New French teacher James Eliscar. Photo taken by Ryan Hames.
By JOSANDY JENUE AND CHRISTINA APPIGNANI
James Eliscar is Malden High School’s newest addition to the French department. Eliscar is very excited to be teaching French II and III at Malden High, but this won’t be his first teaching job. Before coming to Malden High, he taught social sciences at Boston College and Somerville High School. He is originally from Haiti and because of that most of his education was completed there. Eliscar majored in social/political sciences and economics/international relations in college.
Eliscar became passionate about French because “[he] was interested in how French speaking countries (official or not) would have a lot of similarities and differences with things such as their food, cuisines, and their language.” He is also interested in “a lot of the commonalities the French language shares with the rest of the world”. Eliscar someday hopes to add France to the long list of countries that he has visited. To name a few, Eliscar has traveled to Netherlands, Morocco, Senegal, Beneden, Ghana, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Quebec, Sint Maarten, and Dominican Republic. When asked about how he would like students to view him in his classroom he replied that “[he] does not want his pupils to be afraid to express themselves in French. Even though what [he] might be teaching may be a difficult subject, [he] would like [his students] to do the best [they] can and practice the language as much as possible.”
His co-worker and fellow French teacher Paul Degenkolb was very impressed with Eliscar’s resume. Degenkolb noticed that “[Eliscar] had lots of experience working in different countries on human development as well as tutoring in Haitian Creole.” Degenkolb also “found it great that [Malden High] could find a candidate who is from a French speaking country [Haiti] and [he] thinks it was an amazing way for the Haitian students to connect more with the teacher and the class.”
Degenkolb thinks that “[Eliscar’s] teaching will impact students differently on how they receive a new perspective on French from a non-European point of view.” Degenkolb also finds Eliscar’s teachings “unique in the sense that traditional methods that [Eliscar] practiced in Haiti will be brought up to date.”
Outside of school in his free time Eliscar enjoys reading, travelling, and participating in non profit organizations. Eliscar enjoys reading because “it is another way to explore the world.” He likes travelling because “[he] thinks it’s a great way to encounter new cultures and meet new people.” Eliscar also takes pleasure in participating in non profit organization because it’s a great way to give back. He enjoys researching on topics such as social inquiries. He likes spending time with his family and friends and watching sports events such as soccer, football, and just started to become interested in baseball.
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