For the third time in two weeks, the New Brunswick Minister of Education bill hogan The province’s proposed French second language learning program was scrutinized for hours.
Around 30 speakers, mostly parents and teachers, spoke against the program in a three-hour session saint joan Tuesday night, which attracted a crowd of over 300.
Olivia Donovan, a former teacher who cared for her three sons, was electrocuted French immersion program, said the issue is actually with the English-dominated system rather than immersion.
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She said more resources, teachers and educational assistants are needed, rather than a new program.
“The system is really close to collapse,” Donovan said, “yet, we have a government that wants to make massive changes without any planning and proper consultation.”
It marks the third volume of individual public consultation, which began a month after the province released the outline for an “innovative immersion program”.
‘slipped through the cracks’
Several parents in attendance expressed concern over their children’s lack of learning French under the new program.
However, for Brad Kennedy, it was the opposite because his son has slurred speech, which he says can make communication difficult.
“I’m worried about my little boy,” Kennedy said.
“He can’t even speak English. He understands what we’re saying to him, but there’s no major communication back, so how can I send my kid to school?”
More than 300 people packed into a conference room in Delta St. John on Tuesday to participate in a public consultation on a proposed replacement for New Brunswick’s French Immersion.
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Under the proposed program, starting this fall, all anglophone kindergarten and grade 1 students would receive 50 percent of instruction in French and 50 percent in English.
To Kennedy, who said his two daughters had benefited from French immersion, the proposal to force students to learn French didn’t seem right.
“It looks like a lot of those kids have slipped through the cracks and I have a feeling it’s going to get worse.”
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Current Immersion Programs Still an Option
After the consultation, Hogan said that hearing the concerns was an “informative” experience, but added that nothing is final on the program.
“We are consulting because nothing is written in stone at this point. If it was written in stone, it would be unwise to consult,” Hogan told reporters.
New Brunswick Education Minister Bill Hogan said a decision on the program should be made in the coming months.
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When asked if the province would delay the innovative immersion program, Hogan said it was more likely they would either go ahead with it this fall or get rid of the plan altogether.
“I’m not revisiting something that isn’t supported.”
He said a permanent decision would be made by late winter or early spring.
“There is still plenty of time if we choose to do Grade 1 French immersion next year. It is still only January so we should choose that route, and I am not saying we are.
The final in-person public consultation will take place in Fredericton on Wednesday night. Two additional virtual consultations have been scheduled for next week.
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