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speakup

GUEST EDITORIAL — The following is part three of a multi-part guest editorial by New Brunswick Education Minister Kelly Lamrock in response to the ongoing controversy over the government's announced plans for teaching french as a second language in New Brunswick.

Education minister Kelly Lamrock

It is non-negotiable that we want more students graduating with the gift of a second language. Bilingualism is good for an individual's job prospects. It helps our province attract jobs. It helps us meet each other, talk to each other and understand each other as New Brunswickers. And even if we never used the specific second language we learned, in a global economy it's a good thing for kids to have learned how to learn a second language. They'll be working in places and with people around the world as grownups.

So the goal of having 70 pr cent of kids graduate with at least Intermediate skills is non-negotiable. That level lets them talk to people comfortably and conversationally, it serves them well in basic work situations, and ensures they can go even further if they choose as adults.

We also want a system that produces excellent results in literacy, math and science — the foundational skills of learning. And we want our kids to be creative problem solvers, and exposed to art, music, and physical education. And we want all kids to have an equal chance to learn.

So, here's the challenge. If we were designing a system today, we would want a system that builds on what we know works in our immersion and intensive programs. We'd want programs that let kids hear and speak the language for a sustained period of time, and that get them actively speaking the language in every day settings, not just in a classroom environment.

If we were designing a system today, we would then want those experiences that make immersion work — and we'd want them delivered in a way that doesn't limit those experiences to a minority of students. If we could, I believe we'd also want equal access to immersion programs and equal chances for kids to learn and get help when they struggle.

And we would want a system that gave our kids the skills they need to be the best in the country in literacy, math and science, the building blocks of all learning.

So, the question we've been asking as a government is this — could we achieve the same success in bilingualism as the best immersion success stories, but ensure that those success stories are shared with more children and with greater equality?

In all the submissions we received, two schools of thoughts emerged. Some say we should keep teaching French in two distinct programs, but we should put "more resources" into them so that Early Immersion is more inclusive and Core French is more effective.

The other school of thought says the problem is structural and will remain no matter how much money we spend. This "structural" solution says that we begin teaching French in a universal way to all kids if we want a French program that's more accessible.

To resolve this question of "more resources" or "better structure," each has to prove something. The "more resources" solution needs to show a plausible way resources will actually make the status quo more accessible. And "better structure" proponents need to show a new structure can include more people and plausibly get the same bilingualism results for the many that the status quo offers the few.