Forced English Immersion in Grade 6 a Bad Idea

When I was a wee boy of six, my mother decided it would be grand if I took some piano lessons, for reasons that I still can't fathom.

I think it's a great idea for parents to expose children to all sorts of skills at an early age, be it sports like golf, an instrument like piano or learning experiences in science or literature. Who knows what hidden talent might be exposed, like a buried treasure waiting to be discovered.

I could have been revealed as possessing a hidden talent, a budding child prodigy like Tiger Woods who started playing golf at two years old and who broke eighty at age eight. I might have been a Mozart who composed and gave concerts from the age of five or a Bobby Fisher, who became a chess grandmaster at 13. (oooh--let's forget that  last one!)

Alas, I was none of the above and loathed the piano lessons, realizing almost immediately that I had zero talent or love for the avocation.
After two years of intensive study my mother gave up, liberating me from the heavy burden of attempting to master a skill, that I did not want to acquire.

It took me less than a year to forget everything I learned and today, I couldn't tell you where Middle C lies on the keyboard.

WHICH brings me to Premier Charest who announced that Francophone students in Grade Six are to be exposed to an entire semester taught in English.  Parents are largely supportive, expressing an overwhelming desire to see their children become bilingual.

But I'm doubtful the project will have a lasting effect, and just like me and my piano lessons, it's likely a colossal waste of time, effort and money.
For the vast majority of students who will be forced into a traumatic social experiment, it is the equivalent of throwing a non-swimmer into the pool without any thought, in the misguided belief that they will learn to swim.

Of course the usual suspects are against the idea of intensive English in Grade six, especially the teachers who dislike the idea for a variety of reasons, claiming among other things, that for many students, the project is above their abilities.
I'm not sure I disagree.

What I find troubling is that the project seems to have been embarked upon without much thought or study, as if the Premier and eduction Minister cooked up the idea all by themselves, because it seemed like a good idea, one that would be popular with the voters.

But why Grade six?

Many of we Anglos have sent our kids to French daycare, preschool or kindergarten in an attempt to get them on the road to bilingualism sooner than later.

Young children, exposed to a second language do remarkably well and learn much faster than older kids or adults.
Studies have indicated this very fact.

"The critical period hypothosis  was first proposed by Montreal neurologist Wilder Penfield and co-author Lamar Roberts in a 1959 paper Speech and Brain Mechanisms, and was popularized by Eric Lenneberg in 1967 with Biological Foundations of Language."

According to the theory, the earlier a child is exposed to a second language, the faster they learn. After puberty the ability to acquire a second language nosedives. Hmm....

The choice of Grade six for this grand social experiment is explained by the fear that francophone children who learn English too successfully when young, are in danger of  hurting their French and so the teaching of English intensely is delayed to grade six, when the benefits are diminished.

Those of us who are bilingual, truly bilingual, can testify that learning a second language is not as easy as one intensive semester.
It takes years of study and practice, there is no easy way around it.

I'm all for learning English (or French for Anglophones) but this plan has almost zero chance of success, the idea that the moribund education department could pull off the project logistically,  especially the problem of finding the hundreds of qualified English teachers necessary, is beyond credulity.
The school boards will have to line up buses at the Fairview Shopping Mall and kidnap Anglos, shipping them off the Saguenay and parts beyond.  

The reality is that for two-thirds to three-quarters of Francophone Quebecers, English plays no role in their lives. They remain as disconnectd to English, as British Columbians are to French.

For most of these children who are to be exposed to an English-only curriculum in Grade six, they may as well be teaching Chinese or Klingon. The program has the same dubious chance of success as forcing everyone to take a semester of piano lessons.
Without a piano at home and a desire to continue to practice and learn over the many succeeding years, the chance of success is nil.

The truth that parents don't want to face is that in order for children to become proficient in the language of Shakespeare, they themselves must get involved.

There is no magic bullet or short cut, even if parents and the government dream that there is.

Parents shouldn't depend on the schools to do the work for them, they can provide a steady diet of English and they can start at a much earlier age than grade six.
More francophone children have learned English through video games and a few hours of English television than through all the efforts by educators in elementary schools.

Those parents who are not interested should remain free to make their own decisions, just as British Columbians can choose a second language for their children, or not.

I hate to say it and I know I'll be attacked for this, but for many Quebecers who spend their whole lives in a French environment, learning elementary English is all that's necessary, so that when they travel, they can survive.

How about some state-sponsored high school courses in GLOBISH.
For many, it is the imperfect, but reasonable answer.

The Ignominious End of Gilles Duceppe

A PICTURE TO REMEMBER!

Witnessing the sudden collapse and downfall of the political career of Gilles Duceppe, I must admit to a raging case of schadenfreude.
No politician deserves such an ignominious fall from grace more than the duplicitous, back-stabbing opportunist that defines the persona of Gilles Duceppe.

As you can imagine, I'm no fan, not so much for his separatist politics, but rather for his proclivity to bite the hand that feeds him.
We Canadians have paid his Parliamentary salary for over  twenty years and now are obliged to pay his 140k pension until God knows when, during which time, he has and will continue to tell the world that we Canadians are exploiters and colonialists. 

The ethics scandal that has brought him down is particularly satisfying because it was Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois that presented himself and itself as more Cathoic than the Pope.
Two elections ago, the Bloc campaigned on the platform of honesty and integrity and so there's a sense that Duceppe is receiving his just desert.
Like a pious televangelist who is ruined when caught cheating and whoring, it sets the world right, for a moment, anyways.

My favorite comment on the affair by a Le Devoir reader;
 "Duceppe l’arroseur arrosé, Youppi"  (Duceppe the sprinkler, sprinkled)

Unethical or illegal, Duceppe displayed the shady behavior of a disgruntled employee who steals from the company where he works, while continuing to cash a cheque.

Whether guilty or innocent of using public funds for partisan political ends, it doesn't really matter.
Despite a spirited defense put on for him by Le Devoir and assorted hardliners, wherein they claimed that he technically violated no rules, the public has already made up its mind......Guilty.

Mr. Duceppe didn't exactly help his cause, his actions after the revelations were made, were those of a guilty man.

I am reminded of a story told to me a while back when I participated in a golf tournament put on by the Montreal police.  A senior Montreal detective regaled our table at the 19th hole with a story about the down and dirty investigative methods employed by cops.
In this particular case two suspects were picked up for a crime that only one committed. They were both placed in jail overnight having been told they'd be charged in the morning.
Overnight the cops observed their behavior.
The first suspect was agitated and angry, demanding a lawyer and telling all who would listen that he was innocent.
The second suspect remained calm, asked warders for a cigarette and turned in early, sleeping quite well.
In the morning the detective let the agitated suspect go and charged the other.
You see, as my detective friend explained, the behavior exhibited by the men, clearly indicated that one was innocent, the other guilty.
The first, furious that he was being charged with a crime he did not commit, the second resigned to the fact that he was caught.

Who did Gilles Duceppe closely emulate, the guilty suspect or the innocent?

There are politicians around the world charged with crimes or accused of various misdeeds who almost universally fight the charges tooth and nail while remaining in office. It's par for the course.
Silvio Berlusconi spent his whole political career under an ethics cloud and never wavered. a good chunk of the Israeli cabinet is under scrutiny for either ethics violations or outright criminality. American senators and congressmen are regularly subject to impeachment through a process that takes years to play out.
Who resigns? Practically nobody.

Mr Duceppe cut and run, hoping that if he left the political scene, perhaps he would be left alone.

Had he come out and raged against the allegations against him, labeling the charges as partisan attacks, I'm sure that he could have withstood the attack, but Duceppe is a chocoladnicky, a Russian expression for someone apt to melt under the heat.

Now there are those who say that Duceppe used the ethics investigation as a convenient device to extricate himself from a sticky situation where his attempted coup against Pauline Marois failed.

I find it a little hard to believe, but no matter.

His attempt to take over the leadership was a half-assed effort that was so badly planned and executed that I seriously question his skills as a politician.

Once he embarked on his betrayal of Marois and she got wind of it, she put the mutiny down in short order.
The incredible thing about it all, is that if he had done nothing and remained on the sidelines as a 'loyal' separatist, Marois would have collapsed under her own weight and the leadership would have come to him without lifting a finger!

All this has led me to conclude that Duceppe was no brainiac, but rather an opportunist who talked up a storm but was always out manoeuvred by the Prime Minister of the day or Pauline Marois back home. Readers will remember that this is the second time she beat back an attempt by Duceppe to take over the PQ.

Over the twenty odd years in Ottawa, the Bloc led by Duceppe brought Quebec not an iota of benefit, in fact, its very presence insured the opposite. 
In asking Quebecers to support a party riding the pine of ignominy, in the opposition benches of Parliament, the Bloc robbed Quebecers of representation in cabinet and the halls of power, a frightful price to pay for the luxury of thumbing ones nose at the hated Anglos in the RoC.

I'm glad that Gilles Duceppe is going out a disgraced loser, because that was what he was his whole career, a disgrace who cost Quebec influence and power, a humiliating presence in Ottawa that rendered Quebec impotent and irrelevant.

His phony Don Quixotesque act, tilting at federalist windmills has crippled this province incalculably.

As he exits the stage a disgraced and beaten man, it remains a bittersweet victory for federalists.

After all, we will have the pleasure of paying him a handsome pension for the rest of his natural life.

The idea of Gilles Duceppe in retirement, sipping margaritas in Aruba, on our dime, while lobbing the occasional separatist bomb at we evil Canadians, remains a bitter pill to swallow.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Shafias- Please Rot in HELL!!!!!

Sorry for my rage, but I want to give readers an opportunity to publicly describe their feelings towards a family trio that represents all the evil traits that we do not want in Canada.

I was a bit worried that the jury wouldn't believe that these fanatics could actually murder their children and/or siblings because it is an act, practicably incomprehensible to Canadians.

REST IN PEACE

I don't know if this is fair to say, but I hope they get a rough ride in prison.

I prepared this, just in case they were acquitted.

Readers, I cannot describe my hatred,  rage and contempt.... Can you?

How can we keep these fanatics out of our country?

Sunday Housekeeping- Trolls

As regular readers might have noticed, I've unfortunately had to crack down on one-line insults that bring nothing to this blog

It serves no purpose to go through 200 comments where 50-75 are pure trash, with no redeeming value. I'd rather have 10-15 well thought out contributions, than 200 idiotic and insulting posts.

By the way, I have the ability to delete comments without leaving a trace, but as of now will continue to show readers where and which comments are blocked.

I do not moderate comments on an hourly basis so it's possible something obnoxious is up for a while, try not to respond, I'll take it down ASAP.
If you see something that should be taken down, let me know, but do not quote the offensive material, just provide the date and time. There's no use propagating trash by repeating it.

As for Trolls, I will not take down your comment just because they are meant to incite, as long as they don't violate decency standards. Please try to be witty, if you are trying to provoke.


What is offensive?
You're all literate and can pretty much can guess what will be taken down or not.

English or French, federalist or sovereigntist, the rules are the same and everyone will be treated respectfully and equally, but please don't test my patience with trash talk.

I repeat that I will not suppress contradictory views to mine or those of most readers, healthy discourse is an integral part of this community, but to those tho just want to disrupt our conversations with banal insults, please go away.

Here is something important;
You can always delete your own comment by clicking on delete. Obviously, you can't delete other people's comments.

If you change your mind about what you've written either because you were tired, drunk or made some embarrassing typos, here what you should do;
Delete the original post and write a new one.
In your new post use the word REWRITE on a separate line, at the beginning or the end of the post and I'll completely remove any trace of the original.

Finally, you might notice that the time stamp on your comment is three hours early and unfortunately, I can't do anything about it as it is a BLOGGER problem that they are supposedly working on (although I cannot fathom how they haven't corrected this so far.)

Thank yo for your support and your contributions.

This January has been our busiest month ever with almost 50,000 page views and 12,000 different visitors.

Most of the success of NDOA lies in reader contributions and I pledge to police the comment section more assiduously, making for a better read and a better debate.

Best  regards....

French versus English Volume 45

Political science prize judge quits over French flap

"Judging from the 18-year record of a prestigious prize for Canadian writing on political theory, French-Canadians are not the finest political theorists.

Since its creation in 1994, the C.B. Macpherson Prize awarded by the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) has always gone to a work in English, even though it celebrates “the best book published in English or in French.”

But a judge for the 2012 prize has resigned this week, alleging the award is so stacked against francophone writers that most do not bother submitting their work any more." Read the rest of the story

NDP leadership candidates vow support for Quebec rights
"Seven of the eight NDP federal leadership candidates came to Montreal Sunday to express their unqualified support for the party’s declaration of French rights.

Among other things, the Sherbrooke Declaration on Quebec recognizes French as the “language of work” and the “common public language.” It also supports Quebec’s right to secede from Canada on a simple majority referendum vote. 

...The only candidate to trigger a “bravo” from the audience was Cullen. The MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley in B.C. apologized for the NDP’s support of the nomination of justice Michael J. Moldaver to the Supreme Court of Canada. Moldaver does not speak French.  Read the rest of the story

(Editorial comment- Nathan Cullen MP for Skeena Pukey Valley- There's 'obsequious' and then there's, "Thank you for shitting in my hat."
You are now on my official list of politicians I hate..)

Newt Gingrich's French connection

"In a press conference today, Newt Gingrich admitted that he spoke French "once upon a time," and joked to a French reporter who asked him whether he spoke the language "Do you know John Kerry?" Barely a week ago, Gingrich released this ad which compared Romney to the 2004 Democratic nominee — in part because of his fluency in French." Watch the attack ad

Ex-Hab slams Montreal-"It's a big mess"

"In an interview, former Hab Jaroslav Spacek sounds off on Montreal, the Habs and the language debate. Have a listen.

Yikes!
 Quebecer up for Academy Award
Quebec's own Philippe Falardeau's 'Monsieur Lazhar' has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best foreign film. I haven't seen the film but from all accounts it's a poignant story about an Algerian immigrant, who is hired to replace an elementary school teacher who committed suicide. While the class goes through a long healing process, nobody in the school is aware of Bachir's painful former life. Montreal Gazette Alternate Link
I did see one of his other movies La Moitié gauche du frigo (The left-hand side of the fridge,) which I actually liked a lot, a story about the trials of an unemployed fellow who shares an apartment with a room-mate. By the way, if you're wondering about the title, it has to do with sharing the apartment refrigerator.  

The interesting thing is that Mr. Falardeau, a thirty-something Francophone from Montreal has outstanding English. In a television report from the Sundance festival, he related how busy his life has been promoting the film, from lecturing audiences and giving interview after interview to the American media. When he goes to the Academy Awards, his mastery of English will no doubt help raise his profile and propel his career.
To all the idiots who remind Quebecers that they don't really need English to succeed, meet another successful example of why it's just not true.

Important Conservative fed up with Harper's Quebec snub

“Peter White is about as conservative (and Conservative) as they come. He worked at Brian Mulroney’s side throughout the former prime minister’s nine-year tenure. In 2001, he turned his frustration with Jean Chrétien’s seemingly perpetual hold on power into a book, Gritlock, perhaps best described as a blueprint of how to neuter the then-powerful Liberal brand. In his free time, the former Hollinger Inc. executive has relentlessly pushed the Conservative brand in his native Quebec, both as a riding president and party organizer. And he’s sick of trying.

In a scathing open letter addressed to Canadians in general and the Conservative party in particular, White roundly criticizes the Conservative Party of Canada for ignoring Francophones in general and Quebec in particular. “Today the voice of Quebec is virtually absent in Ottawa’s halls of power, or if present, it is a voice grown mighty small, and mighty easy to ignore,” White writes in the letter dated Jan. 12. “Since the election of May 2, 2011, many Quebec observers have concluded that Mr. Harper has consciously decided to ignore Quebec, now that he has convincingly demonstrated that he can win a majority without it.” Read the rest of the story in Maclean's & see the letter

Patrick Roy advises Canadiens to tank season
I wonder if Patrick Roy scuttled any chance of becoming head coach of the Montreal Canadiens by going public with his idea of tanking this lost season and aiming to finish as low as possible in order to secure a premier draft choice.
It is a concept that everybody thinks about, but nobody in a position of responsibility would ever dare say it out loud.
After all, losing a game on purpose is about the biggest crime one can commit in sports. Any coach or general manager who admits to doing so would certainly face a long suspension by the league if not an outright ban.
Is Patrick really that stupid?    Link{Fr}

Conservatives rise in Quebec poll
These last months we've heard nothing but pissing and moaning from Quebec politicians and the entire French media over the fact that Stephen Harper is ignoring Quebec and shortchanging the province in every department.
You'd figure that the Conservatives polling numbers would take a dive, even from the horrific 16% level that they garnered in the last federal election.

But take a look at the latest numbers, which I pulled off of Mario Dumont's news magazine show, last night.

 

WOW!
The Conservatives have increased their popularity by over 50% since last May!!!
My only explanation..........TOUGH LOVE!

Hydro-Quebec backs down on English
Last week I told you about an international scientific conference that Hydro-Quebec was hosting in Montreal that was to be held in English (as are all these scientific conferences.) After intense pressure from the usual suspects, the utility has now agreed to pay for simultaneous translation, which absolutely nobody will use. Original story{Fr}

In a letter to Le Devoir Professor Robert Emery Prud'homme, a chemistry professor at the University of Montreal, sets the record straight about science and French .

"Without making a thorough investigation, I can say at least 95% - and probably 99% - of scientific articles published by Quebec researchers working in francophone institutions in chemistry, physics and engineering, are in English. It's the same in France and Belgium.

...the question of the use of English in science and in scientific conferences, even in Quebec, has been settled for several years, scientists have de facto chosen English.".

If you read French, this article about the subject of French and English in science, is extremely interesting   Link{Fr}


PQ updating independence plans 
The Parti Quebecois has announced that it is updating 148 studies concerning the subject of sovereignty and independence. I'm not kidding.

Here's a hilarious quote from the article in La Presse. Link{Fr}

"When the PQ was in power in 2001, the government gave a  mandate to Claude Corbo, at that time professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), to review these studies, sort and update them as needed.

"For Pauline Marois, the PQ leader, the purpose of the new "Committee to Study Sovereignty" is to support arguments in favor of  sovereignty.
 
However, if we rely on the previous studies by Corbo, there is no indication that the data collected along the way will go in that direction at all.

This is why the party reserves the right to publish or not to publish the results of the work."  Yikes!

At any rate, it's like thinking about what you'd do if you won the Lotto...
It's fun to daydream.... a yacht?.....a mansion?... sovereignty?

Leading up to next MONDAY'S POST entitled-'The Ignominious End of Gilles Duceppe,' here's a quick primer of the Gilles Duceppe scandal and it's possible outcome, meant for the reading impaired and those with a distinctly low attention span.

 Further reading;

French versus English Volume 44