AUTHOR NARRATION
Hear the poem.
Read by A.F. King in the original English, including the French lines.
Ode to Mme. GodetA.F. King · English narration
POEM + IMMERSION
Ode toMme. Godet
A comic memory of French immersion, a broken rule, righteous fury, and students who discovered that English could become contraband.
FRENCH GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL
What survives from the program?
This page can remain intentionally modest until the archive search reveals what actually exists.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERProgram photograph
/media/ode-to-mme-godet/governors-school-1.jpgProgram photograph
A surviving photograph from the immersion program.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERAnother artifact
/media/ode-to-mme-godet/governors-school-2.jpgAnother artifact
A second image if one can be located.
MEDIA PLACEHOLDERProgram material
/media/ode-to-mme-godet/program-scan.jpgProgram material
Brochure, schedule, badge, handbook, or another documentary object.
THE RULE
English was the forbidden language.
Add a concise explanation of the immersion rule, why it mattered to the program, what happened when students broke it, and how the director’s response later became comic material rather than merely a disciplinary memory.
Optional materials
A rule sheet, student handbook, goodbye message, schedule, or any surviving object that makes the all-French environment tangible.
READER DISCUSSION
Reader comments will appear here after the discussion system is connected.