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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.

New Brunswick is Canada's only bilingual province. With this in mind, those children entering grade one wishing to begin their bilingual education should be able to do so. Experience with our own children shows early immersion does work.
As stated in our newspapers, "early immersion is an elite education", this is not so, it is essential in New Brunswick.
Please continue to make early immersion available to those students wishing to have this opportinity.

The current system is unsustainable, caters to a vocal minority, and allows mainstreaming away from the core english programs, not only from a monetary perspective but from social contact perspective, leaving the english program to bear the burdon of challenges that the elite-ist EFI program refuses to accomodate, claiming for itself a status of exclusion which it neither deserves nor warrants based on it's failure to produce the outcomes of bilingualism that it is supposed to achieve. Stop wasting my tax dollars on these ridiculous pathways to lingualism, first achieve the outcome of an educated population then we can talk about the language of education.

After living in Toronto for 10 years and now residing in Moncton for 3, I have been able to compare the education systems in both locations and I am sad to say that New Brunswick system is failing our children. New Brunswick consistently ranks last in Canada for test scores. Just this past week the Globe and Mail reported that NB has an adult literacy rates of 50%, 80% in seniors! With test scores like this NB will continue to generate only low paying jobs ie Call Centres rather then higher paying knowledge based jobs.

I didn't vote for Mr. Lamrock but I support his decision 100%. Drastic times require drastic measures. We need to act fast to improve our faultering education system.

Dear Minister Lamrock and Dept of Education Staff,

I will be writing a more comprehensive submission when I have had the time to do more research into the issue, and have time to formulate my ideas in a way that I hope will be constructive to the decision making process.

I would, however, like to suggest that in the interest of having the very best education for all students, it is imperative to take the time to build it properly and incorporate the ideas and information from all.

I wholeheartedly believe that we all have the same goals for our education system - to create an environment where all children can thrive, grow and learn in an inclusive and supportive environment; one where teachers, administrators and parents are all partners in helping our children reach their greatest potential.

While I know that previous studies have been done on the FSL issue, none of those suggested eliminating Early French Immersion. As this is a new idea, originated in the Croll & Lee report, it is important to take the time to explore its impacts on the whole system.

I have not yet made up my mind about which direction will be best for children; as I say, I will research all perspectives and form an opinion.

However, I sincerely believe that if this decision is rushed, then we will be looking at revisiting this issue and its unintended fall-out of any aspects that might not be given full consideration due to moving in haste.

I hope you will consider my thoughts on this with seriousness.

I agree the education system of New Brunswick needs an overhaul. It lacks resources, teaching staff are fighting a battle within to stay engaged due to funding issues, and this leads to unprepared students. Do I think the problems of the system lies within the French Immersion program? No. French Immersion is necessary for those of us wishing to remain in New Brunswick. It is working - what isn't working is the English program. I understood by placing my child in French, I would have to pick up the slack for her English grammar, reading, and spelling. I continued to encourage my daughter to read in English (after her French homework was done). She reads at or above her grade level in both languages in Grade 4 Early Immersion.

I believe it is the choice of the parents to place children into early French Immersion (using the guidence of their childrens' educators). By piloting yet another "New and Improved" program, you are going to create more unprepared and borderline literate children. I have a child going into grade one next year and I made the educated choice to place him in Early Immersion. Kelly, you decided to take away my choice and become the parent in charge of my child's education. I take offence as I firmly believe a man educating his children in Fredericton, does not understand the impact to the men and women educating their children in Moncton. Put some effort into the review and open your mind to the impact you are making ... is it where it needs to be? Fix what's broken - start funding improvements to the schools. Get resources to our educators. Make children and teachers accountable for not being able to read and write in any language. The problem is not French Immersion.

I understand the concerns of the Department and many parents and teachers about streaming, and I am not against eliminating early French immersion. But I do think that Grade 5 is too late to start French instruction. A good solid core FSL program for all children in the Anglophone school system, starting in kindergarten and continuing until Grade 12, would be my preference, as a former FSL teacher in N.B. schools. Would that be too costly?

Dear Mr. Lamrock:
I feel the government has made the right decision on changing the FSL in New Brunswick. By allowing English speaking studnets to become proficient in their first language, in terms of reading and writing, they will become more successful.

I support the elimination of French Immersion in Grade 1. Mostly, I feel that it is too early to determine whether the child will have any learning difficulties. Especially since some children leave kindergarten and can't even recognize all their sounds.

There is a lot of pressure to put kids in EFI. There is a stigma that if your kids are smart they should go in EFI. We were on the fence when we were deciding if we should be put our son in. We knew he was smart so we finally did put him in. At the end of grade 1 he was diagnosed with ADD. We thought about taking him out of French in grade 2 but the teacher talked us out of it. We finally did take him out at Christmas of Grade 4. We was falling behind in school, had low self-esteem and confidence, was getting really frustrated because he couldn't keep up. But how would we have known he would have these problems when he was 6 years old?

On the other hand, my daughter went in EFI and is excelling. She needed the extra challenge posed by learning a second language.

That being said, some say Grade 1 is too early, some say Grade 5 is too late. Perhaps a middle ground is the best option - perhaps entry in Grade 3 might appease people more.

I fully support the acquisition of a second language for all children but not at the expense of our most vulnerable. I was a member of an Anglophone School Board in the late 80's and 90's and every year we agonized over the cutbacks to the English stream classrooms as we increased the classes of French Immersion. On a yearly basis we felt the teachers teaching in the English stream faced increasing challenges. I am pleased our Minister of Education has shown the courage to face up to the difficulties created by the dual system. I believe there is some "wiggle" room to make adjustments to the proposed plans for introducing FI however I believe the first few years of educating our children should be in English.

Thank you for the opportunity to present my views.

I approve of the changes that are being made to the FI program in NB. The current system is not working. The evidence that has been gathered during the more than 30 years since the programs initiation is sufficient for the Dept of Ed to base the need for these changes on.

Currently we have a two tiered system of Education in the province. In the English system, FI students have access to the bulk of the educational resources available while core students are penalized with less. The result is an inequity that is unacceptable. In the French system, there is little to no regard for English immersion so funds and teaching resources are not split to accommodate duality of instruction.

My great wish is that because NB is the only bilingual province in the nation we should strive to lead by example and have every graduate from our schools be functionally bilingual. That is a reachable goal if the resources currently available are more fairly allocated.

We chose to start our son in FI in middle school but removed him from the program after two years.
as a result, his math mark went from a failing grade to a 95%. His science mark improved significantly as well. But most of all, his love of school returned along with his self esteem. He continues to take core French courses and loves speaking French.

Please continue with your efforts to improve our education system by making the whole province a place where our children can learn to function in a second language.
5

Bonjour,

Je suis un ancien enseignant d'immersion française, maintenant j'exerce ma profession dans le secteur francophone. La décision d'abolir le programme d'immersion française et du programme de français cadre en est une qui exige une plus grande réflexion que 6 semaines, mais voici mes préoccupations.

Quand on prend ce genre de décision, il faut voir quelles sont les conséquences sur tout le système. Cette initiative affecte les 2 régimes, soit anglophone et francophone. Suite à toutes les réactions dans les médias, on connaît bien les opinions des effets du changement sur le secteur anglophone.

Du côté anglophone, je dois dire que je ne comprends pas, autre que pour des raisons pécuniaires, le raisonnement pour l'abolition des 2 programmes de français langue seconde. Je peux comprendre apporter d'important changement au programme cadre. Le programme de français intensif est une excellente solution aux lacunes du programme cadre. Je le commencerais en 3e année, mais autrement je suis d'accord. L'abolition du programme d'immersion précoce est plus problématique. C'est un programme populaire dans plusieurs régions de la province. Abolissez le programme de immersion tardive; celle-là, je peux comprendre. Je laisserai à d'autres le soin d'apporter les statistiques et les études pour appuyer ces points.

Mon point central est de m'assurer que peu importe votre décision, monsieur le Ministre, du côté francophone, notre souhait est que vous ne nous oubliez pas. Si vous maintenez votre décision, nos inscriptions pourraient monter de façon significative. Notre défi sera de maintenir notre identité francophone et acadienne. Si nos effectifs scolaires augmentent, allez-vous nous donner les ressources financières, humaines et pédagogiques nécessaires? Est-ce que les programmes de francisation seront bien financés? Allez-vous nous donner les moyens de franciser les ayants droits, sans que nous tombions dans une situation que nous devenons l'école d'immersion? Le juge a bien cité le cas que l'école francophone n'est pas une école d'immersion. C'est notre plus grande préoccupation. Nous avons notre part de responsabilité dans ce scénario, mais votre décision risque de nous mettre, aux yeux du public anglophone, comme le choix de facto d'immersion précoce.

Comprenez-moi bien, je crois que l'arrivée de nouveaux élèves à nos écoles est un bon signe. Nous avons une mission éducative et culturelle. Nous devons maintenir notre langue, notre culture, nos droits dans la langue française. Nous voulons accueillir les francophones et les ayants droits. Nous nous combattons à tous les jours contre les forces assimilatrices de la langue anglaise. Nous voulons nous assurer que nous avons les moyens de mener cette mission!

Hi there...we are a family of five from Riverview...we were just four when we moved here four years ago. One of the things we considered when deciding on the move to new Brunswick was the fact that our children would have the chance to learn French from an early age. Our oldest daughters Kate and Emily are in Grades three and one early French immersion at West Riverview Elementary and have prospered in the current system. The second language instruction sharpens their focus and keeps things interesting for them...and they already carry on conversations in French with each other and friends. Their French immersion experience has also allowed their English language parents a better appreciation and understanding of the province they brought their family to. We would ask that you give the same opportunity to our youngest daughter Natalie who was born at Moncton Hospital three years ago this Summer.

We are not militant protesters, or sign carrying meeting organizers...Just parents looking for the best opportunity for our children.

Thanks for counting our opinion,