Bedford School to be under tutelage
A kind of ideological tutelage is being imposed on Bedford School in Côte‑des‑Neiges following a 90‑page government report of mentions of religion on the premises. French to be exclusively spoken in the school grounds will also be enforced.
Adding a link to Toula Drimonis’ Gazette column this week on identity politics, tangentially related to the topic.
Ian 18:17 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
It’s almost as if the Ministry doesn’t know that nothing makes something cooler to pre-teens than it not being allowed.
jeather 18:40 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
Pretty sure a lot of this would require new laws so they will talk around it for a while and ignore all the schools where the Christian parents block sex ed.
Steph 18:55 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
Maybe they could start an OQLF youth brigade for policing the school yard?!
Uatu 08:36 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
I’m waiting for some smart ass kids to troll this policy by loudly speaking English or Arabic or whatever one step off school grounds lol
Kate 09:36 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
I’ve been surprised to hear groups of kids speaking English after they exit the big francophone high school around the corner. I also hear some speaking Kreyol, Arabic and languages from India that I can’t identify, but English is definitely second after French.
jeather 10:30 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
My memory is that the CSSDM schools already require French to be used by students even at recess or lunch. That said I do not know if this is heavily enforced.
Ian 11:38 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
It’s not, especially in schools with a lot of cultural mixing. In classrooms and halls yes, but not lunch or recess. It also depends on the enseignant(e)s of course, some get mad if kids talk among themselves in a language the adult doesn’t understand. By union rules they also can’t be required to speak any language other than French to say, parents – but that makes sense.
Robert H 14:02 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
“It’s almost as if the Ministry doesn’t know that nothing makes something cooler to pre-teens than it not being allowed.”
EXACTLY. And they’ll wonder why English is so popular among youngsters, why it becomes, more than the convenient default, essentially the preferred medium of expression. English equals freedom, fun, and the mystique of rebellion. French is drab Duty and the answer is always Non, vous ne le pouvez pas.
«Le ministère devrait aussi évaluer la possibilité d’intégrer dans la loi l’obligation de parler français dans tous les espaces de l’école susceptibles d’être fréquentés par les élèves…»
Meanwhile, as Toula Drimonis so eloquently explains, the CAQ, afflicted with épaisisme, continues to double down on its culture war initiatives while more relevant matters go ignored. Plus ça change…
jeather 14:33 on 2025-02-15 Permalink
Makes sense that teachers can’t be compelled to speak a language the parents speak but, again, this just makes integration harder for the parents.