In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School Sys.

[Summer]

RE: In Ontario we have a

LOL... I'm having to work at it, too.

Je parle Français, mais un petit peu seulement.

That is, anymore. At 16, I was quite fluent, enough so to dream in it at night on a regular basis. Comes of studying it from the age of 13… all in all I studied French for 4 ½ years. But it was a long time ago, and I really need to brush up before I'll be able to have much of a conversation with anyone.

 

[Said1]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a

LOL... I'm having to work at it, too.

Je parle Français, mais un petit peu seulement.

That is, anymore. At 16, I was quite fluent, enough so to dream in it at night on a regular basis. Comes of studying it from the age of 13… all in all I studied French for 4 ½ years. But it was a long time ago, and I really need to brush up before I'll be able to have much of a conversation with anyone.

I was never overly fluent in "international french" aside from the basics, although at one time I was very fluent in the broken, choppy french spoken around here. I haven't been exposed to the language in a long time and have lost a lot of it too. I plan to take a credit class this summer, if all goes well!

 

[Jay]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public Sch

Hey! Present complany excluded, oui!

Me too!!

Your in the GTA right?

Nope. I live in the Forest City, AKA, London. Drop by anytime!!

I thought London was part of the GTA, it's just a bit past Hamilton isn't it?

I'm about 6 hours away, probably won't be anytime soon. Call if you need a sitter, I have lots of experience. :lol:

It takes well over an hour to drive to Hamilton from London. I'm closer to Lake Huron than Lake Ontario. It's about an 8 hour drive to Ottawa.

I would love to have you babysit...and If I'm ever in the area with child, I will drop them off at your house. :lol:

 

[Summer]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a

I was never overly fluent in "international french" aside from the basics, although at one time I was very fluent in the broken, choppy french spoken around here. I haven't been exposed to the language in a long time and have lost a lot of it too. I plan to take a credit class this summer, if all goes well!

That sounds like a great idea! As for myself, I'm going to begin by getting back to reading books in French again, something I used to do in college from time to time to keep my skills up.

I know that when I began studying French in school, it seriously gave me a whole new perspective on the structure of language, including my native English. That's one of the many benefits to students of studying languages other than their native tongue. That experience in 8th grade began a cascade that has led to my interest in linguistics and my determination to return to university studies to pursue an eventual Ph.D in that subject and then an academic career.

I remember taking a school trip to Quebec City and Montreal in 11th grade, and using the French I'd learned in school to navigate the linguistic environment of Quebec. I noticed differences, of course, but didn't have too much trouble, and was put basically in charge of a group of six other students with less time in the language than I'd had at that point, to help them get about and communicate... as we were doing our absolute best to get by in French rather than resorting to English. I had an absolute blast doing this, too.

I was encouraged by my French teacher in 11th grade to spend the following year as an exchange student in France, but I decided not to as I not only felt unprepared to travel abroad at that point (I was barely 17 when I began 12th grade as it was), but also discovered that I would be required to repeat my senior year in high school upon my return to the States. My stance was that it was ridiculous to tell me on the one hand that my French was good enough to manage a year of school in France itself, and yet on the other hand that it wasn't good enough to expect me to actually learn what I needed to learn while I was there.

Though I will admit to having moments now and then in adulthood when I almost wish I had gone.

 

[iamcanadian]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public Sch

[quote="TenPenny]Canada is a bilingual country, and Ontario has a significant french speaking population.[/quote]


The total Francophone population of Ontario is around 150,000. Of which 90% are north of the French River and The Ottawa and Ottawa Valley area. Though there are people movin from Quebec to Ontario because Quebec economy is doing crappy while Ontario is booming thanks to this new school board system that protects them from being culturally contaminated and would allow them to move back to French Canada someday.

Yet we have every square inc of the province covered by two French Language School Board Systems, one Catholic French and one non-catholic French. Some whole French School Boards have less than 20 schools and cover an area the size of Belgium. Everything they do is in French and someone who does not both speak and read french could not responsibly send their children to their schools since nothing exists translated to English that these School Boards do.

Together they are taking over $300 Million annually from the other public schools boards, and serve to create a private cultural school system to protect the Ontario's French Canadian culture from being mixed with mainstream of Ontario Canadian Culture.

Ontario is not a bilingual province and neither is Quebec. They are each unilingual provinces. One is English speakign and the other is French speaking.

 

[Booh]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public Sch

because Quebec economy is doing crappy

Our economy isn't the best but it is doing well. Besides, the disparity between Québec and Ontario has gotten smaller and smaller over the years.

Anyways, I'd like to tell you that apparthite and aparthite are not words. The word I believe you were looking for is apartheid and you obviously don't know what it means.

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.

Definitions of apartheid on the Web:

"Separateness," (Afrikaans, Dutch); policy implemented by National Party government (1948-94) to maintain separate development of government-demarcated racial groups; also referred to as "separate development," and later "multinational development"; abolished by Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1993.
reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/south-africa/south-africa149.html

Basically equivalent to the Canadian/Quebec policy over French Canadian Cultural laws to preserve 'a distinct society".

 

[Finder]

Re: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

In Ontario we have a French Language Public School system paid out of the public school systems taxes. Actually two separate systems, one for French Catholics and one a non-catholic French yet but both fully publicly funded. Ontario has less than 200,000 francophone residents.

These are not a bilingual school system or “French Immersion” type system for people to learn French as a second language, but a completely French People Only Public School Board System populated by Quebec Immigrants who came to seek work in Ontario because they lack job opportunities in their own province.

This was a vote/referedum buy if there ever was one. And Spending $300 Million a year to serve a Private French Education to 200,000 francophones with ties to Quebec is a bit blatant.

Furthermore, there are not enough people being served by the system, so that durring election each of its so called “elected” representatives are acclaimed to their posts because no one runs for their public offices.

Last time I looked French is an official language in our constitution and has a very historic presidence in most of Canada.

I also don't see why you are compairing it to German which is not an official language in Canada or Ontario.

Might you be proposing a racist agenda then?

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

MOST of Canada has nothing to do with the French language until it was imposed.

The German reference is to Arean concepts of the Nazi's, which identifies the racist agenda of the French Canadians trying to keep other cultures from influencing and changing the French Canadian Culture.

The agenda is anti-racist to the French Canadian racist agenda.

 

[Briteyes]

Re: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

You as a parent can send your child to any school and you do not have to be french speaking to send your kids to a french speaking school. It is a little bit harder for the child if you can not speak french for homework purposes but they do offer homework clubs and such to help the child with the french homework. As for notes and report cards. The teachers always make special effort to accomodate english parents. Now as for funding in Ontario since the Mike Harris education reform our funding is X amount per pupil so if those schools are open they are only getting there funding per pupil. Regardless what school they attend. Here is the breakdown in funding. That is why schools are closing. Now the funding is per pupil per board so here in Northen Ontario we can have lets say 12 students in grade 2 in Engleheart a small town in our board and then in the big centre on Timmins we could have 35 students in a grade two class and still be within the norms of the standard set. But you can not close the school in Engleheart because you would have to bus the kids too far to attend another school. As you can see whatever board or school you have you get the same funding. That is why schools are advertising and trying to get more students because they get more money per pupil.

Edit: Briteyes, I fixed your link to get rid of the side-scrolling.
- Summer

 

[Briteyes]

Re: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

[In Ontario we have a French Language Public School system paid out of the public school systems taxes. Actually two separate systems, one for French Catholics and one a non-catholic French yet but both fully publicly funded. Ontario has less than 200,000 francophone residents.

These are not a bilingual school system or “French Immersion” type system for people to learn French as a second language, but a completely French People Only Public School Board System populated by Quebec Immigrants who came to seek work in Ontario because they lack job opportunities in their own province.

This was a vote/referedum buy if there ever was one. And Spending $300 Million a year to serve a Private French Education to 200,000 francophones with ties to Quebec is a bit blatant.

Furthermore, there are not enough people being served by the system, so that durring election each of its so called “elected” representatives are acclaimed to their posts because no one runs for their public offices.]
The population of francophones in Ontario is 500,000 not 200,000 and several of us were born here in Ontario and have no ties to Quebec. I for one went to school in Sarnia Ontario. I was fortunate enough to have more than one language. I have no ties to Quebec no relatives all of my relatives live here in Ontario. I also know of many rural english public schools with the same problem and so if we do what you suggest then we should close down those schools and boards as well. Francophones can be proud of being french and not have ties to Quebec. I would imagine you are english speaking so I guess you have direct ties to England. Oh here is the url so that you can check the statistics of french speaking people living in Ontario
http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/lo-ol/bulletin/vol9_no2/2001b_e.cfm

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

The 200,000 refers to the number who call French their first language.

The issue here is why they have a French Only sepparate School Board in Ontario. We can have french immersion classes as we had for meny years before 1998 when this new concept of having French Language Only School Boards.

These school boards are designed to cater to the French Community Only. Though they can't discriminate if someone wants to go there, they make it difficult for parents since everything they do is in French and there is no English translation to Board correspondence.

They are a Cultural School system to protect the French Culture from having influences from non-french cultures by keeping their children out of the public school system.

It is not designed to advance bilungualism or to advance French Culture on non-french immigrants or non-french Ontario citizens.

These boards are racist, in the sense of trying to shelter their children from the rest of the population of Ontario.

 

[Briteyes]

Re: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

The 200,000 refers to the number who call French their first language.

I must disagree I am posting a url from the government of Canada that states the number of francophone (mother toung is french and speak it at home is The total number of Francophones living in Ontario is 548,940.Please look at it and you will see.

http://www.ofa.gov.on.ca/english/stats/general2005.html


The debate here is supposed to be why do we have french only public schools so I beleive that I have given very good reasons why we have them but I must also agree that in places in the province where sufficient numbers do not warrent it then there must be a more sustainable means of equality of education. Example sharing one school for both french and English as they do in a place called Iroquois Falls. They have devided the school in half,1/2 for francophone students and half for anglo students. That way both get a quality of education and they also learn to tolerate the differences of each other and to respect each other. We can all work together for a better Ontario, we just have to work at it.

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

"have devided the school in half,1/2 for francophone students and half for anglo students."

Sorry but I do not buy this type of behaviour. It is racism only using a language as the excuse.

I have no problem with people taking classes for whatever in English or French (if the numbers warrant a class - or Punjab for that matter). It is when a public school board is created to function exclusively in one tounge, so that families that are not from that toungue are excluded, I find it objectionable, when paid for by public money taken from all citizens.

The motives for doing it is to keep certain people out of their schools on purpose. Non-french to the back of the bus is their M.O.

 

[Summer]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public Sch

Buh?!

MOST of Canada has nothing to do with the French language until it was imposed.

French has been around in Canada ever since there were French-speakers IN Canada - in other words, since the beginning.

The German reference is to Arean concepts of the Nazi's, which identifies the racist agenda of the French Canadians trying to keep other cultures from influencing and changing the French Canadian Culture.

Uh, dude, the word you meant is A-R-Y-A-N, and no, the Québécois and their concerns are not even remotely related to the philosophy of Hitler's Third Reich. Minus ten points for misspelling "Aryan", and minus thirty for this being just a dumbass argument to begin with. Hell, for that matter, you just lost the entire debate, at least according to Godwin's Law :twisted:

The agenda is anti-racist to the French Canadian racist agenda.

Try that again in English?

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

If YOU don't want to talk about it, that's fine, then don't post in this thread.

There is little difference trying to preserve a language or culture from being diluted by isolating it from other languages or cultures; than doing the same over the colour of peoples skin.

I believe doing it over the colour of skin is less socialy damaging than doing it over a culture or a practice or a language.

 

[Summer]

Re: RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public Sch

If YOU don't want to talk about it, that's fine, then don't post in this thread.

Sorry, Bud. This is an open forum for anyone who's a member of Canadian Content. You don't get to decide who will respond to your posts and who won't. Don't like it when someone points out your errors to you? Then maybe this isn't the right environment for you.

There is little difference trying to preserve a language or culture from being diluted by isolating it from other languages or cultures; than doing the same over the colour of peoples skin.

Not only is there a HUGE difference, but you've completely veered off into the realms of the paranoid with your comments of late. We all know you don't like the idea of French-language schools, so what have you got to say that's new?

By the way, the whole Aryan thing was not about skin color. It was about a whole host of things, with skin color included in the mix.

I believe doing it over the colour of skin is less socialy damaging than doing it over a culture or a practice or a language.

EXCUSE me???

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

You're excused...

People cannot do anything about the colour of skin. People's culture, practices and languages however can be regulated and changed by law.

So man can enforce say Islamic culture for something else the public might prefer if left on their own.

Same thing happened with the French Canadian Culture being protected and advanced by government at the expense of all.

 

[Summer]

RE: In Ontario we have a

IAC,

Fact #1: Parents have choices in where to educate their children. Fact #2: Schools are paid for by everyone.

Which of these two things would you prefer to eliminate - public funding FOR education, or parental choice IN education?

 

[iamcanadian]

RE: In Ontario we have a French Language Only Public School

My problem is:

Public Funding for Private Education for French Speaking Canadian Families living everywhere in the Province of Ontario where they are a very very very small number.

A School Board covering the land mass of Belgium in Ontario with 30 schools in it for less than 9000 kids of French Canadian Families is a prime example of one Board that should be removed.

A school board so small that no one even runs for their elected board possitions. Its basically a completly private organization fully funded by the taxpayers with senior posts handed out by patronage possitions out of nepotism and connections.

It excludes participation by non-french Canadians because everything it does is in the french language; they do not just deliver education in the French language.