Host parent/fencer questionnaire

[Durando]

Hello parents,

Can you help me out? I'm in the midst of proposing an exchange program between my club (NEC Escrime, Nantes) and a few American clubs. I'm soliciting the advice of my parents and have ideas of my own, of course, but I thought I'd float the topic at f.net before I have a sit-down meeting.

The basis of the exchange is simply fencing families who are willing to house and feed one of our juniors for two weeks. Families of NEC Escrime will reciprocate. I'll want to head off any problems by assigning fencers to families. To do so, I'll of course depend on the discretion of the host club, but I'd also like to devise a questionnaire for both families and fencers. I'd also like it to be relatively short (no more than twenty questions).

1) Does this approach make sense? If not, fill me in on a better way.
2) What sort of questions would you put on either questionnaire?

Thanks for your input!

[Phincer]

What a nice idea!

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

1. For all the nuts and bolts, I'd go check out the big student exchange programs and see what they do, then pare it down a bit. But not too much. Most of those questions are there for a really good reason and they've had years of experience.

2. Extend your stay to three weeks. They get over jet lag after a few days, then start having fun, making friends and then its time to go back home.

3. Make sure that the clubs mirror what the students see at home. For example, a really serious fencer might hate going to a rec club once a week.
Which leads me to the question-

4. What is the goal? Exchange of students to learn different fencing techniques/experience what it is like to train in another country OR is it purely cultural with fencing as the common denominator? Or both?

5. Make sure your fencers/families have similar habits. Does the student/family allow smoking? drinking? unlimited use of the internet? (I'm going to show how prudish I am and not include S-E-X, b/c of course, no one could hook up and get that far in a relationship in three weeks...right ?) Does the family get up at 5 and go work out? Only go to the club for 1 practice a week?

6. Pets/allergies/food restrictions?

7. You should expect families to provide the fencers with their own bed (not the sofa). Therefore, girls stay with girls, boys stay with boys UNLESS they are guaranteed a separate room or room with a sibling of the same sex.

8. Several "send you home no questions asked rules": A. no driving of any motorized vehicle, B. Underage drinking, etc. (I know that last one kind of clashes with #5, but when we hosted a student, those were the kill buttons.)

9. Make sure the fencer's insurance will be valid in the country in which they visit.

10. As coordinator, you will need to be able to be reached 24/7 while your students are traveling and in country. And have a back-up.

11. Be very clear what the fencer will be responsible for paying for-club dues, local tournament fees, their own way to the movies, etc. Or will the family include him/her as a 'family member'? Also be very clear that the fencer will be expected to help with regular chores but NOT become the dishwasher for the entire time-unless it is a regular chore and is shared with the rest of the host family.

12. I think background checks are in order for all host families-

13-EDIT-Language skills! I almost forgot! You'll have to include what level French/English everyone speaks! Might be a good thing to think about.





Good luck with your program! We would be interested in hosting a student!

[Durando]

Thanks for such a complete reply!

Originally Posted by Phincer

1. For all the nuts and bolts, I'd go check out the big student exchange programs and see what they do, then pare it down a bit. But not too much. Most of those questions are there for a really good reason and they've had years of experience.

This is in the works.

Originally Posted by Phincer

2. Extend your stay to three weeks. They get over jet lag after a few days, then start having fun, making friends and then its time to go back home.

Hard to do doing the school year. You're right about jet lag, etc.

Originally Posted by Phincer

3. Make sure that the clubs mirror what the students see at home. For example, a really serious fencer might hate going to a rec club once a week.
Which leads me to the question-

Impossible. Part of the French side of the experience will be to see what the sport looks like outside of state support. But I've made an effort to include clubs which have a robust competitive section.

Originally Posted by Phincer

4. What is the goal? Exchange of students to learn different fencing techniques/experience what it is like to train in another country OR is it purely cultural with fencing as the common denominator? Or both?

Both. For high level fencers this will mostly be a dry run on how to keep it together when mom isn't around.

Originally Posted by Phincer

5. Make sure your fencers/families have similar habits. Does the student/family allow smoking? drinking? unlimited use of the internet? (I'm going to show how prudish I am and not include S-E-X, b/c of course, no one could hook up and get that far in a relationship in three weeks...right ?) Does the family get up at 5 and go work out? Only go to the club for 1 practice a week?

This is what my questionnaire will want to answer. Also, remember we're talking about French kids. Any hooking up will depend on them speaking English. Which is a good thing, but don't quote me. On the American side, I wouldn't expect to be with a family who gets up at five and works out. Club attendance will be a daily deal for the time period. We're also working to see that both sides will go to a local competition during their stay.

Originally Posted by Phincer

6. Pets/allergies/food restrictions?

You can't bring your pet. Although I understand what you mean.

Originally Posted by Phincer

7. You should expect families to provide the fencers with their own bed (not the sofa). Therefore, girls stay with girls, boys stay with boys UNLESS they are guaranteed a separate room or room with a sibling of the same sex.

Best if this is explicitly stated. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Phincer

8. Several "send you home no questions asked rules": A. no driving of any motorized vehicle, B. Underage drinking, etc. (I know that last one kind of clashes with #5, but when we hosted a student, those were the kill buttons.)

Yeah. This is always an issue. And there's one in every crowd.

Originally Posted by Phincer

9. Make sure the fencer's insurance will be valid in the country in which they visit.

Yep. Which means our kids will be taking out travel insurance policies. Guaranteed to come up at least once per stay.

Originally Posted by Phincer

10. As coordinator, you will need to be able to be reached 24/7 while your students are traveling and in country. And have a back-up.

To be determined. But I've worn this hat before. As have people on the U.S. side.

Originally Posted by Phincer

11. Be very clear what the fencer will be responsible for paying for-club dues, local tournament fees, their own way to the movies, etc. Or will the family include him/her as a 'family member'? Also be very clear that the fencer will be expected to help with regular chores but NOT become the dishwasher for the entire time-unless it is a regular chore and is shared with the rest of the host family.

What, no Bart Simpson to stomp my grapes?! Zut alors! The financial burden will likely be just room and board in exchange for the same privileges.

Originally Posted by Phincer

12. I think background checks are in order for all host families-

A good idea but cost prohibitive given the size of the exchange I'm proposing.

Originally Posted by Phincer

13-EDIT-Language skills! I almost forgot! You'll have to include what level French/English everyone speaks! Might be a good thing to think about.

As a language teacher, I firmly believe that when two people who don't share a common language want to communicate, they always find a way. Still and all, this should be self-selecting: French kids will want to practice the English they're already learning. Americans will either have a reason to do well in their French classes or grow some sign-language skills. Will be explicit about this: I'm not going to translate classes as they happen. French isn't all that hard to learn, especially if that's the only thing people speak. Have already started making out a phonetic cheat sheet, but it will still require an act of linguistic courage.

Originally Posted by Phincer

Good luck with your program! We would be interested in hosting a student!

Thanks! At the moment I'm only working with a select few clubs--if you're in one of them, you'll be hearing about this soon. If not, I'll soon have some experiences to share. PM me if you would like pointers on coming to France....

Eventually, I'd like to see an exchange of seniors and veterans and/or cadre.

[chefencer]

Dude! This is cool! I've been out of fnet circulation for a while...hence the thread rez And I can't rep you currently...so Public Props for this program! Let me know when you get to the geezer exchange and i'd love to try to learn more than Menu French...