Johanna N...

Collège Georges Rouault

Paris - France

 

What was it like when you were a teenager?

 

Comenius project — 2000-2001

Teacher: Mrs Audin

 

 

The interviewed

First name: Jacques (a friend of the family )

Age: 54 years old

Nationality: French

Origin: Polish

 

The interviewer

First name: Johanna

Age: 13 years old

Nationality: French

Origin:

 

 

The interview

 

Johanna: Do you get on well with your parents?

Jacques: I can now say that I get on well with my parents even if it was not the case during my youth.

Johanna: How did you get along with them?

Jacques: When I was young I communicated more with my father than with my mother as she was very authoritative.

Johanna: Did you often quarrel with your parents?

Jacques: No, because I had no right to talk but I had to follow what my parents wanted, thus there were no conflicts.

Johanna: What did you quarrel about?

Jacques: The problem could be on any subject and my parents were always right.

Johanna: Did your parents often forbid you to do certain things?

Jacques: Yes, many things were forbidden.

Johanna: Like what, for example?

Jacques: Like going out when my homework was not done or listening to the radio in the evening.

Johanna: Do you think that your parents were right?

Jacques: Yes, when I was young but not anymore.

Johanna: Why?

Jacques: Whatever my parents refused me when I was a child was unfair but it was possible to have a dialogue with my father.

Johanna: Did your parents insist on doing certain things on your behalf?

Jacques: Yes, they insisted that I get good marks in school and I had to be clean.

Johanna: What house chores did you have to do?

Jacques: I had to go and fetch some charcoal from the cellar and lay the table.

Johanna: Did you like it?

Jacques: I was so used to doing it that it did not bother me.

Johanna: Do you think being a child was easy in those days?

Jacques: One does not even think about it whether it was easy or not.

Johanna: Why not?

Jacques: When I spoke with some of my friends I noticed that my situation was not bad. For example, my parents sent me on holidays camps during school holiday.

Johanna: Do you think that your parents were very strict?

Jacques: Yes, especially my mother.

Johanna: Why?

Jacques: She was very strict in general.

Johanna: Can you sum up your life with your parents in general?

Jacques: Yes, in fact, my parents brought me up in their way of life and I only started taking my word when I was 16 or 17 years old.