EDUCATION : The French System

      Nowadays, education is considered by a lot of people as the pillar of a nation and the roots of the future working classes, manual and intellectual. The French education system is considered to be in the top 20 of National Higher Education Systems worldwide. The modern era of French schooling was created at the end of the nineteenth century by Jules Ferry. As in every system, the education in France has advantages but also suffers from different problems.

      School in France is mandatory for all children, boys and girls, from the ages of 6 to 12 years old. The education is mostly public, which means free of charge, and it is supposed to be secular despite some scandals in its history. The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages : the primary, the secondary, and the higher education. At the primary and secondary levels, the curriculum is the same for all French students in any given grade, which includes public and private institutions. However, there exists specialized sections and a variety of options that students can choose. Higher education is organized into three levels or grades which correspond to those of other European countries : Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate. There is also a professional Bachelor whose objective is immediate job integration. Higher education is divided between public universities and Grandes Ecoles which admits only higher graduates.

      The French education system is clearly professionally oriented and that is one of its best advantages. For every children, the finality of every education curriculum is to find a job that they like, and have a decent quality of life. In France, the orientation starts in High School where you have to choose between different specializations as mathematic, languages, economic, and mechanics, etc. The specialization becomes more professional in College, where you really learn a job, and sometimes have the opportunity to do a in-service training in a company related to your studies. For students who don't like school or have a lot of difficulties, they can be oriented to professional studies before and during High School. Another good point for the French education system is that it is mandatory until the age of 12. It is important for every child to know how to read and write, and to have a good understanding of general culture. We have a lot of classes of History (not only French history), Geography, Music, and Art, and some of these classes are required for the High School degree.The schools are mostly public, so they are free of charge, which guarantees an education for everyone in the country.

      Paradoxically, the strengths of the French education system are also a part of its weaknesses. The schools are mostly public and free but the best ones are private and expensive. There is also a clear deficiency in foreign languages learning for every French student. When Scandinavian children start to learn languages at 4, French students start at the age of 8, and the classes are not really intensive. Although the system is professionally oriented and really good for people who know what job they want to do, there is a big problem with students who don't know what to do in their lives. The system just doesn't support them and they finish with low degrees for manual work. It is clearly one of the biggest issue of the French education system. It is absurd to create a system based on professional orientation, without giving the opportunity and the means to students to be well oriented in a job they like, according to their competences and skills. Since the early 2000's, an orientation program with advisors has been created but it is not efficient.

      Education is a very important topic in France and it is always a subject to debate in every presidential election, and the last one, the 6th of May, was not an exception. With a new president and a new socialist system, every French citizen is looking forward to see what is going to change in the near future, regarding the different issues we listed below. The lives of our children depend on it.

MEDIA : 1992 Los Angeles Riot

      Nowadays, the internet has an important role in the media world and is becoming as popular as television. The popularity of this new support of communication forced TV channels to create their own websites, and broadcast articles on them. I chose two different articles from two different TV channel websites which covered the issue of the 1992 Los Angeles riots very differently.

      For five days in the spring of 1992, Los Angeles had been the home of one of the most destructive riot in the United States history. This terrible event erupted after four policemen were acquitted in the case of Rodney King beating, despite the scene being videotaped by a neighbor. The riot began on April 29 in South Los Angeles, and the city was plunged into chaos. The entire nation was watching on television looters were breaking store windows and emptying shelves, Korean grocers were shooting with assault rifles on top of their stores, and beatings included the brutal one administered to truck driver Reginald Denny. After the Army troops came to Los Angeles, the riot slowly stopped with the Rodney King televised speech where he pleaded for peace and unity between communities.

      With the 20th anniversary this year, a lot of media have been talking about these dark days in Los Angeles history, comparing the situations now and before. Some articles explain the purpose and the reasons of the riot, trying to show what changes occurred after. The writing from ABC News is really complete and covers well the riot question. Without omitting the victims and all the horrible murders, it explains why violence erupted and not only talks about the King case. It goes deeply into details showing that the black and latino communities could not afford their treatment anymore. Their living conditions, their poor wages and their relations with the authorities were not acceptable, and it was time for them to act for their rights. The article also tries to list the benefits of the riot. It talks about the different reforms instituted in the LAPD right after the riot and the better relations between Korean and black people. It also adds that a popular strip mall was built in the neighborhood thanks to the basketball player Magic Johnson and others. However, the situation still remains unstable for people from these communities.

      Some other media keep talking about the damages and their costs, the human toll, and all the negative effects of the riot, without trying to understand. At least, they don't explain why it happened. Thereby, the FOX News' article is more focused on the victims and all the eluded cases of murder. After making a statement on the material damages, it details every of the 22 homicides remaining classified as open or unsolved. Furthermore, in order to touch the heart of the readers, it highlights the case of the 'Good Samaritan', a 15 years old boy shot on a corner during the wave of violence. We can also realize that the article employs a negative vocabulary to make the general tone darker. The way it uses words such as 'Days Of Outrage', 'brutal' or 'supposedly in the name of justice', clearly show the intention of the writer : to remind to the reader, how horrible the 1992 Los Angeles riot was.

      The racial subject is really sensitive in United States, where people seem to be really divided in race communities, and the 'black question' still remains difficult to talk about. In such a case of rioting, the medias should explain the reasons why people were acting with this violence. It does not mean we should excuse all the damages and the murders but, as a representation of the collective thinking, the media should show to those people that they have been understood.

Links :
ABC News article
FOX News article

CHARITY : The J-Dilla Foundation

      "Dilla was about love in many formats", Maureen stated. "One of the things he wanted me to do with his legacy was to use it to help others... kids who were musically gifted but had a little hope due to poverty". Therefore, Maureen Yancey created The J-Dilla Foundation in 2006, to help fund inner-city music programs and provide scholarships to students attending school that have progressive music curricula.

      James Dewit Yancey, better known by his stage name 'Jay Dee' or 'J-Dilla', was a producer who emerged in the 90's from the underground hip-hop scene of Detroit in Michigan. According to a lot of people, he was one of the most influential hip-hop artists, and he worked with big-name rappers like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and Common. J-Dilla was a real music lover, collecting ton and ton of records. Unfortunately, he died from complications with Lupus and rare blood disease TTP. Dilla's death has had a significant impact on the hip-hop community and his mother, better known by the name of 'Ma Duke', decided to create the J-Dilla Foundation right after her son passed away in February 2006. A couple of months after, the foundation was put on hold due to legal issues with J-Dilla's estate, but it was reestablished in 2009 in Detroit, the hometown of the Yancey family.

      The idea of this foundation is to create and provide progressive programs to students in order to develop their talent and creativity. Giving them the tools and support they need, the foundation helps children to flourish and become successful within the entertainment industry. Different programs were designed. The 'Pay It Forward' program provides financial support to local music programs. The foundation will give money to cover needs such as transportation, uniforms and vital equipment. The 'Be Instrumental' program have been collecting used instruments and equipments, and ensure that where there is a child with a desire to create music, he has the opportunity to do it. The foundation also has a dedicated partnership with inner city high school and community music programs. It supports them by providing instruments, editing and production software and equipments.
      Because of J-Dilla's renown, a lot of famous hip-hop artists such as Busta Rhymes, Common, De La Soul or Erykah Badu are involved in the foundation. In 2009, a posthumous album titled 'Jay Stay Paid' was released and a part of the benefits were donated to the foundation. Concerts, festivals and art contests have been organized not only in United States, but also all over the world in order to make money. The J-Dilla foundation also developed a huge network of partnership and sponsoring with a lot of brands. For example, last February, Grassroots California released the official 'King of Beats' J-Dilla hat to donate back to the foundation. Maureen Yancey and the mother of J-Dilla's youngest daughter, Joylette Hunter, are working together to keep the name and the legacy of J-Dilla alive in the hip-hop community and throughout the world.

      I can not say how much I like the idea of this foundation. I am a real fan of Dilla's work and music, especially hip-hop, has a huge place in my life. I think it is really important for those children who live in poverty, to escape their ghetto and their daily routine, and I have the strong conviction that music is one of the best ways. I hope the J-Dilla foundation will continue to help children and, why not also expand their activities in poor countries in Africa.

HISTORICAL STRUCTURE : Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere

      If there is something you can not miss when you are visiting Lyon, my hometown in France, it is the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. By its dominating position on top of Fourvière Hill, the Basilica can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. After many years, it became a iconic building and a real symbol of Lyon.

      In 1168, a little chapel was built on the top of Fourvière Hill by Olivier de Chavannes, dedicated to Saint Thomas and then, to the Virgin Mary. Due to an increasing number of pilgrims in this chapel, Cardinal Bonald decided to build a new church. The construction began in December 1872, following the design of the architect Pierre Bossan, drawn from both Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. The basilica contains two churches, one on top of the other. While the lower is simply designed, the upper sanctuary is very ornate, with a lot of beautiful mosaics, sculptures and stained glass. The monument was completely finished almost a hundred years after, in 1964 and became a basilica through the benediction of Pope Léon.

      In addition to being a gorgeous church, this place is really special for every Lyon citizens because of a lot of mystical stories. All over the years, three major wishes were made in this place, and all were achieved. The first happened in 1630 when the french queen Anne d'Autriche, the Louis XIII's wife, could not have a baby and decided to come to Fourvière and pray to the Virgin Mary. A miracle came 8 years after and Louis XIV was born. I think the most important and famous story happened in 1643, while a cholera wave was killing the population of the city. Another wish was made to the Virgin Mary, to protect the city and stop the massacre. Twenty days after, the virus was gone, and the city was safe again. The last story happened in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war. The Prussian army, was progressing south towards Lyon, and a wish was made at Fourvière by Monseigneur Ginoulhiac to the Virgin Mary, to prevent the occupation of Lyon. The Prussian never took the city and after this victory, the basilica was dedicated to Mary.

      Time changed but nowadays, the basilica of Fourvière is still a place where people come to pray or confess, but it is also a tourist attraction which receives around 1.5 million visitors every year. Guided tours are organized and you can also visit the Museum of Sacred Art, or just admire the spectacular 180-degree view of Lyon and its suburbs. There is also big traditional event related to this iconic building. Lyon citizens still thank the Virgin Mary for saving them by lightening candles throughout the city every 8th of March. We call it the Festival of Lights and people from all over the country come to see it.

      As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, The basilica of Fourvière will continue to attract tourists from all over the world. The building is in renovation since 2008 to keep the magic going, and with the Virgin Mary as protector, Lyon can build its future serenely.

View from the Basilica

The upper sanctuary

GREAT INVENTION : The Turntable

Today, who doesn't have an iPod or other mp3 player? Almost everybody. For a lot of people, the "digital music" is one of the greatest invention of the last years. So maybe I should write something about this kind of new music support but... no, because I'm an old-fashion man. Of course like everybody, I have a mp3 player because it's really useful to listen to music everywhere, but I don't consume music like food, I'm a real music lover (especially hip-hop) and collector. Yes, we are in 2012 and I still buy CDs, tapes and records. The invention I want to talk about is the turntable which is the device I use to play my vinyl records. I just put a record on on it, press the "Play" button and enjoy the music.

There is nothing better than listen to the sound from records... The sound quality is totally different from all the mp3 you have on your laptop : it's warm and living! And it's possible to feel this difference only with a turntable as a listening device. That's why I like it. The turntable is an old invention used to play old music but it also has developed year by year thanks to the new technologies. That's how today, almost every turntable includes new functions like "pitch control" or "reverse" which are very useful especially for DJs.

Turntables are used by records lover like me, but nowaday, DJs, and especially hiphop DJs, are the biggest potential customers for the turntable market. They usually use turntables to mix music and make people dancing. But I want to focus my writing on another alternative use of turntables : the turntablism. This word was created by the greatest DJ Babu to differentiate DJ who plays records and DJ who manipulates the sound touching and moving records and DJ mixer. In other terms, turntablism is the art of creating sound using turntables and DJ mixer, or the art of using turntable as an instrument. This discipline is now structured and organized with a lot of battles and worldwide competitions. I think the most interesting part when we talk about an invention is to see how people can change the principal using of a device to build something new and fresh, to create their own invention finally. That's all the magic of turntables...

Even if turntables are slowly disappearing, I hope passionates will continue to use this kind of music player because, music is all about passion.

BONUS : if you want to learn more about turntablism, I found on youtube the excellent and really interesting documentary Scratch which is about first DJs, fresh culture of turntablism and future of shufflin' vinyls. Here is the whole movie for you, enjoy it :