I spend all my free time playing the guitar.
If you're typing, hurry and finish to let the others...
...type up their self-portraits
Souleymane, Dont blow the place up!
- You know what you're doing? - Yeah
As a computer genius you'll put it all back after.
Don't worry.
I'm counting on you.
- Ok, Carl? - Yes, sir
- I can't see it? - No, not yet.
Sir?
How do you spell Lafayette?
- How do you mean? - Like Galeries Lafayette.
Why mention that?
I go there often so I want to add it
Wow! That's four metro stops A huge leap from your neighborhood
We're not Hicks
We're city kids
Really? You go into the center of Paris?
I go everywhere. The 1st, the 5th,
the 20th, the 12th, the 19th
Why do you go to the 5th?
In the 5th, I go to see pals
...in high school
Near Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg gardens?
Not the gardens, Luxembourg.
The country?
No, the Luxembourg metro station!
So you do get out and about
I see you two have made up
- It's our business - And not yours
So, how do you spell Lafayette?
Lafayette is L-A-F-A-Y-E-T-T-E.
With a capital
Much better now!
Much better
Yes, that is a good photo
- You could add a legend. - A legend?
Like a story or tale.
A caption under the photo like in papers.
You mean, like in Le Parisien?
Yes, like in Le Parisien
What could you put? Who is she?
- My old woman. - Meaning?
- My mother - You could say she's your mother.
Then you could explain
...why she's making this gesture to the photographer
They'd pissed her off
I'm not gonna write that!
- So why is she doing that? - She hates photos
So write that "My mother hate having
..."her photo taken".
That's a legend.
- Understand? - Yeah
Do that with all the photos and you're set
- Printed everything? - Yeah, I'm good
Excellent
What are you doing now, sir?
As you can see, I'm putting the photos up
...to get a global view
The others read out, their self-portraits
...so you're going to put yours...
...on show.
You know my photos suck
Not at all, they're very good
Sure
When a student does good work,
...I let the whole class see it
You're just winding me up
No, I wind you up if I feel
...you can do better. This is good.
That's bullshit
If you've finished, come and take a look
...at Souleymane's masterpiece
Slowly
I'll straighten them
Look at the tattoo! You're hideous!
I like playing soccer
I like playing computer games
I like playing with pretty girls
I like vacations in the Carribean
I like fries, zouk and dancehall music
I like watching MTV Base
and I like my parents and my brother.
I like my pals and staying up all night
I like the series on the slave trade
I like my hood I like the series Homeland Security
I like eating in restaurants and going wild.
I hate people crying for no reason
I hate techno and tectonic
I hate guys and girls who show off
I hate visiting my brother in jail
I hate talent contest shows on TV
I hate politicians, the war in Iraq,
Goths and skaters
I hate teachers who are too strict
I hate mathematics, racists
and I hate Materazzi
I hates the Paul Eluard school and I like being here
I have something to say
Could you listen to me, please?
I have something to say The mother of Wey
...a student in 4/3 has been arrested
She was in France illegally.
She has been picked up
and may be tried next week
She may be deported to China. I thought you should know
as its important
She's been here 3 years now!
I know but that's how it goes,
wrong place, wrong time
Not the father?
He doesn't have papers either
but they don't bother him
To start with
as lawyers cost a lot
we could do a collection
and maybe even go to court
to try have some influence on the verdict
Will Wey have to leave?
Not for now but you never know.
Well,
I feel kind of pathetic after that
I had something to tell you,
...but this isn't a good time
You've said too much now
I'm pregnant
That calls for a celebration!
How far gone?
Two months. I'll only have a drop
Just a drop
Bravo, Vincent! I didn't do it on purpose!
Who shook it?
Any names yet? If it's a boy, say?
...You already know?
If it's a boy, I like Enguerran.
Seriously?
What a handicap! That won't be easy
I hope not. Thanks a lot!
You all have a glass?
Hold on a second
I have two wishes
My first wish
is that Wey's mom stays in France
And my second wish
...is that my child will be as intelligent as Wey
"Jackie Chan"!
C'mon, play
I didn't do nothing
He just fell!
Play, Souleymane
- What do you say, Mali man? - What's up, you Caribbean shit?
Malian bastard!
Motherfucker
C'mon lets play!
- Caribbean fag! - I'll waste the fucker
Shut up
Blow Thierry Henri, faggot
Stand there. Talk loud enough
for them to hear and try to convince them.
Go ahead
The African Cup of Nations will be starting soon
I'm glad Morocco's playing
It's the best team in the world in my opinion.
The sick thing is
that my pals, the Malians aren't playing.
It's tough for them.
They weren't good enough to qualify.
Morocco would have let them play on a friendly basis...
but 4-0 is really hurts
- 4-0 how? - Last time
...Mali played Morocco, they wasted 4-0
But the weird thing is
...when Mali doesn't play
...it's like all the Africans here,
...aren't African
With each cup, they all go crazy
but when Mali doesn't play, they keep a low profile.
Weird.
So, whether Mali plays in the African Cup of Nations or not,
...the Africans in this class feel more or less African. Ok.
Thank you, Nassim.
I get the feeling your words are directed
...at your neighbor, Souleymane
Morocco jerk's
...not even on my radar,
Arthur is next
I see you have your notes just like a politician
- Exactly - That's good
Speak up Arthur. Esmeralda, let him speak first
I want to defend my look
...A lot of people say it sucks
I don't dish your clothes, so you don't dish mine.
Clothes are freedom of speech
I dress how I want you dress how you want, ok
I dress like this to be different
...and not follow the others like sheep.
You're the sheep here!
I feel better being myself
and not being like others
I also think if there were 22 goths here,
...and one guy like you you'd keep quiet then
There's a contradiction in what you say
You want to be you. Are those clothes you?
Those clothes are worn by a huge number of people
Most people who wear them are gloomy inside
...so we're all kind of alike
- You're all alike, you're all gloomy, so that's not you.
By being different
You're different and the same.
Thank you for taking a stand
...and being brave enough to do so
Boubacar, go on
Boubacar, my pal
Listen to him
I've come up to reply to Nassim
He says that since Mali
isn't in the Africa Cup of Nations black Africans have no team to support
But he's forgetting Ivory Coast!
With an ace player Didier Drogba
He beats any Moroccan
He plays for Chelsea What Moroccan plays in England?
They're not up to it
I'm through.
Thanks, Boubacar
I think that rectification was indeed...
...indispensable
Who wants to speak now?
Carl, go on
Actually, I'd like to say
they're starting to piss us off...
...with the Africa Cup
At recess you're there pissing us off with your cup
It hasn't even started yet...
Carl, I'll be polite with you
Sorry to interrupt, but tell me, what's your national team?
France
Why do you say you're Caribbean...
...rather than French?
We're French. It's a French region
Why don't you ever say you're French?
- It's the same - I don't think so
Look at the players. Thierry Henri, Wiltord…
...Abidal, Thuram...
Where does Diarra play?
He won't play in Mali, bro, he's not crazy enough.
Shut your mouth, pal, I'm not your bro!
An ape like this jerk
No need to loose your cool.
We can talk calmly!
That isn't a slanging match. It's a debate.
Souleymane, watch your language
He's fuming!
Clam up. Go get fucked!
No vulgarity
- I ain't talking to you, man - I'm talking to you
Is that any way to talk to a teacher?
That's enough now You're coming with me
- I'm talking to you - Don't start yelling at me, ok
I'll get you, faggot
You just can't talk normally?
Shut up, ape
Nobody else moves
Hurry it up
- Move it - Hands off!
Aren't you sick of assing around?
Sorry to bother you
I have a troublemaker who's been disrespectful in class.
I didn't ask you to sit down, Souleymane.
My class is waiting
Sit down now.
I'm listening
Will you tell me what happened?
A teacher should have to leave his class to bring you here?
"Results
..."too uneven
"Too much talking in class
Now let's move on to Louise,
present here today
A total disaster. What can we do with you?
No, good work
Always good, I'd say
It's a joy having a student like her. We need to say it.
Shall we offer this young lady a commendation?
I'm sorry, but I don't
...totally agree with you.
She's relatively well-placed in the class
from a numerical angle
But a commendation? There's room for progress,
huge room for progress
and I don't think her general attitude
...really merits a commendation
That's the problem
with commendations
...Are they purely numerical and mathematical
or are they also to do
...with her attitude and behavior as top of the class?
That means, to get commendation,
...you have to be an excellent student
...and, at the same time, be a class leader?
So a commendation this term
Louise is intelligent
...and will realize she can do better to satisfy you
Now, Cherif
...Our friend Cherif
I have a problem with Cherif
...He's a kid with abilities he could do well
could easily give him 17/20
...but he spends so much time talking
...and disturbing the class,
...his average grade is poor And that's a pity
His behavior's irregular. He can be a disaster
and you cant do a thing with him
or he can be really good
- What does Cherif get? A warning about his work
or his behavior?
For me, behavior,
...not work
- In my class, it's more his work - That's a problem.
It's more like a work problem looking at his grades.
Mathematics: 6
French: 8
History and geography: 9
English: 9,5
Excuse me!
Science 12. Music 11
His grades are pretty low but…
...it seems to be a behavior problem
Why don't we put that for now and say he can work harder?
So I'll put Cherif
..." can succeed as long as
..." his attitude changes
..." in relation to his work. "
Let's move on to Souleymane
Someone else can start.
What do we say?
Nothing good.
- What else? - We already discussed him
in the first term. We said it all He has huge weakness,
notably in written French
I don't think there's anything particularly new
this term
Feeling better, Esmeralda?
I didn't know being class rep was such fun
We were talking about Souleymane
In relation
to what Francois just said,
he forgot his things most of the time this term
...and didn't do much
It's not just that, It's way beyond that
Sir!
He's more and more unruly He prevents the others from working.
Can I say something?
If you put the biscuit away.
Remember, you aren't allowed to eat in classroom
Well, his overall grade has gone from 6,75 to 7,25.
We're not discussing his grades
...but his behavior for now
I have the impression
...we need to consider disciplinary action
His attitude's wrong
It's simple. Every other class I throw him out
I don't even throw him out anymore,
...He's only too happy when I do.
I don't think disciplinary action will help...
...because things will get
...really bad then
They're already really bad It's gone too far.
It's like he's mad at the others for being normal
I'll remind you Mr. Marin
...you brought him to me yesterday.
Yes, but it was this year's first incident.
He was disrespectful, I set a limit
I did what I did but I don't think
it will go any further than that
I don't have any real complaints,
...apart from yesterday
Our job isn't to make sure
students sit quietly at the back and don't cause any trouble.
We have to bring them out!
I won't do that with threats or punishment,
...I'd rather stress his good work. Some things interest him.
He can come out with some pretty good stuff
Simply because he does
...something positive now and then,
...we let him sink and wallow in his hole...
...and we do nothing. You just want to buy social harmony.
That said,
what do we say? What do we do? A warning?
I don't think a warnings what he needs.
Maybe we should say he has reached his limit,
...because he's limited scholastically.
That's all well and good but I'm dim and have a line to fill.
What do we put?
It's not right
...saying that
Three rhymes per verse. What do you call that?
- Verses of three lines... Wey? - A tercet
Very good
And four rhymes would be?
A quatrain
From quatre, four
Tercet, three rhymes. Quatrain, four
How many syllabes per line?
Can you tell me that? Khoumba.
I know here are 10
You know that?
- Want me to show you? - Yes.
"Noir-dans-la-nei-ge...
..."et-dans-la-bru-me. "
Thats 10
You say that and...
...You have two
...extra syllables by counting the mute Es.
Don't count them, they're mute
That makes 8
...We can underline each syllable
I'll come back to that one
Two octosyllables and one four-syllable line
- What is it? - A problem,
11.47 that makes
11,5.
Is 11.47 the number of syllables here?
No, my grade. It's down! They lowered my grade!
What's that to do with poetry?
11.47 is 11.5
Who gave you your grade?
You shouldn't have it yet
Esmeralda told me
So the class reps
...did do something after all
I took a load of notes!
I got the impression you weren't
...really following the meeting - I noted all!
Louise, I'm delighted you've done
a good job passing on information...
Let's get back to this poem
The rule is to count in front of a consonant...
A question
What?
I heard you really wiped me out
...at the meeting yesterday
Another remark about poetry, I see.
No, it isn't
Yes, I know it isn't about poetry
What do you mean?
I dunno. You wiped me out
Some teachers, not me,
...said if you carry on like this
you'll be in trouble,
...not wiped out.
That's revenge. I don't get it Why do for revenge?
How come it's revenge?
If you say stuff about me getting in trouble, that's revenge
It's not revenge at all
We're not on the streets
It's a warning Our goal here isn't revenge,
...it's discipline
- Get the difference? - I don't get it.
When a judge sends someone to jail,
...he doesn't do it to get revenge
...It helps society run smoothly
You just want revenge. You're riffed with me.
All I care about is revenge?
I wake up and say I'll get Souleymane today?
You insulted him yesterday anyhow.
He really laid into you!
I did not.
What did he say, Louise?
That you we're limited.
...I underlined it, I was so shocked
Me? Limited?
Brilliant...
Esmeralda, Louise,
...What's your role as class reps? You represent the students
to help this class work or you stir up trouble for me?
We just do our job.
Wicked!
We report on the meeting.
Of course.
I didn't realize
When I saw you snigger
...at the meeting, I felt bad for you
It wasn't the place or time
It didn't look very serious
Nobody minded in any case
- They did! - Only you
No, it bothered me and I think
it bothered the others too
No. It only bothered you
Sorry, but laughing like that made you look like two skanks.
What? Have you just lost it?
That's a bad thing!
You can't dump on us
The word is insult.
You're crazy insulting on us.
You say "dump on" or "insult"
It's either one or the other, ok.
Yeah keep on talking!
In fact I never said you we're skanks,
...I said that at one point
...in the meeting
...you acted like skanks. Understand?
Don't try to con us, you said skanks
I'm just explaining the difference.
Sir, you don't talk to girls like that!
Look who's talking!
...You always insult everybody!
He wants revenge on the girls
No way. The noble knight riding to rescue act,
...won't wash!
You don't talk to me, man!
Show some respect!
I will if I want!
You're heading for trouble!
Think you're tough?
It's a question of discipline!
I'll take you anytime!
Stop playing the big short
- Calm down - Stay outta this
Cut it out!
Don't touch me!
Don't touch me.
You're crazy!
Cut it out
What are you doing?
I'm outta here
You can't just walk out of my class.
Are you nuts?
- Calm down - Let go of me
Stop it
- Let me go - Ah!
- Where are you going? - Let go, fucker
Pathetic
Fuck
What do we do?
I think we need to convene the disciplinary committee
This is starting to add up it begins
with disrespect, then the fight,
...with a student injured,
...and finally he leaves the class without permission.
There was only one incident and it all spread out from there.
One thing led to another,
...a chain reaction.
Well
...what I can do is take a protective measure
...since this is so serious
...by suspending Souleymane for 48 hours.
That'll give us a little time
...to reach a decision
OK.
Shall we do that?
However, I need to see you tomorrow.
Could you come to my office?
- Good bye. - Good bye
Francois!
I need a word with you
There's a rumor going around...
A rumor?
Some students came to see me and told me...
...you insulted them
Who? Louise and Esmeralda?
They told me
...you called them skanks
...and that led to the incident
...with Souleymane
And you believe them?
That's why I needed to see you.
You didn't mention it in your incident report...
I didn't mention it. What can I say?
- Did you do it or not? - What?
- Did you... - Hi!
Hi.
Did you call them skanks?
But Souleymane's another matter!
I know it had nothing to do with him
But word's getting around.
People are talking. I wanted
...to let you know - Thanks for letting me know.
Hey, you two You complained about me.
- Thanks a lot! - You're welcome
You could have talked to me
Teachers can complain about us and vice versa, right?
No, it doesn't work both ways.
What are you after?
To see you punished
- Punished? - Yes!
- You, punish me? - You insulted us, you get punished.
Where will that get you?
I'll have spoken out.
Great, that's a lot of use.
Do you know what 'skank' means?
I never called you skanks!
Yes, you did. For me skank means prostitute.
It's not that at all
For me, it doesn't mean that.
It's nothing important at all,
just a girl laughing stupidly
Hey, skank means prostitute, right?
You bet!
- Will Souleymane get expelled? - No.
- A disciplinary hearing? - We don't know yet.
It's a possibility
Stop yelling before anything is decided
It's all settled anyway
- Why say that? - Because it's always the same!
You're in no position to talk.
You're the one who got hurt
He didn't mean it
There was a metal thing in his bag
In any case he blew a fuse and that's bad
Sir,
...anyone can blow a fuse
And then calm down after
That's not sure
- You did - No!
You're calmer now
I'm not. You don't know me!
All the teachers say your attitude is perfect now...
You think you've tamed me?
No, being sent here helped
...you understand things, see?
Teachers helped you
and we'll do the same for Souleymane.
I say teachers who expel students are fuckers
Right on. You want to repeat that?
- Yeah, fuckers - Everyone goes wild
...over some word I said. You say fucker and I shouldn't react?
They're fuckers!
Cut it out!
You say skanks, we say fucker. It's the same thing
They're nothing alike
A teacher can say certain things that students can't say.
Try to understand that!
We have no right to speak?
You keep talking all the time! You never stop speaking
Whenever we talk, you yell. What is this?
Enough...
Sir!
- Sir? - What?
Will Souleymane get a hearing?
Give it a rest
You sound like you want him to. It fires you up.
You know what'll happen if he's expelled?
He'll change schools.
No, he won't change schools.
It's automatic. It's obligatory.
That goes for Souleymane too.
Do you know his father?
I've seen him once or twice.
No, you don't know him!
If he's expelled, his dad'll send him back to their village
Don't get overdramatic
He'll go back to Mali
I think we all need to keep our heads.
Don't worry
You can't smoke here sir
I know, but since I was alone
Ok, you went too far with those girls.
We all screw up.
Souleymane overreacted.
He's right.
I saw Khoumba. Her face was all bloody
What he did is unacceptable.
That's for sure.
I know that.
His bag hit her by accident.
A split eybrow bleeds a lot. That's all.
You can't ignore it.
Don't take it to heart. Seen how they talk to us?
How's that relevant? Souleymane is going to get expelled
...That's it!
- No. - That's kind of logical.
How many hearings last year?
12 at least.
Not that many.
He could be right.
I know, I'm on the committee so I saw them all
An average of two per month, 12 in all with an expulsion each time
The hearing is where we talk things over
Ok, 12 students were expelled
but maybe there was no other solution.
12 out of 12
...talk about debate!
But 12 out of 12 just means
...when a student has a hearing, it's too late.
Or it was justified.
Ok, things happen that lead to a hearing
But then what happens?
What do we expect from a hearing?
There are prior stages:
Pre-disciplinary committees,
...we inform the parents, the students are warned...
- Not in this case. - We've no time.
It's pretty rare.
It's rare because we have this final punishment
...that allows us to ignore the prior steps.
And even if we did use them,
...the simple fact of expelling a student...
...is a disavowal of everything we have tried.
Ok, but it's Souleymane's chance to justify himself
At a hearing, you don't speak.
You're scared. You're paralyzed.
Exactly.
Let me sum up.
He'll get a disciplinary hearing, he'll be expelled
and maybe even sent back to Mali
You're being overdramatic.
No, I'm not
Students who know him better than any of us here,
...who know his father, say that he is likely Mali...
to send him back to Mali after this
Some are threatened
...with boarding school but in never happens
It can happen.
A lot of parents spend their time
...threatening their kids with that. You can't take it into account
- Even if there was just a slight risk that a hearing could lead
to him being sent back, I don't think I can take that risk.
It's like when you hesitate
...over punishing a kid because when he goes home,
once that door closes,
...he'll get a beating from his parents
We've all seen that
...But we still have to punish
them when they go too far
Whatever the consequences
which don't
...concern you!
So I ignore that?
I know punishment can have such a consequence,
...but I turn a blind eye, is that it?
You can't take it into account in every case
The violence…
him being sent back...
- No more Christmas presents... - True, you have to consider it
but after a while...
It's a question of principle
...We each have a role to play
We can't substitute ourselves for the parents
Sorry, but if I rewind the movie,
...it's a weird chain of events. It starts with reprimands,
...when Souleymane forget his things, talks back.
We punish him. Again and again,
until a disciplinary hearing
leading to who knows what Everything gets out of hand
Sure, looking at it that way
it's really shocking
But the school won't expelling Souleymane
He's been gone for a while
Francois, I didn't expect you so soon.
Have you reached a decision?
I don't think I have much choice.
By the way, Julie told me…
you had a heated exchange
...with two girls in your class.
Yes, the two class reps but it happened first so
You apparently called them "skanks"
Let's say that, yes
That complicates things, but the problem remains.
I'd like you to mention it in your report
I don't want it used against us at the disciplinary hearing.
Don't bother hiding it, just write it down.
I understand.
I'll let you reread this
before we launch the procedure.
So I… I just need to add...
Yes, without going into detail.
Does that suit you?
OK.
Can you take the minute.
- Hello - Hello.
Hello, sir.
- Please sit down. - Thanks.
"Carl tried to reason with him, but Souleyman broke free,
"winging his bag that hit Khoumba in the face.
"He left, insulting everyone and slamming the door.
"I didn't go after him because I needed...
"to help Khoumba whose eybrow was bleeding. "
Those are the facts that led to today's hearing
Madame, it doesn't mean Souleyman is a bad boy.
That's not we're saying
But, sometimes, a student in a class
through voluntary or involuntary behavior,
can create an atmosphere that...
...prevents the class from working.
Do you understand what we're saying?
If I may say something, it's true
there had been number of signs
that should have warned us.
We could have reacted sooner
But how we have to deal with an incident
that is fairy violent
and that's simply unacceptable.
I'd like to know if you realize that, Souleymane?
We're not saying you're deliberately violent.
The problem is you can't control what you say,
...and what you do
You're here to express your point of view.
Go ahead
I don't give a damn. I've got nothing to say
Do whatever you want to do
Excuse me...
Can you translate?
She says I'm a good boy
I do my homework.
I help my brothers and sisters with their work when I can
I always wash the dishes and help her when I can
We don't doubt he's a good son. That's not the problem.
Let's consider
...his school record
Excuse me, but could we focus on the facts here?
Firstly, I'd like to say
...that we're surprised to see the teacher involved in the incident
...on this committee
We find it highly irregular
It's true. It's odd to be both judge and litigant.
First of all,
...Mr. Marin was elected to the administrative board.
as the teachers' representative
Moreover, I think that the incident...
...that occurred in Mr. Marin's class
...doesn't involve the teacher directly.
I'm sorry, you mention
...some harsh words
...spoken by the teacher...
Apparently, you used the word "skanks"
...to describe the class reps. And that's a problem
I did say that
...but it wasn't something that concerned Souleymane.
I think he used the excuse of a rather heated exchange
...to express the bad mood
that he was in that day.
He tried to defend them
So I feel that it's relevant
Sorry, but absolutely nothing justifies
...being disrespectful to a teacher,
...insulting everyone and leaving a class without permission.
Souleymane, do you have anything to say?
I don't know. What can I say?
Souleymane?
- What did she say? - The same thing again
Souleymane?
She apologizes on my behalf.
You can come back in now.
Madame, the committee has conferred
and has decided to expel Souleymane from the school for good.
You will receive the ruling by registered mail
...and have eight days to appeal,
We shall do our best to find Souleymane another school
Goodbye, Messieurs, Mesdames
Souleymane, come to see me before the end of the week, please.
Mathematical proportionality.
This year, you learned mathematical proportionality?
- I liked science - What you learned, not liked.
If you liked it, you learned.
So what did you learn?
All about volcanoes, earthquakes,
...plates...
Convergence and divergence,
...movement of the Earth's plates,
- It was fascinating. - It interested you?
- Yeah. - Good.
Well, in mathematics,
.. trigonometry Pythagoras theorem, Thales theorem.
I'll stop you there.
You can't sit there and brag...
...you learned Pythagoras theorem. Recite it for us
If, in a triangle
...two sides are equal to
...If the square rot
If the square of two sides
is equal to the square
...the square of the hypotenuse
then the triangle's a rectangle.
More or less, yes
It's spot on
All right. I believe you.
In history, I learned about triangular trade.
The fact that ships left Europe...
...with manufactured goods that they took to Africa to trade for men,
...who'd became slaves that they took to America to work.
Then they took the money they made back to Europe.
That's triangular trade
Chemistry
What in chemistry?
Combustion
What's that?
Blending Fehling's solution and glucose.
What do you get?
Heat up test-tube,
...and it changes color.
- What's the interest? - The interest?
I dunno. Why teach it to us if there's no interest?
Reproduction
What did you learn about human reproduction?
Human reproduction...
Well, the sperm
...gets into the ovum
then you wait 9 months,
then you do a sonogram and then it comes out
The sperm does?
No, the baby
The human being that's inside.
- Khoumba? - Me?
Yes. That is your name?
Yes.
In music, I learned to play the alto recorder...
and in Spanish
The recorder in Spanish?
No, in music, I learned
to play the alto recorder. - Right
- And other stuff in Spanish - Good.
Can you say something to us in Spanish?
- And that means? - "It's the vacation soon".
I didn't learn anything
You cant spend 9 months at school and not learn anything.
I'm the living proof
You got something from the books we read.
- Your books are shite. - They're what?
They're useless.
What about a book you read by yourself?
The books I read?
Well, there's The Republic
Platon's "Republic"?
You read that?
How come?
My big sister had it
- She does philosophy? - No, law
So what's it about?
Well, there's this guy...
His name's Socrates
Yeah, Socrates.
He stops people in the street and asks them:
"Are you sure of thinking what you think?"
"Are you sure of doing what you do? and so on?"
After that, people start getting confused.
They ask questions.
The guy's too much
What does he ask people about?
Everything.
Love, religion, God people, everything
- It's good you read it - I know
It's not a skank's book!
Wait a second. Before you leave, here are your self-portraits
One by one. When you have yours, you can go.
What is it?
These are the self-portraits that you wrote
...and that we made up with the class photo and so on
You too, Eva.
You don't have one?
- You look good in it - Cut it out
You're like a leader
Very good.
- Good bye, Sir. - Good bye.
- Have a good vacation. - You too
- Sir? - Yes…
What is it?
I didn't learn anything
What? That doesn't mean anything
Earlier, all the others...
...said they'd learned something
Compared to them, I learned nothing
You learned as much as them
They had to think hard too.
It's not easy
to remember what you learned...
But I don't understand
What do you mean?
I don't understand what we do.
In French?
In school
You can't say you don't understand everything.
That's not true...
I don't want to go to vocational school.
There's no question of that yet
You're moving on to the next year.
You'll have plenty of time to think about your future
Vocational school isn't an absolute certainty
It all depends on how you do next year
But I don't want to.
Subtitles: Ian Burnley