What does “passer au tableau” mean in French?

Passer au tableau is the classroom moment every French pupil dreads: being called up to the blackboard to answer in front of everyone. Tableau means both “board” and “painting,” and passer here means to go up and take your turn. Kevin, tu passes au tableau is “Kevin, come up to the board.”

It belongs to a small set of school phrases: lever le doigt (“put up your hand,” literally “raise your finger”), faire ses devoirs (“do your homework”), and aller au coin (to be sent to the corner). In this sketch of awkward school moments, Kevin gets called up and has to admit je n’ai pas fait mes exercices, right after a classmate calls the teacher maman by mistake.