Education Uproar in New Brunswick

It would seem that the education system in the province of New Brunswick is falling apart. I haven't lived there since the late 90's and I'll probably never live there again, but four of my eight nieces and both of my nephews live there, so it's not as if it has no impact on me.

The crux of the issue is that the government of the only bilingual province in Canada wants to shut down the early immersion program that allows children to become more less fluent before they hit grade five. Everyone that knows anything about second language acquisition will tell you that the younger the child is the easier it is for them to learn a new language. Apparently that doesn't matter in New Brunswick.

To learn more about the fight to keep early immersion in New Brunswick check out this site. The video below includes a snippet of my niece Hannah, who wouldn't have been able to read or write the letter she read in both French and English without early immersion.

Comments

[Sarah]

Not one FSL expert in the country agrees with this plan.

The latest on this is that the Ombudsman has made reccomendations that they wiat a year and the government is ignoring those.
It's also "unchristian" to have immersion.

Lamrock said the arrangement has led to a segregated and streamed system, where a few lucky parents were able to shield their children in early immersion classrooms.

He said the changes will give all kids a better chance to learn the fundamentals.

“It’s Christian and right - if it works for a few, share it with the many.”

Lamrock also opposes the IB program. I think he's against smart kids. They might figure out what he's up to.

[Lloyd]

I've actually heard from some people who are very involved in the French language education in Canada that statistics show that by graduation, there is no noticable difference in French skills of kids who enter immersion in the early stream vs. kids who enter it a few years later. But that there often is a significant difference in English language skills.

I dunno. I don't really have an opinion on the matter, but that's what I've heard from the "experts".