‘For two years, parents in Tofino have been asking our school district to create a French immersion program,” says Tofino resident Denise Aujla. “Our district says they can’t afford it.
“There are 47,000 students in B.C. benefiting from learning our two official languages. Why is our public education system creating wonderful lifelong opportunities for some children, and yet turning away so many others? This is fundamentally unfair.”
According to latest reports, families in at least 23 B.C. communities are being denied access to the popular French-immersion program due to a lack of classroom space or because a program does not currently exist. This is denying thousands of students the opportunity to learn, use and benefit from Canada’s two official languages. It’s also a troubling sign for our public education system.
Despite an overall student enrolment decline over the past 10 years, French immersion student participation has been red-hot. As of the 2012-13 school year, more than 47,000 B.C. students were enrolled in French-immersion programs, about 8.5 per cent of the entire student body or a 64 per cent increase since 2000.
Broken down by school districts, French immersion enrolment as a percentage of total school population is highest in Victoria, where more than 17 per cent of students are participating in French immersion, double the provincial average.
Parents are looking to challenge their children and want them to have all the benefits of learning a second language. According the latest federal census, official language bilinguals make, on average, 10 per cent more and have an unemployment rate three per cent lower than their monolingual counterparts.
In 2010, a Bloomberg magazine ranked French as the third most useful language for international business, based on a host of factors including global French-speaking population, trade of French-speaking nations, GDP/GNP of French-speaking regions and international institutions that use French as an official working language.
Countless studies also point to the cognitive, social, and cultural development one gains by learning and using multiple languages.
It’s easy to understand why B.C. families are going to incredible lengths to give their children the opportunity to be part of this program.
When a well-established program in our public education system leaves families out, because of luck or geography, we fail our youth and create systemic unfairness. It doesn’t have to be this way.
If you know a family trying to participate in the French immersion, we encourage you to reach out, to get organized and to make your voices heard. A committed group of parents who communicate their concerns to school district staff and school trustees can have a great impact and force change.
There are also steps the B.C. Ministry of Education can take to help alleviate the capacity pressures. Every year, our provincial government receives $10 million from the federal government for the provision and support of French second-language education. These funds are largely distributed to the school boards based on the number of students enrolled in French immersion and core French. There are strategic decisions the Ministry of Education can make with these funds to help aid growth, setting aside a modest “French Immersion Growth Grant” is one example.
French immersion has changed the lives of three generations of British Columbians. It has created opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and understanding. Students and graduates are able to engage in social, cultural and economic opportunities in big cities and small towns across Canada and around the world. And, if nothing else, it challenges our youth to learn and think in our second official language.
What a wonderful gift that no child in our education system should be denied.
Patti Holm is president of Canadian Parents for French, B.C. and Yukon.
