Skydiver, detective, Amiénois, French teacher based first in Dallas and now at Latin, Sébastien Caux is the newest addition to the Upper School French Department.
M. Caux was born in Amiens, a city about halfway between Paris and Lille, where he spent most of his childhood. During this time, he developed a unique passion: skydiving. He has plummeted toward the Earth nearly 700 times, though he has hung up his parachute for now due to the sport’s dangerous nature.
When he wasn’t skydiving, M. Caux earned his bachelor’s degree in law in Amiens. He then moved to Lille to continue his studies, obtaining his master’s degree in penal law. He took this degree to a public office, a common career path in France.
But he didn’t join just any public office; he joined the Police Nationale—“what Americans could call the French FBI,” M. Caux said. During his seven years in Paris with the agency, he specialized in investigating violent crimes on the north side of the city, such as armed burglary, kidnapping, and attempted murder.
With such an arduous job, M. Caux worked hard to maintain a positive headspace. “It’s a very personal, very passionate job, but it’s a very hard job, because you see a lot of bad things. So you have to have a solid mindset. You do it for the people,” he said. “It’s like a doctor; you try to keep distance with things, because if you let emotions invade yourself, you will not do a good job.”
Eventually, M. Caux decided it was time to reduce the stress in his life. After meeting his now-wife, a Mexican national who was studying abroad, he decided to start anew as a French teacher in Dallas, Texas. “Since I became a teacher, I have had a more balanced life,” he said. Although the Police Nationale was a rewarding job, it often involved long working hours and 24/7 availability. “[Teaching] is very peaceful when you start to have a family.”
Putting down the badge of Égalité, Liberté, Fraternité was a major career change. Arriving in the States with little experience speaking English, M. Caux had to simultaneously teach French to students of all levels and learn English himself. Bridging the gap between languages showed him the key to teaching effectively. “If we can communicate, that’s the goal,” he said.
Another important part of effective teaching is capturing interest. It can be a challenging task in high school classrooms, but “if a student is at all interested [in learning French], I take that interest and try to grow it,” M. Caux said. How does he capture that interest? Through his teaching style—“learning together” with a comedic twinge—he gets students more invested in lessons and cultivates a more collaborative environment.
He noted that this attitude is more aligned with U.S. classroom norms than with France’s. French school culture often puts more distance between students and teachers, focusing on the transaction of teaching and making school a more formal environment. Teachers follow a tight curriculum, making it difficult for them to personalize classes and separating them from students.
Having worked in both systems, M. Caux prefers Latin’s teaching style. It’s a big move from Dallas, and even more so from France, but as he now heads into yet another new chapter—this one set in Chicago’s Gold Coast at 59 W. North Blvd.—he’s looking forward to the change. “I don’t feel too out of my element,” he said. “[but] I’m excited to know the winter.”
