Becoming a parent means more than just changing diapers and teaching your kids to ride a bike, it also means making decisions for your kids. Some are easy, like what shirt to wear when visiting grandma or what TV shows are appropriate for your child to watch. Others are much more complicated, especially decisions around your child’s education. We all have aspirations for our kids but life is unpredictable. We all want what’s best for our kids when they grow-up; we want to ensure that we’ve given them the best ground work for a successful and happy future.
I think enrolling kids into French Immersion or Extended French classes in elementary school is one of those misguided decisions parents make for their kids under the guise of giving them the best possible future. Don’t get me wrong, if french is a language spoken in the family (even if not the primary language) immersing your kids into language studies makes sense; it’s an extension of a lifestyle they already live. If you live in a city where a large portion of the population speaks french, even if you as parents don’t speak it, I can see how having your child enrolled in extended French education would be beneficial; it might mean the difference between getting a job in the city where they live or moving somewhere else. Even in cases where your child has an interest or aptitude for languages, sure, perhaps Extended French or French Immersion classes are something worth considering.
With many schools unable to afford gym teachers, playground equipment, school supplies, art, music or other creative classes, it seems wasteful to me to plan school budgets and funding around Extended and Immersion French classes. Let’s not forget that our kids are in school learning new concepts, like reading and math and science. I find the further away I get from my youth, the more I romanticize about what my childhood was like and how easy things came to me. I forget the struggles with reading and math concepts. Imagine learning those concepts in a language you are not comfortable or fluent in; learning a language while learning a class. And in the case of our family, where my husband and I don’t speak french, imagine the frustration and heartbreak of not being able to do your job as a parent and help your child with their work. I don’t mean do their homework but offer guidance when they’re stuck on a problem.
I realize that Canada is officially a bilingual country but where I live Spanish, Cantonise or Mandarin would serve my children better than French. I think parents are misguided, thinking they need to give their child a French education so they will be better qualified for any job they want. But in reality, just because you daughter or son is surounded by French for their school day, if they don’t use it outside of school, during summer holidays, in their part-time job, how are they going to maintain the language? The Toronto Star wrote a piece on this exact point: Bilingual, but only inside the classroom.
I don’t have an issue with Core French, a class like any other class but focusing on teaching the French language. The more parents I talk to about the French issue in the English school system, the more I discover parents who have just gone the course because it’s expected or they’ve felt pressured to do it. I think as parents we have to ask ourselves why we want our kids to be enrolled in Extended French or French Immersion. Each family will have their own reasons but if it’s ‘because everyone says it’s better for my child’ , then maybe that decision should be rethought.
For us? My kids will be going through the English stream at our school, even if it means they’re only in a class of 5. I don’t feel this decision is limiting future opportunities for my children at all. If anything, I think my kids will grow enjoying school and learning without the unneeded stress of French.
Of course like any parent I was concerned — no one wants to see their kids sick — but I must admit my mom skeptic radar shot-up. If you’re a mom you know the radar I speak of. I started to doubt my son’s ailment. I mean it wasn’t like a standard bug we’ve seen before (and we’ve seen a few). There were no other symptoms and he would burst into tears spontaneously, like when it was time for bed or halfway through dinner. It all seemed suspicious.
When the kids find it they press stop and all the animals celebrate the find at the end. I thought this was a great use for the phone and the distinct sounds helped the kids to focus where they were looking and if they were getting close. I would recommend playing with the volume turned up on your iPhone for this to make sure the sound is heard.
Family starts claiming parts of the baby as their own: she has the family nose, he looks just like Uncle Boris when he sleeps, her laugh reminds me of Grandpa Pete.
