Choir of critics against the proposed reform of the French immersion school program in NB.

[ad_1]

FREDERICTON Teachers and parents gathered in Fredericton to make their voices heard against the New Brunswick government’s plan to reform the French immersion program in schools by the fall.

The government-led consultations involving around 300 people at the Delta Hotel on Wednesday lasted about 90 minutes past the scheduled 8.30 p.m. end time, and all of the roughly 30 people who addressed the room criticized the changes proposed by Province.

Participants asked what evidence the government had of the shortcomings of the current French immersion program that warranted reforms. They also demanded to know what data the province used to create the new program and questioned whether the changes were rushed after the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teacher Heather Hollett compared the government’s plan to demolishing the whole house when only the kitchen needed updating.

“Rather than tearing down the system, I would suggest collecting data and dedicating resources to education through increased educational assistance, supportive interventions from behavioral mentors, occupational therapists, speech therapists” , she told the audience.

The government says the aim of its reforms is to ensure that all graduates from the Anglophone sector have at least a level of conversational French. The province prides itself on being the only officially bilingual province in Canada, but has lamented that most of its English-speaking graduates do not speak French.

Proposed changes to be implemented in the fall are proving controversial because they reduce French learning time. The province’s current immersion program offers up to 90% of class time in French, while the new program devotes half the day to learning French and the other half to teaching French. English in subjects such as maths, reading and writing.

Moira Buyting, who has children in the French immersion programme, said the government should put its reform on hold. Teachers and students, she said, have gone through two years of COVID-19 and are still reeling from its effects.

The story continues

“I feel like the system just needs to take a break and catch up,” Buyting said. “Teachers need to be rejuvenated and kids just need to have a sense of consistency.”

Hollett said she has “serious concerns” because the government does not appear to have made room for after-school activities. The school’s logistical realities, she said, make the government’s promise to teach students in French for half a day “misinformed and false”.

If 50% of the day is devoted to math literacy and teaching in English and 50% of the day is to be spent teaching in French, where would subjects such as physical education fit in, the art and music? »

His statement drew cheers and applause from the audience.

Education Minister Bill Hogan started the evening by telling the crowd that the purpose of the session was to assess whether the government was on the “right track”.

“Ultimately, when we look at all the data we’ve gathered, we’ll make a decision,” he said. “We’ll share that as soon as we can.”

Jeff Beairsto, an engineer who has children in the French immersion program, wanted to know if the government had received support for the planned changes privately. Because, he says, opposition to the province idea has been vocal and public.

“If you come to the public and say ‘the silent majority has spoken’, hopefully you have data to back that up,” he said. “It doesn’t look like the silent cohort is the majority.”

Hogan did not respond to questions from reporters about the proportion of people in favor of the program.

“I got a number of positive comments and emails from teachers. So yeah, I got some,” he said. “We’ll put that together with the rest of the data we have and draw conclusions.”

Chrissy Montgomery of New Brunswick Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services said there is a shortage of interpreters and teachers for students with hearing problems. She said children with hearing loss should learn sign language before French or English, adding that the government’s plan would only add confusion and frustration to these students.

Many deaf students entering kindergarten, she says, have not been properly trained to express their needs in French or English. “Are you going to make them switch between an English lesson 50% of the time, switch between a French lesson 50% of the time without having any language?”

Donna McLaughlin, board member of Canadian Parents for French, said: “We haven’t seen the data yet that supports your proposed plan. We haven’t seen the research you’re proposing. You haven’t not yet mentioned who your experts are.”

Chris Collins, executive director of the New Brunswick chapter of Canadian Parents for French, who participated in all public consultations in Bathurst, Moncton and Saint John, said public reaction has been “very negative towards the changes” .

“I can’t say that I think they will be heard,” he said. “I can say that I hope they will be heard.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 26, 2023.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

[ad_2]