|
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by lilybilly101
(Post 8154466)
Canadian kids don't get pregnant!? Oh my goodness, the Comox Valley has plenty of them.....teen mummies galore....sad to see anywhere but a fact that it happens in both countries.
|
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Auld Yin
(Post 8154619)
He did not say Canadian kids don't get pregnant. He said his daughters did not get pregnant.
|
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Mistress Miggins
(Post 8153971)
Not only were my children n the education system there, but I also worked in a high school that was deemed to be in a out of town catchment and therefore more priviliged than a few of the high schools in the estates throughout Ipswich.
It was a joke. Ill funded, pressured teachers, kids who mostly didn't care about their education, parents who dumped them and ran each day, in order to work 40 hours a week. Bullying, drugs, under age sex and children at risk were throughout the school, as were children who met the hardship fund criteria. My children went to the feeder primary school. Due to inclusive education in the primary they were trying to work with kids who were autistic to a rather serious extent in the classrooms with 30 other children at a time. My son was horrified to see one child being dragged down the corridor by two members of staff, as he had as my son said "gone mental". (My son was 7) My daughter was never picked up on as having speach therapy needs, or having anything else that was picked up on here in the education system, where she is in a class with 15 others. She now speaks much more clearly and is a more confident little girl. Although yes, I must admit she did suffer at the hands or a rather worrying kindergarten teacher here in Canada. So yes, for sure there are issues concerning the quality of the teacher. But what my point is, and this is as someone who would return to the UK in a heart beat, is the kids here at our school which goes up to a junior high, they are lovely. Nothing like the kids I worked with, and when I say that I mean, they are nowhere near as hardened, cynical or show a need to survive. These are just children. Do I want to give my kids that opportunity to enjoy being children in an environment where you don't have the same worries as the UK, yes for sure. Will I be able to stand Canada for that to happen, I'm not so sure............... There is a difference, of that I am convinced. I just sometimes think that as parents we are left trying to figure out do we give up living to give our children the opportunities here to grow, that they wouldn't have back there. Then I look at them and think, how can I not? As the 4 bells said earlier - life eh. Mrs M x I am yet to see that ultra 'rough' element here and the kids are generally amazing and polite. However, I have never taught at inner city Toronto or Vancouver schools but I hear they have their problems there too. I know drugs are rife here in BC. Kids smoke 'weed' at lunch time and often appeared 'stoned'. No wonder the classroom management was easy when they had little to no homework to do and were off in la, la land! I really 'get' your drift when you talk about taking your kids away from what you see as an idyllic place and able to be kids, free from the cynicism etc. I so, so get that. I hope that when we go home we choose an area well to avoid that happening. It's a worry for me too. It's also amazing to entertain a teen here.....ski, surf, kayaking....great weather (on the island BC). That makes it easier I guess to keep your kids happy and occupied and out of trouble I guess. But can i survive and be happy here.....sadly no.....and I feel terribly guilty for it. We hope to do long teacher holidays here so they know their gorgeous Canadian home too and we'd never say never abut coming back. Sadly, work is difficult to get for me and I miss the job security. We'll see.....are you working as a teacher here and where are you? Best teacher wishes to you! |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by pinkkristen
(Post 8133152)
I agree with Bevm, IMO, the school my children were in was a lot better than where they are now. Having said that it was a village school with a very good reputation. The classes were not that much bigger than they are now. They had a lot more school trips to places, since being here my daughter has had one trip - around the housing estate:eek:
Also, in the Uk i liked the idea that they stay in the same class, therefore building really strong relationships with their friends. All in all, it really depends on where you came from in the UK, if you lived in an inner city with kids in a not so flourishing school, i would understand. IMO, thats the whole thing that sucessful/unsucessful immigration works to (if that makes sense):blink: The French Immersion parents seem the happiest and most confident that their kids are getting a good schooling. The class sizes are small and few kids with special needs. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by lilybilly101
(Post 8156077)
The French Immersion parents seem the happiest and most confident that their kids are getting a good schooling. The class sizes are small and few kids with special needs. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by lilybilly101
(Post 8156077)
The French Immersion parents seem the happiest and most confident that their kids are getting a good schooling. The class sizes are small and few kids with special needs. We have had problems with a particular teacher and had to cause a bit of a fuss in order to get our daughter transferred within the school. I dont think Canada is much different to the UK in terms of the number of parents who take the time to have an active interest in their kids schooling and performance, people here are not so very different. What is different is the absence of teaching aimed solely at improving test score results, which is generally a good thing, although there are a few teachers who could use a kick up the arse that seem to slip along in the system relatively unchallenged. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Kiwilass
(Post 8133267)
I don't have experience of the UK system, but one of things I like about schooling in my part of BC is that public schools can be specialized. My daughter goes to a fine arts elementary with music lessons, dance (in a proper dance studio) art classes etc are all part of the curriculum. She's one of only 15 kids in her kindergarten class. There's a new elmentary opening that's supposed to be focussed on nature/science on Burnaby mountain. I like that school boards have the freedom to do that. And of course, there's french immersion...
I know from talking to the rellies in Scotland they don't have a similar concept there. That's it. That's all I got. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by lilybilly101
(Post 8156739)
Come on cough up....why do you have such a dislike for FI. I know when I first arrived, my upwardly mobile Brit in-laws were all about FI and walk talk about how 'rough' it was on the English side of the school etc. There is a definite class thang going on.....but they all seem to be challenged and enjoyng school.....??
I dont think specialising at middle or junior school level is a positive myself, I think it lets the parents preferences and prejudices limit their kids opportunities in other areas that go unexplored. How many kids are really settled into what they like and excel at at such a young age? |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Kiwilass
(Post 8133241)
I agree with you Bev, except I'm not sure what you mean about damaging content in the English stream? Anyway, I would like to see FI abolished for many reasons. But, 'nother thread...
|
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Kiwilass
(Post 8133241)
I agree with you Bev, except I'm not sure what you mean about damaging content in the English stream? Anyway, I would like to see FI abolished for many reasons. But, 'nother thread...
|
Re: Stuck in Canada
Well, they can access the whole country with English too. No worries there. And it's not like they don't learn French at school anyway - they do.
As for whether Quebecois opens up the world, I'm not sure I agree... I noticed Quebeckers having quite a hard time in Paris, getting mistaken for english speakers, etc. And that's assuming they're actually learning Quebecois from a native speaker in FI, a very debatable proposition. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
Originally Posted by Kiwilass
(Post 8157554)
Well, they can access the whole country with English too. No worries there. And it's not like they don't learn French at school anyway - they do.
As for whether Quebecois opens up the world, I'm not sure I agree... I noticed Quebeckers having quite a hard time in Paris, getting mistaken for english speakers, etc. And that's assuming they're actually learning Quebecois from a native speaker in FI, a very debatable proposition. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
I looked into FI pretty seriously for my kid. Part of what turned me off was all the parental insanity around it, at least here. THE OMG SHE"S ON THE WAIT LIST the queueing up the night before etc. etc. Gah.
Then there was the snobbery. A lot of the parents I know want FI because they think there'll be less ESL (read: asian) kids in it, though actually I don't know if that's true. That's the perception though. And yeah, less special needs allegedly. But those weren't the only reasons. I think FI is trendy right now, but I haven't found a great deal of evidence to prove it's a better option than a good English school, of which there are plenty in this area. I am concerned about the lack of native French teachers in the system. There is a desperate shortage of FI teachers anyway, so that gives me pause about the quality that's out there. And are they actually native Quebecois, or kids who've been through FI? Which leads to my concern about what exactly it is they're learning to speak. Concerns that they're learning to speak a mish-mash fringlish/patois rather than true Quebecois, especially here in BC where the number of French speakers is really small and they don't get to hear it or interact with french speakers out of school, where they're really only interacting with FSL kids like them. WE have a good friend who studied her masters with the academic who pioneered the programme in Ontario. It was interesting hearing her take on it, which was not positive. She said he was trying to bring the two cultures together rather than create a 2 tiered school system. I don't like that it divides kids within a school (a lot of schools here are dual-track). I personally would like to see FI abolished and french language training improved for ALL kids, rather than the few who get in. I'm not convinced taking a child out of it's native language that young and basically forcing them to be an FSL (french as second language) student is all that smart, which ties into my former point about improving french language training for all kids, but having it part of the English system instead of separated out. One of my friends, a teacher, is tutoring an ex-FI student right now who has gone all through the FI system but now can't write a decent essay in English. Her english is fine on a certain level, but that's it. However she can write great essays in French! Fab! Except most ********** require English. Duh. I don't think FI is the guarantee of future academic success some people like to think it is, basically. I might feel differently if I lived in a mixed french/english area like in parts of Ontario or the maritimes because at least then the kids would be hearing it used in real life and it would be useful. We have kid in Italian lessons once a week through the cultural centre and her school. Which sounds like we're trying really hard but they're held in a classroom of her school with a bunch of kids from her school, so it was like, woo, childcare and language, no brainer! Frankly around here she's more likely to hear Italian/use Italian than French anyway. Plus the FI school (we did get a spot for FI but turned it down) was a half an hour walk away and that's just too damn far in the rain :lol: sorryfor the rambly and disjointed post. |
Re: Stuck in Canada
I don't know why "**********" is blanked out in my previous post. WEIRD
|
Re: Stuck in Canada
I don't know why a phrase that mentions getting employment in a province called BC is a problem?
har |
| All times are GMT -12. The time now is 7:37 pm. |
Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.