Ask most kids what their favorite class is, and the chances are they’ll answer “Gym!”. Our PE teacher Chloe Leguem gets to channel this energy and passion in all of our elementary and middle school students every week, helping them become more coordinated, more sportsmanlike, and more passionate about athleticism. She also organizes two of our most beloved annual events: the Handball Tournament in winter and the FAA Olympics in the spring. She brings so much to our community, and I was excited to chat with her for our May Teacher Spotlight.
You are so well traveled, and your professional background is so diverse. Can you tell me about it?
I’ve been teaching PE since 2016. My career path has been quite varied, since I started teaching for a year in a highly reputed high school in the Val de Marne in France, where I taught classes to sophomores, juniors, and seniors [seconde, première, and terminale]. Then I taught for 1 year in a “REP” (Réseau d’Éducation Prioritaire – the French equivalent of Title I schools in the US) secondary school in Bonneuil-sur-Marne, where I taught PE to children from very disadvantaged social backgrounds from sixth to ninth grade. I then worked in a vocational high school in Vitry-sur-Seine, where I taught PE to high school students for 4 years.
Throughout all of this, my career path was interrupted several times by my passion for adventure and discovery, as I went backpacking solo for 9 months in Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia and Southeast Asia in 2015-2016. I was also lucky enough to get a part-time contract in 2019, which enabled me to set off on another long trip, this time to Latin America. I started this last big trip all the way down in Ushuaia, and climbed back up by Bus through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Belize. What a discovery! I didn’t speak a word of Spanish when I arrived, so I had to learn a new language like the kids at the FAA who are discovering or perfecting another language!
Why do you teach?
I’ve always loved being around children! My mother worked as a preschool assistant, so there were always children in my home. When I was 17, I obtained my BAFA (Brevet Au Fonction d’Animateur), which is a certificate that enabled me to take part in numerous summer camps in France and around the world with young people aged 4 to 20, before becoming a teacher. I still organize summer excursions, often for 3 weeks, with teenagers abroad. Being a PE teacher allows me to continue as a director and leader during school holidays, so I can pass my passion for travel onto young people. Also, I always loved my PE lessons when I was at school, and had passionate and inspiring teachers who made me want to become one myself. What I love about teaching PE is being able to pass on my love for sports to children, helping them to develop both their motor skills and their social skills, and seeing them progress and grow every day. They experience many emotions during my lessons, and I’m there to support them and help them overcome obstacles in the various sporting and artistic activities. Finally, when I see that the children are so happy to come to PE lessons, it motivates me even more.
What do you appreciate about teaching at the FAA?
Working at the FAA means being surrounded by a great team of French and American colleagues, in a bilingual context where everyone can share part of their culture. It also means challenging my teaching to adapt it to this bilingual context, and trying to pass on a part of my French culture while remaining firmly rooted in the United States. I love teaching in small classes, where you get to know each child and take the time to focus on each one. I enjoy the pedagogical freedom that allows me to choose my teaching methods while applying the French curriculum. I love being able to showcase my favorite sport, handball, which I’ve played for over 20 years, through the annual tournament that brings together all the FAA’s primary and secondary school students. I love the family feel of this small school, which means I really get to know everyone: the parents at the front of the school, all the staff and colleagues you meet several times a day, but also all the children. As the only PE teacher in the school, I’m lucky enough to know ALL of them.
As a gym teacher, you get to work through lots of different units throughout the year, varying by level. Are there any activities, sessions, units, or grades that you particularly enjoy?
Oh yes, I teach almost all classes, from 2nd to 8th graders. Each class level has its own particularity and I adapt my teaching and my methods to the children’s ages. For the youngest, the discovery of sport is done through play and fun. With middle-schoolers, I focus more specifically on the different sports activities and on technique and tactics in the game, to enable them to become real competitors.
In terms of activities, I love all ball sports: handball, basketball, rugby, soccer and volleyball, as well as racquet sports like badminton and pickleball. One of the more artistic activities I particularly enjoy teaching is circus, especially Diabolo [a 2-headed top activity] and Devil’s Sticks [a stick-juggling activity]: these are activities that children are completely new to, often not even knowing what they are. The kids’ progress is lightning fast, and they usually become fans of these juggling activities very quickly.
