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Education Minister Kelly Lamrock wishes to thank all those who took time to submit comments.

Please note that we will only post submissions from people who have given us explicit consent to do so. We will not post the following:

Submissions received on-line that indicate "Not public" on the web form
Submissions sent direct by email, letter or fax which do not explicitly ask us to post their comments or which divulge personal information about third parties (in order to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act)
Submissions that contain statements considered to be defamatory, libelous, hateful, or of a commercial nature.
Duplicate submissions

Please also note that because each submission must be reviewed in the context of the above, there will normally be a time lag of between 2-3 days between receiving a submission and posting it on the website.

As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2008, the French Second Language consultation has concluded. Any comments received after that time will not be posted, but will be brought to the Minister's attention.

Improving French Second Language Programming Within a Quality Education System(pdf)

Comments appear in the language received.

Why is the government not showing people's comments and suggestions on the website as they did with Croll-Lee? The lack of transparency in this so-called "consultation" is sickening in a democracy!!

Minister Lamrock,
Your discussion paper is disingenuous and rife with falsehoods stemming from the widely-discredited Croll-Lee report.

All of your so-called concerns for the children of this Province can be addressed by simply providing adequate funding for the proper support of children who may have some difficulties in the EFI program rather than pushing them off to Core at the first sign of trouble.

You, as Minister of Education, have a duty to the citizen's of this province to do everything in your power to obtain the best advice possible when you consider changing a program as ingrained in our identities as New Brunswickers as EFI. You have failed in that duty by your blatant attempt to ram through an ill-advised and untested program on the advice of your friend Doug Wilms and your attempt to find evidence to back up your pre-conceived notion through Croll and Lee is an insult to all New Brunswickers.

Now, you have a judge who has declared your actions unfair and unreasonable. You again owe it to our citizens to admit your mistake and take the time required to properly address the problems in our Education system. Most reasonable people would say that means a least year of study and public consultation yet here you are again, trying to ram through this plan in a month over the summer holiday.

Your actions are nothing less than contempt of the court order and I truly hope that the complaining parties in that court action explore this possibility.

As to how we go about starting to correct the problems in our education system, for starters, you need to be removed from the portfolio. You have exhausted the patience and trust of New Brunswickers and your continued presence on this file is the single biggest problem facing Education in NB.

Secondly, involve other stakeholders other than Dr Wilms in your consultations. A Commission should be struck immediately comprised of bi-partisan groups including educational experts, parents groups and the Dept of Education. Give the commission until January to make recommendations and then take the proper time to evaluate which recommendations could be implemented by Sept 2009. That's a start and would go further than Mr. Lamrock's bungled first attempt. Contrary to what Mr. Lamrock might think, he does not hold a monopoly on knowing what is best for New Brunswick students.

The evidence is clear to those who have been effected the most that English Core has been suffering for years while we try to provide for second language in the early years of education. Streaming, classroom configuration, crumbling schools and the lack of resources are only a few problems created by this system while the English Core program erodes. The perception of the need for early immersion and politics have been the biggest influences on decision making in the past. Why do some of us continue to stick our heads in the sand? Special interest groups should not control the destiny of the wishes of the majority of Anglophone parents.

I am a mother of 3. I have experienced all there is to offer of our system, early immersion, English, intensive and soon late immersion.
I believe from my experience a child in the English system needs to master their basics first if they are to succeed in school. When they do not experience success they do not give it their all to try harder. Children are little sponges wanting to learn.
I put my eldest daughter into early immersion because she had a desire to learn the French language. As a result of 7 years in French her English suffered. Now in high school, she struggles in English Language Arts.
People with experience need to be a part of the decision. How do parents of children in kindergarten know first hand the effects that early immersion will have on their child's education? The children that are experiencing the most success in the immersion program are those that have at least one French speaking parent at home.
Please put our children first.