A picture says a thousand words

Response to CBC Radio Interview with Minister of Education Kelly Lamrock

By Joseph Dicks, Director, Second Language Research Institute of Canada

I feel compelled to respond to the interview with Minister Lamrock that was aired on Friday, May 16th. There are a number of statements that the Minister made that need to be corrected. I find it incredible that the Minister of Education, the person responsible for public education in this province, could make such unqualified statements that ultimately mislead the public on matters related to public education.

Here are some examples of Minister Lamrock’s misleading statements:

1) The Minister dismissed Dr. Fred Genesee’s public statements regarding the superiority of Early French immersion by referring to Dr. Genesee’s peer reviewed research that finds that late immersion also works.

This is extremely misleading. Dr. Genesee has made it clear that, while Late French immersion works for students who are strong academically, Early French immersion is the best option for communities where there are two languages in close contact. In fact, on Wednesday evening here in Fredericton, Dr. Genesee directly addressed this issue and made it absolutely clear that he does not understand this decision to eliminate Early immersion in an officially bilingual province. Perhaps, had Minister Lamrock attended the public lecture, or taken the time to meet with Dr Genesee while he was here, he would be less inclined to misrepresent this respected researcher’s work in the field of second language education.

2) The Minister referred to the government’s new FSL program as a universal program.

This is also extremely misleading. It is true that the proposed program has two universal elements: (1) four years at the elementary level during which no student will receive any French instruction and (2) a five month intensive French experience at grade 5. After grade 5 there are two other elements of program, neither of which is universal. Students will choose either Late French Immersion which by its nature is suited to stronger academic students or the Intensive French follow-up. .


3) The Minister claims that the government’s new FSL program will eliminate streaming.

This is also extremely misleading. As I pointed out in my last point about the myth of universality, once students reach grade 6 they will have to choose between Late French Immersion and Intensive French follow-up (core French). Since we know from past experience that Late immersion is a demanding program academically, it is extremely likely that it will continue to stream students based on ability.

4) The Minister stated that because we don’t have math immersion, or science immersion or history immersion, there is no need to have French immersion.

This is also misleading. The Minister is suggesting that the word « French » in French immersion is a subject like math, science or history. This is not the case. French immersion is a program that involves students being taught a variety of subjects including math, science, and history in their second language, French. We are already treating French as a subject like math, science and history – we call that core French. To extend the Minister’s argument, we would not have Intensive French either since we do not have intensive math, intensive science or intensive history. Clearly language acquisition is different from these other subjects because it is more than a subject. The beauty of Early French immersion is that students get 2 for 1 : they get to learn the subject matter of school and they get to develop a high level of proficiency in their second language in the process.


5) The Minister named me personally in the interview and stated that in an alternative plan submitted to him that I admitted that it would take years of training to address the streaming problem.

This is a gross misrepresentation of what I said in the alternative plan. What I said, in fact, was that to address the problem of streaming in Early immersion we need short-term and long-term strategies. I proposed that we could address the problem of a lack of resource teachers in the short term through establishing an intensive summer program and expanding existing « good practices » in schools. I also proposed that Faculties of Education include special education for FSL teachers as part of a longer-term solution. At no time did I « admit » that it would take years to address the problem since I do not believe that to be true. Not only was this statement by the Minister misleading, it was not true. I invite those interested to consult this alternative plan at www.unbf.ca/L2


There is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding in the general public about second language education. It is a complex and multifaceted field in which professionals spend entire careers educating themselves, future teachers, and the public about the various issues and the relative merits of different pathways to bilingualism. It is extremely discouraging and frustrating, therefore, to have a Minister of Education who, in this area at least, is contributing to public confusion rather than public education.

Terrific Letters May 16th

Letters Published Friday May 16th, 2008, The Daily Gleaner

French culture will suffer from immersion decision

It isn't that my daughter will not have the same opportunity that I had to reap the wonderful benefits of early French immersion that makes me so angry with Education Minister Kelly Lamrock's misguided educational reforms.

It isn't that the proposed changes are putting up barriers to New Brunswickers living outside the province who would like to return home but who are now reconsidering because they want their children to learn French at an early age.

It isn't that the one-size-fits-all approach to education that Lamrock is proposing is inappropriate given children's wide range of needs and abilities.

It isn't that the students graduating in Lamrock's new plan will not have enough proficiency in French to obtain jobs requiring bilingualism.

It isn't that Lamrock is implementing all of the recommendations of a commissioned report that has been totally discredited.

It isn't even that the process that Lamrock has used to steamroll out these reforms has been completely lacking in any form of meaningful consultation with parents, teachers or the public.

No, what really riles me about Lamrock's plan is what it says about this government's views on French language and culture in this province.

This plan says that the government does not feel it is at all important for anglophone children to learn French, that this province should be bilingual in numbers only. And that not only angers me, it breaks my heart.

Clea P. Ward, Fredericton

Why is Graham using the wrong numbers?

In early April, as part of the campaign to justify the Croll and Lee report and its recommendation that New Brunswick scrap the early French immersion program, the premier rose in the Legislative Assembly and announced that 60 per cent of New Brunswick children do not have access to early immersion.

A recent opinion piece, The Other Side on Education, shows that this is demonstrably false: 57 per cent attend schools with early immersion and another 20 per cent could access EFI by switching to nearby schools.

One can only assume that the premier did not intend to mislead the province and that he was provided erroneous numbers, either by the province's minister of education or the Department of Education's civil servants, blinded in their zeal for Croll's and Lee's recommendations.

In any other ministry, though, would not the repercussions for such a mistake foisted on the premier be swift and harsh? Or can we expect that the premier will, in order to see his ministers' programs through, happily repeat, say, tax revenue numbers miscalculated by 37 per cent, or calculations on the impact of uranium mining misrepresented by a third?

Jody Wagstaff , Fredericton
___________________

Letters Published Friday May 16th, 2008, Telegraph-Journal

More to language than future jobs

My daughter, a Grade 8 early French immersion student, is participating in the national science fair in Ottawa this week. She called last evening and was telling me how she had never imagined how much she would need to flip back and forth from English to French when communicating with her peers.

A member of the New Brunswick team is French and although he can speak English it is apparent to her he feels more comfortable speaking French, so she speaks to him in French. There are students from Quebec who don't speak English as well as students from western Canada who don't speak French. Being bilingual, she has been a bridge between these two cultures.

Kids come up to the New Brunswick team and say "You're from New Brunswick? You must be able to speak French and English. Can you say something in French for us?"

I am very proud of the fact that my daughter can speak, with ease and without reservation, two languages. It makes me very sad and angry that the government of New Brunswick has undervalued the importance of this skill and has removed the opportunity for children of English-speaking parents to educate their children in French thus removing future experiences such as this one from New Brunswick children.

Knowing two languages and having the ability to use them with confidence and effectively goes far beyond the realm of employability. It opens doors to experience a richer fuller life.

LISA HERRINGTON, Willow Grove

Education minister's statement baffling

I'm baffled by the article in Wednesday's Telegraph where Kelly Lamrock states that "one size fits all education" is not good for students.

Isn't that exactly what he's trying to do with the elimination of EFI in Elementary school? He's eliminating parents' choice, giving no French instruction to those who want it, and forcing intensive French on everyone - even those who don't.

The decisions he's making and the words he's saying make less and less sense with each new "change" he comes forward with.

I'm scared to see what Lamrock's next proposal might be.

LORI DOUCET, Fredericton

TV Coverage of Parent's lawsuit against NB government

CTV Report May 14th, 2008

CBC Report May 14th, 2008

Globe and Mail: Angry parents want N.B. judge to weigh in on early immersion

JILL MAHONEY
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
May 15, 2008 at 4:41 AM EDT

A group of New Brunswick parents is asking a judge to intervene in the provincial government's controversial decision to eliminate early French immersion.

Opponents filed an application in the Court of Queen's Bench yesterday seeking judicial review of the move, saying they weren't sufficiently consulted.

"We realized that we only had one option, that the government wasn't interested in a thorough and thoughtful discussion or debate on what should be done with French second-language education in the province," said Tim Jackson, a parent organizer who had registered his son in French immersion for Grade 1 in September.

"If they're not going to give the citizens of the province that opportunity, then we'll demand it."

In the legal papers, lawyer Thomas Christie contends that the government's scrapping of early French immersion, which begins in Grade 1, violates parents' rights to "natural justice and procedural fairness" and infringes on their Charter rights to have their children educated in French.

A hearing is scheduled for June 4.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said the group's move was "not a complete surprise."

"These days, in controversial decisions, this is one of the tools of the arsenal of groups who are unhappy with government decisions. I respect their right to take that action."

The government's elimination of early French immersion - which defies conventional wisdom that the earlier children start learning a second language, the better - has attracted fierce opposition.

Parents held protest rallies at the legislature and the province's ombudsman launched an investigation and asked the province to delay the reforms by one year.

Slightly more than two weeks passed between a provincial commission's recommendation to axe early immersion and the government's announcement, which the parents argue was not enough time for residents of Canada's only bilingual province to make their views known.

Click here to link to article

Parents take province to court--NB newspapers

Published Thursday May 15th, 2008, daily gleaner
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

New Brunswick parents have taken their fight to save the province's early French immersion program to the next level.

Legal papers were filed Wednesday in the Court of Queen's Bench in Saint John by parents seeking a review of the changes being implemented to French-second language programming this fall.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock announced in March that French would no longer be taught in anglophone schools until Grade 5.

His decision followed the release of a controversial report recommending an overhaul of the system to reduce streaming and produce more bilingual graduates.

Streaming refers to the belief that higher-achieving students take early French immersion, while students who may not be as gifted end up in the core program.

Tim Jackson, one of the parents who helped organize the legal action, said he's hopes this latest effort by parents will save early immersion.

"The decision to change French programming in the province was made hastily and wasn't a transparent process," Jackson said. "Parents, according to the Department of Education, are considered a partner in the delivery of the education system, and yet we were basically left out of the debate altogether."

Jackson, who lives in Saint John, said his daughter has had tremendous success with the early French-immersion program.

She reads in both languages and enjoys learning about French culture.

It's an experience Jackson wanted for his son, who will enter Grade 1 in the fall.

"This is bigger than just wanting my son in the program, though," Jackson said.

"The public was given only two weeks to respond to the report on French programming before the minister announced his decision. That wasn't even enough time for most to digest the report, let alone have anything to say about it."

Patrick Ryan, a concerned parent in Fredericton, provided an affidavit with the request for a judicial review.

He recently returned to New Brunswick with his family in hopes of exposing his children to French at a young age.

"Our expectation moving home to New Brunswick last year was that both our children would have the opportunity to participate in early French immersion," Ryan said. "What concerns us most is the limited consultation and the lack of transparency for such an extreme upheaval to our provinces's education system."

Jackson said he believes a judicial review will, at least, force a delay in the elimination of early French immersion and allow researchers and French second-language experts to come forward with a better solution for the streaming issue.

Legal costs associated with the case are being covered by New Brunswick parents.

Fredericton lawyer Thomas Christie will provide legal representation.

Click here to link to article.

More NB newspaper coverage:

Telegraph-Journal
Parents go to court to save program: Rights Papers filed state N.B.'s decision to axe French immersion is contrary to Charter
Published Thursday May 15th, 2008

The letters and comments get better all the time

Telegraph-Journal

Lack of respect for bilingualism

It isn't that my daughter will not have the same opportunity that I had to reap the wonderful benefits of early French immersion that makes me so angry with Kelly Lamrock's misguided educational reforms.

It isn't that the proposed changes are putting up barriers to New Brunswickers living outside the province who would like to return home but who are now reconsidering because they want their children to learn French at an early age.

It isn't that the "one-size-fits-all" approach to education that Lamrock is proposing is inappropriate, given children's wide range of needs and abilities. It isn't that few, if not none, of the students graduating in Lamrock's new plan will have enough proficiency in French to obtain jobs requiring bilingualism.

It isn't that Lamrock is implementing all of the recommendations of a commissioned report that has been totally discredited. It isn't even that the process Lamrock has used to steam-roll out these reforms has been completely lacking in any form of meaningful consultation with parents, teachers or the public.

No, what really riles me about Lamrock's plan is what it says about this government's views on the French language and culture in this province.

This plan says that the government does not feel it is at all important for anglophone children to learn French, that this province should be bilingual in numbers only.

And that not only angers me, it breaks my heart.

CLEA P. WARD, Fredericton

Who provided erroneous numbers?

In early April, as part of the campaign to justify the Croll and Lee report and its recommendation that New Brunswick scrap the early French immersion program, the Premier rose in the Legislative Assembly and announced that 60 per cent of New Brunswick children do not have access to early immersion.

Monday's op-ed piece, The Other Side on Education, shows that this is demonstrably false: 57 per cent attend schools with early immersion and another 20 per cent could access EFI by switching nearby schools.

One can only assume that the Premier did not intend to mislead the province, that he was provided erroneous numbers, either by the province's minister of education or the Department of Education's civil servants, blinded in their zeal for Croll and Lee's recommendations.

In any other ministry, though, would not the repercussions for such a mistake foisted on the Premier be swift and harsh? Or can we expect that the Premier will, in order to see his ministers' programs through, happily repeat, say, tax revenues numbers miscalculated by 37 per cent or calculations on the impact of uranium mining misrepresented by a third?

JODY WAGSTAFF, Fredericton

Letters to the Times and Transcript

Don't forget EFI students

To The Editor:

The following letter was sent to Education Minister Kelly Lamrock:

As the parent of two children in early Early French Immersion I want to know what support will be available to my children as they carry on in this program.

Surely, all the money you are "saving" from cancelling the program will be used to ensure the children still in the program will receive new books, teaching assistance and so on so as not to discriminate against them.

I would hate to see the current Early French Immersion students fall into your category of children being segregated or forgotten, which would appear is what you are doing since all reference to Early French Immersion has been wiped clean from the District 2 website.

I would imagine I am not the only one concerned about this issue. I look forward to knowing that my children, as well as all other Early French Immersion children, who make up nearly half the population of our school, will be afforded equal opportunity for resources over the next 11 years.

I look forward to your prompt, specific reply. Please do not forward your generic e-mail about how wonderful your new plan is. I have already received that letter, which, by the way, did not answer one concern I had mentioned in the last letter I wrote.

Joanne Underhill, Moncton

The majority are immersion

To The Editor:

The minister of education talks about a small minority of students in Early French Immersion as though any school you walked into in the province would have a tiny number of EFI students in it.

When you look at enrollment on a region by region basis, though, you get a much different picture. In the City of Moncton, 57 per cent of this year's Grade 1 class were enrolled in Early Immersion. In the Town of Riverview, it was 54 per cent.

It does not make sense to me to eliminate a program that the majority of the parents in this city are choosing for their children.

Christina Taylor, Quispamsis