Give anglos access to French school system
I read with great interest the "open letter to anglophones" in Saturday's Telegraph-Journal. The comments by Donald Savoie, Denis Losier et al. are accurate and I agree with everything stated except the proposed one-year delay to review the issue. However, the authors failed to finish painting the whole picture.
For example:
*New Brunswick already has a fully functioning 100-per-cent French school system. With a bit of political will and just old fashioned goodwill, the existing French school system could be tweaked to accept any and all students, regardless of origin, who want to commit to speaking French when starting into the school system. I couldn't think of a better "full immersion" program. By supporting this potential option, Mr. Savoie, you and your group of francophones could show your strong support for anglopnone parents who want to keep early French immersion.
*New Brunswick's literacy rate is among the lowest in Canada and this must be corrected starting immediately (not next year) by tackling the problem head-on. This is the major problem in New Brunswick's education system, not bilingualism.
*The reality is that English is the dominant language of business and science around the world. Even in North America, with a population of about 333 million, the vast majority speak English and yes, many speak Spanish, Chinese or French additionally. Therefore it is absolutely critical that all graduates of New Brunswick's school system be literate in at least English, if nothing else.
*It is rewarding and life enriching to be bilingual or multilingual. Exposure to the other languages and cultures not only makes life a lot more fun, but it also opens more employment opportunities, especially for those interested in Canadian government careers. But the reality is that it is far more important to be literate (in any language) than it is to be bilingual.
The New Brunswick government is caught between a rock and a hard place with this issue. Money is tight. The government, with its limited financial resources, is attempting to improve the literacy rate while at the same time trying to improve its 20-per-cent efficient French immersion program. It is my opinion the government has focused on the correct goal (vastly improved literacy), but is unsure about how to get there. I suggest that they maximize utilization of resources already in place rather than taking the flawed approach currently being pursued.
Ask the French school system to accept all who want full immersion. In both French and English school systems, the government should provide far more support and resources in the first few foundation years of schooling. French would still be taught in the English system as an elective, but students would focus primarily on reading, writing and math in those key early years. Most additional funding should be directed at these three key subjects. Don't go overboard on art, music, gym, etc., although these also have a place.
Hopefully New Brunswick will someday be known as a province with very high literacy rates and will also be perceived as a leader in French immersion and as a model for English-French relations for the rest of Canada.
I once saw a corporate logo - FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. The New Brunswick government is well advised by Mr. Lamrock to focus first on literacy for students in both official languages. French immersion is really a secondary issue at this time.
Dick Mann is a resident of Bathurst.
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Our literacy rate over all age cohorts is amongst the lowest in Canada, but our 16-25 year olds score above the national average, beating even Ontario. These young adults are the most recent products of our schools, and thus should be the measuring stick used to determine the efficacy of our system.
If our most recent graduates are above average, why is literacy a "major problem" in our K-12 school system according to this author?
The real problem is the lack of adult training and skill development. It's our older citizens who lack the resources necessary to improve our literacy scores. Government should focus on adult learning, rather than tearing down the entire French Immersion system.
EFI and bilingualism are not the problem, yet we continue to heap our scorn upon them.
I must have missed it--how are literacy rates being addressed in the proposed changes? What, specifically, is being done that will improve English literary outcomes?
The sky is not falling. There is no crisis except for the one being manufactured by the DOE. Naomi Klein anyone?
Improvements need to be made. Things could be much better, but lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is no problem facing the education system in this province that can not be managed through the daily application of normal management skills.
In this case, the EFI Elimination Revolution, is nothing more than a coverup of a failure to appropriately manage the system on a day to day basis.
One of the worst cases possible is that an election will be fought around this issue, with the opposition reinstating any changes for better that the current Gov't is trying to establish and then we will be back and forth without any commitment to a viable plan. Education should be free of political influence.
Those who want to be immersed in french can go to french schools - it's easy. But overall, Literacy is number one importance - the reality is that if one is literate in french instead of english, then that individual will be deficient based on the national & international chioce of using english. Why should NB choose to stray so far off course?
Whether you are buying a donut in Rogersville or building a refinery in Saudi Arabia, english is the universally understood language.
I assume you realize that many (perhaps the majority) of EFI supporters are in fact English--my children don't have a drop of French blood in them.
This ENGLISH parent (and many others)are demanding effective education for their children--we believe that in NB that has to include the "option" of becoming bilingual.
Can you show me how Immersion stops your English child from getting an effective education in his Mother tongue? (I won't hold my breath, I've asked before and nothings been produced)
I don't want my English child shuffled off to a French school--I want him to be part of the neighbourhood where his friends are--talk about streaming--send off those low life EFIers we don't even want them in our schools they're open mindedness might be contagious.
"send off those low life EFIers we don't even want them in our schools they're open mindedness might be contagious."
Mature statement, my friend. Stop trying to be inflamatory.
Unfortunately immersion into the French culture is the only way the average Anglo kid will ever qualify for the higher jobs in the government under current rules. Maybe some Francos see this as a guarantee to government jobs for their kids, although the excuse often used is that Anglos in their school system would be a threat to their culture. Like it or not, this is the real reality and the basic source of both current and future problems.
I know this because, like you, I understand that while it good to be able to speak in French it is imperative that my children have the opportunity to excel at communication in English. Before I decided to put my kids in the EFI program I looked at the peer reviewed research. There is no long term downside to primary language learning in a secondary language school environment.
This has been borne out by my experience with my own kids. They can now speak French and read/write as well in English as their non EFI friends. One of them attends school under an SEP. He has struggled just like he would in English, except that now he will be bilingual which will provide an additonal skill to overcome his challenges.