As you probably know, I went to school in Kingston for Kindergarten in English, then joined the French Immersion program for Grade 1 when we moved back to Saskatoon. I remember doing a craft on the first day and not being sure why the woman giving instructions in French expected me to understand her, but I think I remember that day because the experience was such a novelty, not because I was confused. I never had trouble learning.

I was very comfortable in my classroom. The vast majority of my classmates came from families that value education and the arts, and so we had a similar worldview. I am still good friends with several of them. As you’ve mentioned (and according to my dad’s research project in grad school!), English language ability evens out around grade four. I feel my language skills are quite strong, and that learning the patterns of another language early in life helped me to understand “language” itself. I am certain that learning German and a bit of Spanish and Japanese was much easier when I was older because of my solid foundation in French. On top of that, I feel very much in tune with Canadian culture and appreciative of both the roots and current reality of our country (although it frustrates me to no end that there is no “bilingual CBC” where they don’t translate bilingual speeches at all… but that’s a side point!).

I find the comments made by the parent at your meeting quite perplexing. Her claim about the “lifestyle choice” of French is not all relevant to my own experience. My parents do not speak French, my classmates’ parents did not speak French, and we all still learned very well. I don’t believe any of the parents were “intimately involved” in learning the language as their children did. We also didn’t really participate in any French activities outside of school, with our parents or otherwise. As a child, I lived in a “sphere of French” (in the classroom) and a “sphere of English” (home/family, extracurricular activities, etc.). This is somewhat analogous to a child brought up in a bilingual home or two homes where a different language is spoken in each - you simply learn the expectation, and therefore the appropriate way to communicate at the appropriate time.

I know that the volume of homework has increased since I was in elementary school - and it’s absolutely a shame. As you’ve said, school already takes up enough of the day! However, I think this is true across the board. Unless they are now teaching French Immersion differently, I don’t see why having your child’s instruction in French would impact the amount of time spent on homework. With the exception of French itself, the concepts being taught are the same, you likely have basic knowledge of French to interpret instructions in the early grades (and at that point the lessons are pretty straightforward), and if you don’t, your child can always translate for you. I don’t remember spending any time learning the language itself at home. In short, to reassure you - this wasn’t a problem then, and I don’t see it as being an unsolvable one now. My schooling was just as diverse in terms of skill development as anyone else’s (although that didn’t prevent my clarinet skills from being totally unfit for human hearing).

Of course, French Immersion is not right for everyone. My class did lose kids to the English program, especially in the earlier grades. However, those of us that stayed in the program through Grade 8 and beyond benefited from a very close-knit classroom and a great learning experience. If you think it might be the right choice for your kids, I’d highly recommend it. And yes, the “song” in my heart, it’s true, is often in French.