Gov't urged to abolish immersion
Former lieut.-gov. says instead, all children should undergo 'enriched, extended' French
FREDERICTON - Former lieutenant-governor Margaret Norrie McCain believes New Brunswick should have abolished French immersion and replaced it with a universal system of "enriched, extended" French for all children.
McCain is an expert on early childhood development and is advising the province's cabinet committee on designing a system of specialized sites that will offer a wide range of integrated services to children and parents.
"I supported the government's plan and I would have abolished the French immersion all together, because I think there are better ways to acquiring second-language proficiency," McCain said in an interview.
"The science of language acquisition shows us that the best time for it to happen is when the brain is malleable and developing the language function is between six months and two years."
McCain said her quarrel with the French immersion program is that it creates an elitist system that funnels the best students to one stream and leaving behind classrooms that have a difficult time achieving high standards.
The Liberal government rolled out its new plan for French second-language education on Tuesday.
The program will have a universal kindergarten-to-Grade 2 system that introduces French in separate modules focused on art, songs and games.
Immersion will begin in Grade 3 and students who don't enter the program will be required to take an intensive French course by Grade 5.
The department is keeping Grade 6 late immersion and allowing any student who achieves an intermediate level of French after Grade 10 to take French courses in their final two years of high school.
The revised plan was a result of a public furor caused by parents of immersion students who protested the government's original intention to set back to Grade 5 the beginning of immersion instruction in New Brunswick schools.
The heart of the issue was the lack of public consultation conducted by the Department of Education on the change.
Parents sought a court ruling and won, forcing the government seek public input before it released its current program.
McCain called the policy change "a concession to the parents who were very loudly protesting."
She said her preferred option would be language teaching that would be available to each child.
"Every child, not just 20 per cent (in immersion), get enriched, extended core French across the board," McCain said.
McCain is helping the provincial government devise a system of integrated early childhood development centres.
The Department of Social Development has $400,000 set aside this year to set up four of these centres.
McCain said she hopes these centres will eventually be set up so two-year-olds will be able to start second language education there.
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Amazing how much power some people allot themselves! And God help those who dare have minds of their own, even if not necessarily dining with the rich and famous!
It wasn't just parents who very very loudly protesting, it was the result of bogus reports, whereby the Ombudsman and the Courts got involved.
The numbers used above (20%) are bogus too, and as for $400,000 that's hardly apt to cut it. Too bad we're not talking ballet, as the same lady helped raised $100 million for that in good old T.O. not long ago...but then tutu's eh...so much more important than such mundane things as education...