Lycée Racan à 6h du matin. Chacun d'entre nous a du se lever tôt pour être prêt à partir pour 6h30. L'excitation des deux jours qui nous attendaient se mêlait à la fatigue. Ce fut parti pour 8 heures de trajet durant lequel nous avons regardé Mamma Mia. En effet, de nombreux fans de ce film musical siégeaient au fond du bus, nous gratifiant d'une interprétation de chaque titre d'Abba... Une fois arrivé à Strasbourg, la plupart d'entre nous admirèrent la ville, pressé d'être en Allemagne et rejoindre Kehl.

We arranged to meet at 6am in the College de Bercé car park (which is next to Lycée Racan). We all had to get up early to be ready to leave at half past six. We were excited about the two days to come, but tired too. It was then time to set off for an 8-hour coach trip, during which we watched Mamma Mia. Many of the film's fans had gathered together at the back of the bus and we were entertained by their singing along to every Abba song. When we arrived in Strasbourg, most of us admired the town but we were looking forward to arriving in Germany and the town of Kehl.

Representatives from Racan

2010-01-24T15:35:00.014+01:00

Strasbourg / Kehl

2010-01-24T11:48:00.009+01:00

Un grand merci pour l'accueil que nous a réservé la mairie de Kehl, ville allemande frontalière de Strasbourg.

Un grand merci, également, au Parlement Européen. Plus de 500 jeunes issus de 21 pays membres de l'Union ont participé ce 22 janvier 2010 au programme EUROSCOLA.
Un grand merci, enfin, aux élèves du Lycée Racan qui ont dignement représenté la France.

Un compte rendu complet sera publié sur Euromeeting :

- La visite transfrontalière vers Kehl.
- Le Parlement Européen : une institution européenne.
- Le programme Euroscola (présentation, organisation, activités).
- Un regard sur la jeunesse européenne (pratique de la langue, préoccupations, échanges).

Feeding the World

2009-12-09T17:28:00.014+01:00

"We can see a box which is filled with a lot of tomatoes. On the box, we notice a sticker with the expiry date on it : 2037. According to the cartoonist, when these tomatoes will be eaten, they will become "wild" and so dangerous for our health. He makes us understand that we eat genetically modified products while we don't know the consequences." (Alice, Valentine).
"To my mind, the aim of the cartoon is to show us that we have to be careful with G.M.O.s because even if they have longer life, they may have a dangerous impact on the environnment." (Manon, Chloé).

"We can make out some strange animals which are genetically modified. Indeed, there are flying pigs, chickens with six wings, cows with a giraffe neck, round shaped sheeps with antlers, fishes which are walking and also an enormous turkey cock. Scientists have modified all the animals as chimeras" (Manon, Laura, Mathieu).
"The author wants to explain us that it's dangerous to put the nature in jeopardy because today we feed animals with G.M.O.s but we don't know the consequences for our health since we eat them." (Chloé, Manon).

"In this advert, we can see a boy with blood on his cheek. This genetically modified apple has bitten the boy. The "frankenfood" apple poisoned him back." (Olivier, Kelly)
"In this cartoon, there is a boy who laughs and winks. He handles an apple which also laughs. It's a genetically modified apple created by Monsanto, the biggest producer of G.M.O.s." (Samuel, Marine)

"On the drawing, there are two men. The first one looks sad and the second one is angry. There are three vegetables which seem proud of themselves and smarter than the scientists who have taken the genetic engineering too far." (Lesly, Emily)

"We can guess that there is a butcher according to his apron. It's written "Meat indutry" on it. He says that it's an outbreak of "smart cow disease", a play upon word with "mad cow disease." The cows demonstrate for organic food behind a gate. They want that people become vegetarian so they won't eat them." (Albane, Vicky).
"We can see several cows which are on strike. They are asking us to eat less beef and not feed them with genetically modified cereals." (Christopher, Quentin).
"If people eat organic beef, the meat industry will file for bankruptcy." (Mathilde, Emeline).

"The document is a cartoon made of four pictures. In the top left corner, we can see a herd of cows. In the top right corner, we can notice a lot of fishes. In the bottom left corner, there is a chicken flock. In the bottom right corner, we can make out vegetarians." (Julie, Lien)
"They became vegetarians because they were afraid of being ill or as toxic as salmons" (Brenda, Johnny)

The Yes Men

2009-11-23T18:34:00.002+01:00

The Yes Men are activists who pose as top executives of global companies in order to organise fake press conferences or television interviews.

Capitalism : a Love Story

2009-11-23T15:04:00.004+01:00

In 1989, Michael Moore directed a documentary (Roger & Me) about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan that caused the lay-offs of 30 000 workers. Twenty years after, he asks : "What's the price that America pays for its love for Capitalism ?".

EUROSCOLA 2010

2009-11-08T11:59:00.007+01:00

25 "European" students from Lycée Racan will be involved in the EUROSCOLA project next January in Strasbourg. More information (in french) below (click to enlarge pictures) :

Marbles reunited ?

2009-11-05T16:23:00.008+01:00

"It's important to see the Elgin Marbles among other world-wide achievements displayed at the British Museum." (Valentine)

"The Elgin Marbles won't return to Athens because there are many tourists visiting the British Museum so they can learn greek history there." (Brenda)

"To my mind, the Elgin Marbles must stay in London because the British Museum is free and it's more convenient and cheaper for French people to go there." (Megan)

"I'm torn. The British Museum is still an attractive museum but the new Acropolis Museum could be the perfect place for the Marbles." (Manon)

"The fragments of the Elgin Marbles should return to Greece." (Alice)

"Greeks would like to reunite the Elgin Marbles in their new Acropolis Museum. Nowadays, Athens is a modern city with a new subway system or pedestrian zones. It's an attractive city for tourists." (Samuel)

"The Elgin Marbles are a part of the world cultural heritage and the greek history." (Julie)

"In my opinion, the Elgin Marbles must return to Greece because I think it will be more interesting to visit the new Acropolis Museum." (Derya)

www.theacropolismuseum.gr

Lisbon Treaty

2009-11-04T16:41:00.004+01:00

Green light for European reforms

The history of the European Union

Brazil : a new eldorado...

2009-10-31T11:45:00.003+01:00

..... of Genetically Modified Crops ?

Global Companies

2009-10-26T15:18:00.003+01:00

How do they connect some of the world's poorest countries

with some of the wealthiest ?

Globalisation

2009-10-26T14:39:00.002+01:00

Three different articles which deal with globalisation (chosen by the students) :

Cadbury fights Kraft takeover (Harold)

American dramas steal the show (Camille)

World divided on globalisation (Simon)

Newspapers

2009-10-07T21:08:00.006+02:00

You want to find information about Globalisation
or about the Lisbon Treaty ?

Some interesting links below :

The Daily Telegraph (the highest selling British paper)

The Times (daily national newspaper published in the U.K.)

The Guardian (British daily newspaper)

The B.B.C. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

The Economist (weekly newsmagazine)

Reuters (UK-based news service)

The Christian Science Monitor (international daily newspaper and not a religious one)

Newsweek (American weekly newsmagazine)

Time (American weekly newsmagazine)

Seconde : Elgin Marbles

2009-10-07T20:41:00.008+02:00

The Elgin Marbles is a popular term that may refer to the collection of stone objects acquired by Lord Elgin during his time as ambassador to the Ottoman Court of the Sultan of Istanbul. The collection includes sculptures from the Parthenon. You can explore all the scenes here.

The following photos were taken in the British Museum.

Horsemen

Sacrificial Animals

The Peplos

Première : The Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood

2009-10-03T11:25:00.007+02:00

The Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of painters, poets and critics founded in 1848.
They rejected the conventions of industrialized England.
Millais painted Christ in the House of his Parents in 1850. It is a realistic portrayal of a working class Holy Family labouring in a carpentry workshop.
The Arts and Crafts movement urged a return to craftsmanship too.

Terminale : Cuban Missile Crisis

2009-10-03T11:14:00.001+02:00

You can find a timeline of the Crisis here

Seconde : International Migrations

2009-10-03T11:08:00.003+02:00

Hatier 2005

Seconde : GINI Coefficient

2009-09-20T20:21:00.002+02:00

The GINI coefficient is used to indicate income inequality in a society.

Terminale : Truman Doctrine

2009-09-20T18:11:00.002+02:00

You can watch below an extract of Truman's speech before a joint session of Congress, March 12, 1947.

Première : Ellis Island

2009-09-20T17:49:00.006+02:00

Golden Door is an Italian movie that shows the arrival of European migrants in New York. They have to pass the examinations to be admitted to the United States.
What were their expectations ?
What was their first feeling about the host country ?

Première : Art and Industry

2009-09-20T17:41:00.007+02:00

How did Turner represent industrialisation ?

Rain, Steam, and Speed

The Fighting Temeraire

Première : There Will Be Blood

2009-09-20T17:13:00.005+02:00

This movie is a masterpiece to learn about the improvement of oil extraction and the rise of a self made-man.
www.imdb.com

Seconde : Crossing the Border

2009-09-20T16:43:00.007+02:00

"Enayat and Jamal are Afghan refugees who live in a camp in Peshawar and try to escape to Great Britain with the help of people smugglers. Their dangerous journey leads them along the "silk road" through Pakistan, Iran and Turkey towards London."

www.imdb.com

Seconde : Worldometers.info

2009-09-20T16:00:00.001+02:00

World statistics updated in real time here.

What are the items which increase most ?
Do these numbers reveal inequalities ?

Seconde : Incivilities ?

2009-09-20T15:31:00.001+02:00

These photos were taken in London (Elephant and Castle) last summer. Art or incivility ?
I need your opinion.

Seconde : Twitter and the Iran Revolution

2009-09-20T15:04:00.002+02:00

" Share and discover what's happening right now, anywhere in the world." We can read this sentence on Twitter. Even if the most frequent tweet is "I'm eating a sandwich", people can share information across the globe thanks to this micro-blogging service.
Take a look at the following picture which is an extract from Persepolis 2.0. The authors of this graphic novel found inspiration in the work of Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) to speak about the events which happened after the presidential election in Iran last June.