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 ^ APPLIED IIVMGE Ir 
 
 Kocnester. rje* vori, 14609 USA 
 (716) '.82 - 0300 - Phone 
 
^il 
 
 The Language Issue 
 
 IN THE 
 
 Schools of Canada 
 
 BY 
 
 Professor C B. SISSONS 
 of Victoria College. Toronto 
 
 "We must ^ive frank recognition to 
 "the right of any Canadian of French 
 "Speech to have his children taught 
 "to read, write and speak French 
 "properly in the schools . 
 
 Prof SISSONS 
 
 Lecture delivered at the FORUM 
 in Ottawa. January 1920 
 
 ^ 
 

 
 io?Yy 
 
The Language Issue 
 In the Schools of Canada 
 
 <Sb 
 
 
 
 H«)\\ TO S<>l,\ i: THK 
 
 (^i i;sTU»\.' 
 
 "TP IIK solution of miy iiiiestioii 
 * upon wliirh .i (lltl<M>>nce ol 
 
 opinion exists will depend on 
 the extent to which the parties con- 
 cerned can ai-Tcc on c.'iiain general 
 principles which form the basis ot 
 a settlement. Ceiieially it will hi; 
 found that if neople can only get 
 together and frankly dlsiuss the 
 matters at issn(\ a.urtement on 
 these principles is not impossible. 
 It is because I believe that a solu- 
 tion of the lon.Kstaiidinf; and ut 
 times ai linioiiious dis|)\iie as i<-. 
 language teaching in our schools 
 i.s possible that I venture lo dis- 
 cuss the principles nndorlyin.i; any 
 settlement that is likely to be per- 
 manent, and also certain practi- 
 cal steps which must be taken to 
 give application to lluse iirinciplea. 
 
 THK PP.IXCIPLKS 
 
 The ijrinvii)lt:s: I — X'ltunil claimn 
 stand (ibitvr rliiimn of laic; II — 
 Xo iliffirrncr in Vhanictcr; III — 
 I'((lii<iu!/!> and psi/vholopi/ a safer 
 guiilr; IV — L(in</u(i(/- and leli- 
 (jioii (Uf not intrrdepcndrnt. 
 
 The first of these principles is 
 this: that natural claiiiiN stand 
 above claims of law. I^aws chan- 
 
 Rf. They mark stages in the pro- 
 gress of any people. New laws 
 are made. Old laws are repealed. 
 
 Perfection in law is hardly obtai- 
 nable. As society progrcNsea it is 
 always seeking lo improve it^ 
 laws, bringing ihem more into 
 correspondence with the enlighten 
 ed conscience of the people, with 
 the claims of m )raliiy and wiiii 
 the lessons of history. Above and 
 beyond law is an abstract juaticj 
 to which the written laws set'k 
 more or less siiccessfull> to give 
 a concrete embodiment. As such 
 they are woithy of respect. So 
 ioiii; as liny remain on the sta- 
 tute books they should be obeyed. 
 Anyone who wislies to form an ii.- 
 telligent opinion on the language 
 (luesliiiii musi know the prpi.>ions 
 of the Quebec Ait. the Act of 
 Tni^n. tho Confederation .Vci. and 
 the history of other imitortaiil 
 laws and rt>gulations bearing on 
 language lights, such as the Sei e- 
 rate Schools Act of IMi:!. Clause 
 ] 5 (or 12) of the Ontario Acu 
 the famous bi-lingual clause of liie 
 Manitoba Act now deleted, and 
 Clause 177 of the Saskatchewan 
 Act. 
 
 But knowledge of and ' loyalty 
 to the laws does not mean an ac- 
 ceptance of any particular law as 
 final, if that law interferes with 
 moral rights or fails to satisfy the 
 public conscience. I should not ca 
 re to live in any country where 
 the mere words "it is written" 
 could be used to stifle thought or 
 deter from action. We do not emu- 
 late the system of the Medes and 
 Persians, and it would be an in 
 
tolcratilr (nnditlun wcri' Wf ill (';i- 
 n.ulii to he f -Mil led fnnviT 1) >• 
 tlial \vlii(li Is Iciuiul williiii tht 
 four corrnTs (if our own Hrliish 
 North America Ai'. tluMiKli It lii- 
 iMir Nation,]! ('liarl<r. New times 
 bi iriK iK'w thoir^lit atol rc<iiiirp 
 new laws . CliaUK'' llierc must tie, 
 l)lll sili'ii 1 li;iri:;i- \\\u>\ i oiri>' an til'- 
 IMililir ilcuiaiuls it, l>y common lon- 
 scni of lho:c involved. 
 
 And wUal is Irne in j;eneral is 
 true i)ar:icii!:irl.\ of eiiiicatK.n. 
 There von touch the most intim;i- 
 tc of relationships, the most iin- 
 liorlant of all activities with wliicii 
 the State is coiicerne'i. The laws 
 poverninf-' it must he siini)le, 
 liroad and elastic. Tin- icy crust 
 of le^al formality must not he al- 
 lowed rii'oiiroiisly to confine any- 
 thitiK so vital as edncalioii. 
 
 11 
 
 Tlie second iiriiicipU' heariiif; on 
 our in<iniry is less general :n its 
 rliararier and has reference parti- 
 cularly to the lanKuape question 
 so far as it conceins Ki'eiich speak- 
 liiiiK and I i;lish-speakin.u citizens 
 of ('anaihi it is this; lliat tlx'sc 
 two pi'oples, iliirei'iiiK in siieecli aie 
 iidt cssciitiiilly iIiff<T<Mit in clia- 
 racliT. I think the racial idea ha.- 
 heen ovevem|vhasized in our dis- 
 cussions on laiiKuaKe. A pond nif^- 
 nv people have arjiued that there 
 is a peculiar connection between 
 laiLsnape and race, that langna^'e 
 iiitfrtvvines itself in a niysterions 
 w.iy with the mind and heart of 
 man. so that he who would chan- 
 Re the Kinsiuane vvould pluck out 
 the soul. 
 
 However scei'tical I may be, I 
 sJiall not here attempt to dispro- 
 ^e the reality of such a connection 
 so delicnte and intangible .Imt 
 shall merely state my conviction 
 that the impoitance of race as a 
 
 political factor has l)*eii overrated 
 both in l^irope anil in Canudu du- 
 ring the last half ci'litury. Time 
 v.as when the success of political 
 orKiinizniion was not considered as 
 at all depelidelll oil Ulliforilllty of 
 race. The Kroatest stales of histo- 
 ry have been composite In popu- 
 lation. Kome was firmly built on 
 a founlation coiisistiiiK of thre(! 
 distinct racial units. (Jreat Hrltain, 
 a tidy little Isle with a fairly good 
 record, his developi'il with tolera- 
 ble harmony in spite of several ra- 
 cial strains Of smaller coiiiposilo 
 nations which have succeeded we 
 have Kf>o»l examples, in loyal Bel- 
 Kium with its two races, and liber- 
 ty-loviiiK (lemofr.ific S\^'itze^h^ul 
 with its three distinct races. In 
 llie liKht of history the statesmen 
 of to-day are rather loo much at 
 pains in their niap-makinR to iden- 
 tify the race and the nation. 
 
 Turning to Canada, it is idle to 
 contend that our racial differen- 
 ces are so marked as to render ll e 
 closest co-oi,eralion impossible. The 
 French-speakiim citizen may have 
 i|ualitie^ whi.'h distinguish him 
 from his neighbor of English 
 .-.pet-cli. but these are superficiDl 
 rather than fundanientnl. the ef- 
 fect of environment and education 
 rather than of language and race. 
 .And are we very different in ra- 
 ce? .\ few years ago a movement 
 was instituted in Canada known 
 as the Bonne Kntente. I had the 
 honor of being one of those con- 
 nected with the movement. \t one 
 of our sessions of oratory I had 
 occasion to refer to this matter of 
 supposed racial difference. As I 
 looked about me 1 saw standing 
 side by side, Mr. Norman Lambert 
 of Toronto, now the stalwart Se- 
 cretary of the Canadian Council of 
 .\griciiltiire, typically Anglo-Saxon, 
 one would say. and Mr. Alfred I<am- 
 '.t. a i)iominent merchant of 
 
Mi)iiliial a'ty|)ical Canutllan of 
 FroiU'h orlKlii. How could It lie 
 that these two in"ii bore the same 
 uuine? The KnRlish Channel after 
 all is narrow and naviKahlf to men 
 of stomach. The ancestors of the 
 one man crossed from Normandy 
 to KuKland with William I. The 
 ancestors of the other from tlie sa- 
 me soil HouKht adventure and ;> fu- 
 ture in Canada a few centuries la- 
 ter. \Vi! are not a people of two 
 distinct races so pure in stoi k and 
 so antipathetic in characteristics 
 as to make fusion inipracticalile. 
 As language barriers are broken 
 down, as mutual acquaintance pro- 
 gressK-i, many of the supposedly 
 irreconcilable differences which 
 divide us will be revealed as my- 
 thical, and those differences which 
 remain will prove only sufficient 
 for a perfect national symphony. 
 We want harmony, it is true, here 
 in Canada but no monotonous uni- 
 formity. Our contribution as a na- 
 tion will be more valuable as it 
 represents a working combination 
 of somewhat varied intei't'sts and 
 ideals. 
 
 Ill 
 
 "TP HK third principle, or general 
 * truth, on the acceptance of 
 which a solution of the lan- 
 guage problem, depends is this: 
 that ptHLiKOKy and psychology urc 
 a safer guide to u setlh-inent than 
 conNidoralions of partisHu p<ditics. 
 In other words, we must approach 
 the subject in a scientific spirit, 
 freed from sectional and selfish In- 
 terests. Never has the opportunity 
 for such a shifting of emphasis 
 been greater than it is to-day. The 
 disintegration of the old political 
 parties, sustained as they were by 
 association more than by principle, 
 and the inevitable reaction against 
 the prejudices which have so lar- 
 gely dominated our political life 
 
 would Beem to have created an at- 
 mosphere in which wo may calm- 
 ly consider the subject as it is, not 
 as fancy fed by a press which too 
 often dellKhts In trouble has pain- 
 ted It. 
 
 The question as to when, and 
 how. and wiih what dirficulties, 
 and with what effect on his other 
 subjects, a second language may 
 be studied is one which falls within 
 the field of pedagogy. The practi- 
 cal politician here must yield to 
 the educationist. There is no lack 
 of evidence available. In Neveral 
 <(>untii<-H, in<'ludinK Canada, bi- 
 ll MKuat schiMils have been cundiir- 
 led Mucccssfnlly. The teachers of 
 tluse schools have used different 
 methods and their experience may 
 be had for the asking. A good deal 
 of evidence, Indeed, is already a- 
 vailable In printed form. Superfi- 
 ficially, at least, the conclusions 
 arrived at by pedagogy as to the 
 ti^aching of a second language may 
 ajipear at times to differ conside- 
 rably, even to the point of flat 
 contradiction. A careful analysis, 
 however, will show that such dif- 
 ferences are in large part due to 
 variation in condition in the school 
 and the community. 
 
 In Cana'da w«' have never given 
 onougli consideration to the psy- 
 <hoIog>- of language teaching. The 
 
 difficulties of learning a second 
 language, in the case of young 
 children, have been over-estimated 
 while the value of a second lan- 
 guage as an aid to the apprecia- 
 tion of the native tongue has been 
 under-estimated. For Ontario the 
 experience of South Africa, and 
 Wales, and Nova Scotia, and the 
 Western provinces, as well ns that 
 of certain parts of EuTope and the 
 United States is of the greatest 
 value. At the moment I recall two 
 different statements made by Ca- 
 nadians, both influential in the 
 
liillKUiik'i' ih-liil ". wlllill colllil tint 
 IKis.sihlN ll,m liii'ii iiiKl^' ll.lil 'I 
 
 Ihtr uivi .1 aii> r;iri'fiil •.tiidy ;i> 
 
 till' ;i-i>'>'l°li.llliil)li' rili'ls of laIIK<>-IK< 
 tf'.K lilii^.' Oil.' was to llic t'fft'ft 
 that n'l -I'rjiiiis •■(tiii'iit ionist 1)<>- 
 llfvr'l ill till' (lircil iiicIIumI dI' tca- 
 rliiii;; a •'••I'liiid laimiiai;c. ilir othrr 
 thai it hail ipichcm altom-t hrr hct- 
 
 t..|- Mill to llltlill|ur> M siTciliil liill- 
 
 HiiaK'' •" a rhilil until ihi' aK'' "'' 
 
 ten 11, twrl'.i- vvhrii hi' had hccoiiH' 
 
 firiiily I'-tahlislii'il in l he vrriiarii- 
 lar. 
 
 (till' iti ihi' Mii)-,l \aliiahli' i/it'iT- 
 of littcral nil' I"' irin^ mi iln' qui'-- 
 lion is foiniii in an aiiiieiulix to 
 till- rfliort (if till ;irii.( nliiiKs of 
 the fnil'iTial IMiiial niial Conft- 
 rt'in '■ hilil ill I.onilon in 1 :• 11 I 
 (■:iiinnl tinil i h.il r.-pr.>><nl at i vi - 
 hoiii Oniariii looi; any |)!i-l in li-.'- 
 I onfi rrncr. v.ilaalili as ihr ili.-i''!-- 
 s;i)ii \va- 111 Ihriiwin-' liulil on tli' 
 jirolih'ni whicii even tlit'ii was \ir- 
 loiiiiii!; mute ill lh;it |irii\ iiii iv Ki-- 
 )ir! si'iitutiv^ from ijin-hrc ami N''>- 
 ^a Scotia were iiresiMil anil coiiiii- 
 lilllcd to Ihc discussion. I'a'-ticu 
 iarl\ intcri'stinn wa-; the cxpi-ririi- 
 ce related by the Welsh anthori- 
 tiis. Mr. Owup Kdwards. the Chief 
 Inspector of Schools in the Uil-i. 
 [jeiiartiiie'il of the Board of Kdu- 
 catioii. pointed out that the poli(y 
 of "inakinp the laiiMiiaf;e and ai- 
 iiiosphere of tlie school eiitire!\- 
 Knullsh" had heen tried for a imiii- 
 Vcv of years with unsatisfactory re- 
 sults. It was found that the chil I 
 so trained "reads words with 
 
 which he associate-; no lueaniim. 
 and is denied acce-s In the wril- 
 ti n word which would at once call 
 iip ideas and .-'iniulale his iutolli- 
 K( IK e. Thus whei. he has attained 
 the a^e of si.x or st'veii. his hook 
 tells him iiothins." By chanKin.s; 
 the method and te„chinK the two 
 laimnages they "had practically 
 ilouhled the efficiency of the 
 
 schools" JMHldes Keeping tliO 
 
 school-i in touch with the hoiuB. 
 till- Sunda.N School and the litera- 
 ry inei'tiiiKs. Mr. Kdwiiril.s suninied 
 up ihc' sjiuiitioii an followH. "thai 
 1-,. a We'^li s,,.iik!im chi'.d of nine. 
 «lio has learnt his own laiiKuaKe 
 fiisl will wrili- heit. r i;nKlish and 
 leail Kii'.'lish mure iiiielli-ciH ly 
 than a Welsh :peal>lli« child of 
 eleven who has lieeii tau^'hl Kii- 
 lill.sh excliisiveh from the first 
 day li" • nlcfcd ^cho <\. 'I'liat is my 
 
 e\|lerielH e," 
 
 II is III I'l' nolcd til. It the cli'.l- 
 I'leii .\l l-;,l\\,ilil < speaks of I'au 
 write Kimlitli at the ane of nine 
 The.-,e are resllll^- ohtained iii 
 Wel-li !ii-llli:.;ual school.-. 'I'l.e ex- 
 .priicU'i ot t!ie Caiiadian West luis 
 not always iRieed with that of the 
 Wel-h liiithoriiies. The Mennoni- 
 les of SoiilI.erii Maiiiloha, for ex- 
 ample, for many years alined at a 
 hi-lin'-'.ual education. They lauglit 
 the ihild in KiiKlish from the ilay 
 l,e entered school. reserviun an 
 hoir.- , r all lioiir and a half a day 
 lor trainini; in the mother toiiKUe. 
 In certain schools at least their 
 methods niel with ((Jiisiderahle suc- 
 cess. It nia.v have been that they 
 did not force !lie pa<e. as the 
 AVelsh authorities did. and bother 
 the little heads of children of five 
 and six with two latiRuaKes. or per- 
 liaps they regarded any book lear- 
 iiin.c; at that au'e as a mistake for 
 the noru'.al 'hild. \\ any rate Ihoir 
 method was somewhat different 
 fi-oiu the Welsh method. In ihe Ca- 
 nadian West also, there are hun- 
 dreds of schools where the children 
 iieve,- hear in the schools the Ian- 
 suawe of Ihe home and the coni- 
 niiinily. and yet by the direct me- 
 thod of teaching in a few months, 
 these schools find their primarv 
 classes proreedinp; easily in a lan- 
 guage which hart beet; entirely 
 s'.ran;,'" to the children. .\ western 
 
:' 
 
 
 iMifhorltv on the siil)J»'Ct, Dr. Nor- 
 iiinii F. Illiii'k. hiiH ihN to suy of 
 mfihixl: "In fhoMi' lofiilitlfM ih.ii 
 liiHtl ii|>"ii the tcachfr liiint; nhln 
 to NjHMk IIk' iiitillicr loiiKni' of the 
 lii'Kinn>'is In KtiKliMli. it t.ikiw ;!■< 
 II iiiIh fully twice iis hint,' fur tin' 
 piiplls to ai'(|iilii' a workliiK kiiow- 
 li'iJK'' "f KtiKll><h as It ii'iiiilrcs in 
 iiinnl)<'rl»'s« k<'<)<I scIhioIx ((iiiihii- 
 ti'il liy ti'acht'i-s iKiior.iiii of ttif 
 \<riia''ular." 
 
 I liavi' ritcil iht'si' ciiijiiidiis III)' 
 \Mlli tht> piiliKisi' 111 laylii>; ilowii 
 any dt^fliiltc nilf nl pt'daKciKy. but 
 !ii»'r<'ly to show tli.ii iIkti' fxisi- 
 a (llffcrciici' of opiiiiiiii as to iiic 
 tliod, and Itial a body of ividciirc 
 is available by the exauiin.ition of 
 which experts mlKhl hope to ,inive 
 at satisfactory conclusions as to 
 the bent means of conducting bi- 
 lliiKiial schools. This is a malJi-i' 
 for the teacher and the student of 
 l-sycholony and not piiniarily a 
 matter for the politician. 
 
 IV 
 
 Th(> '' ,urtli and last principle 
 shall be dealt with briefly. Its ac- 
 ceptance is necessary to an intelli 
 Kent appreciation of the factors of 
 a solution of the lanRuage issue. 
 It niav be staled thus: l.iiiiuiiiiKe 
 iiiMi reliKi<iii are not fiMKliiiiieiilal- 
 ly iiit<'r«l«'|M'ii(IeiU. .V sentimental 
 connection there is without doubt 
 between them. The lanRuage lear- 
 ned at a mother's knee is the most 
 natural languaKe for relij;loii,- 
 worship. II is natural for the 
 church to wish to tie cl'<se to the 
 )ioine and the school. The case was 
 clearly put in a conimunication 
 sent to the educationt'l authorities 
 of L'l/Per Canada in 1861 by tha 
 Hev E. F. A. Kaebsman of East- 
 hope, Country of Perth. Apparently 
 he spoke as a Lutlieran or as a 
 Mennonite. though similar argu- 
 
 meiitM iniKht have been uPRed liy 
 one of the spiritual leaderx of the 
 • '.itholjc loriiiaiis of uhoui there 
 were a nutnbei In Western Onta- 
 rio Ills reasons for deslrlnn the 
 inalnteiiaiice of Cei inan- KiikIisIi 
 schools are a> follow- 
 
 "1. My exclusively Kn>:llsll 
 
 Si'hools. the people will he aliena- 
 ted from the Church, fall uradual- 
 ly Into Indiffereiilisin. and lose all 
 iii(,uil restraint: such individuals 
 do not make ^ood citizens; 
 
 ■':;. I'aieiits lo^e ihelr influence 
 upon children, as tbe\ are not 
 able to ri.id with theni the Woni 
 ol (io 1 at family worship; and 
 
 ".1. In case of si, kness, children 
 are not able to read tlie blessed 
 HooU til ihr ii disabled parents." 
 
 He would be a ruthless nian who 
 would li;,'hil> ua\e aside such an 
 ai/peal. Ui'liyion beiiif; <()ni erned 
 with the home and the conuiitini- 
 ty is also concerned with laiiKuane. 
 Hut while this i.> true, it is also 
 true that the content of the reli- 
 Kion is Krrater than the speecli in 
 which it is first tauRlit. The two 
 should not he confused. Ii would 
 be a feeble religion which could 
 find expression only in a single 
 huMuaKe. 
 
 DKIHCTHtNS 
 
 III iliii t'lDiis I — ll'c must (jivr frank 
 i< iotinitioii to the right of an\i 
 Cdtinilian nf Fri iich spet-ch to 
 hnvr his iii,!(lnn tnufiht to read, 
 irritr (inil six ok French; /I — 
 L'vrry ttoy (mil (jirl should knoir 
 F.iKiUsh iifll;ll[ — Hoir to srrurr 
 siirh triKhiiifi; IV— Finance ami 
 teach inn; V -Equalitii of oppor- 
 tunity for the training of bi-lin- 
 ijual teacher. 
 
 "T" Hi; piinciples whicli underlie 
 tlie solution of the language 
 (luestion have been discus- 
 sed. It is only as we can arrive at 
 an a.srreenient on these that we can 
 
hope to settle details. I have put 
 forward tour general propositions 
 which seem to me valid and fun- 
 damental, namely, ( 1 ) that natu- 
 ral aiul moral liRhts staml above 
 meio IcKal liKlits, (2) that ra<;ial 
 (liflcreiues as Ix'tweon Kiiglish- 
 HiM-akiiiK and P>«Muh-.spoaking <'a- 
 na<lianH are incoiisidfi-abk', ( '■) ) 
 that podagoKy is a safer guide to 
 a solution than partisan polities 
 and (4) that language and reli- 
 gion are not •■ssi-ntially interde- 
 pendent. With these in mind we 
 can now proceed to the considera- 
 tion of certain deductions from 
 Ihese general truths. 
 
 The first, and one which is ma- 
 de without any reservation, is this: 
 tliat wo must give frank recogni- 
 tion to the right of any ('anadian 
 of French si)<'ech to have his cliil- 
 dren tsvught to read, write and 
 speak French properly in the 
 schools. I would go further than 
 this and sa ■ that it is the duty of 
 the state to do its best to provide 
 an opportunity for every French 
 child to know something of the 
 splendid inheritance of French li- 
 terature, not merely to furnish 
 him with a tool with which he may 
 in after years discover the treasu- 
 res of that mine. If the state un- 
 destakes to do this, and I have no 
 hesitation in saying that I think it 
 should, certain practical difficul- 
 ties are sure to arise. 
 
 What are you going to say. for 
 example, when in a particular 
 school section you have only one 
 French family who wish French 
 taught, while the other families do 
 not wish to have P^rench taught? 
 I'nder our School Act large po- 
 wers are held by the local school 
 section through their elected re- 
 presentatives, the school trustee?. 
 
 These powers in the main anteda- 
 te confederation and are firmly es- 
 tablished by law and in practice. 
 It will not be forgotten that in the 
 Ottawa case the Privy '':)uncil de- 
 cided that an appointed commis- 
 sion could not legally take over 
 the prerogatives of the duly elec- 
 ted trustees. Suppose then that 
 these trustees acting witli their 
 prerogatives say that they cannot 
 swcrilice iho wishes of all the 
 other families in order to satisfy 
 this one family. Would any 
 department of education be justi- 
 fied in stepping in and compelling 
 the trustees to provide instruction 
 in French in the face of an expres- 
 sed and all but unanimous disap- 
 proval of the ratepayers? I think 
 one would hesitate to say that it 
 should adoi)t compulsory measures 
 One might expect it to employ 
 persuasion pointing out the advan- 
 tage of a second language in giving 
 a sound acquaintance with English 
 and the desirability of ha- 
 ving Canadians familiar with the 
 French language particularly in 
 districts partly French. liut could 
 one expect more? Minority rights 
 must be regarded, but minority lu- 
 le is not denvocracy. Here is a ve- 
 ry real difficulty. If the majority 
 cannot l)e persuaded it would seem 
 to me that there is only one prac- 
 tical way out of the difficulty. Tha 
 French family must yield to the 
 wishes of their neighbors or move 
 to a place where neighbors are 
 more congenial. Moving is not an 
 unprecedented thing with us here 
 in Canada. All of us owe our pre- 
 sence on this soil to willingness to 
 move. 
 
 Suppose, however, the minority 
 is substantial and does not consist 
 merely oi one or two families. Thi?; 
 was the situation which the Mani- 
 toba authorities, in consultation 
 with the Federal Government 
 
 
sought to meet by legislation, af- 
 ter the general election of isy(i. 
 In consequence, the celebrateil 
 clause 258 of the Manitoba School 
 Act was framed. Under this clause 
 It was ;rovided that "where ton 
 of the pupils speak the French 
 language or any language other 
 than Kngli.sh) as their native lan- 
 guage the teaching of such pupils 
 shall be conducted in French (or 
 such other language) and English 
 ui)on the bi-lingual system." This 
 clause proved unworkable. It was 
 made mandatory, not permissive. 
 The majority in a school section 
 often found themselves under o- 
 bligation to provide bi-lingual tea- 
 ching against their wishes. Cons- 
 tant friction was the result in cer- 
 tain sections. Under any system, 
 whetlier compulsory or not, occa- 
 sional friction will arise. But in 
 th^s ease while insisting on bi-lin- 
 gual teaching the authorities ma- 
 de no adequate provision for pro- 
 viding teachers qualified to teach 
 the two languages and at the sa- 
 me time the various subjects of 
 the curriculum. A survey reveal- 
 ed the fact that the schools in ve- 
 ry many cases were not educating 
 the children. The situation was 
 further complicated by the coming 
 of shiploads of people from cen- 
 tral Europe. Cases arose where in 
 a school section some of the par- 
 ents demanded teaching in French 
 and English while others deman- 
 ded, and with the same legal for- 
 ce, teaching in German and English, 
 or Polish and English, or 
 Ru'ienian and English. Indeed 
 one schoo! section was found 
 where a strict interpretation of the 
 law would have required the tea- 
 ching in the same room of no 
 less than five languages. 
 
 The situation created in Manito- 
 ba (with its polyglot population) 
 by clause 2,f.8 was clearly impossi- 
 
 ble. And even in the case of French 
 and English bi-lingual schools, the 
 will of the majority cannot safely 
 or Ruthenian and English. Indeed 
 be coerced by the will of ihe mi- 
 nority. The important thing is 
 that the claims of any minority 
 shall be presented in a manner so 
 straightforward and reasonable 
 that they cannot fail to appeal to 
 the sense of justice in the major- 
 ily. The practical difficulties which 
 arise in an attempt to reconcile 
 the claims of the minority based 
 on a natural right with the claims 
 of the majority based on democra- 
 tic principles will not be found to 
 be insurmountable with good will. 
 That is essential to any solution. 
 However, a county or a township 
 system of organization of trustee 
 boards such as is now proposed in 
 Ontario will obviate some of these 
 difficulties. It would then be 
 found possible to collect in one or 
 more rooms of a consolidated 
 school the children of the minori- 
 ty who wish bi-lingual or'uni-lin- 
 gual instruction. 
 
 11 
 
 The second deduction is comple- 
 mentary to the first and consist in 
 the definite iu('(>ptiinco of the nec- 
 essity for every chihl in provinces 
 olhor than Quebec to learn to reatl, 
 write and speak En;;]ish properly 
 and with facility. I am not going 
 to urge this for Quebec. That i 
 leave for citizens of the province 
 of Quebec. Speaking of Ontario 
 and other provinces than Quebec 
 one cannot avoid the conclusion 
 that for good fellowship, for a 
 broad outlook on citizenship and 
 for success in life every boy and 
 girl should know the English lan- 
 guage well. 
 
 There can be no doubt, as to 
 where our French citizens stand 
 on this matter. They have definite- 
 
ly •■.\i>n>-fil lluMiihelvcs [f^ one 
 with ilu' vest of Canada. I rhall 
 (luote i>n:.. foiu siK-h expressions 
 of opinion. 
 
 Senator Belcoiirl in ar. article 
 in tile Iniversilv .Masazine appea- 
 rilii; iu DeceniliiT 1 :M 2 .noes so far 
 as to sav ".Ml Canadians oi Frenrli 
 ori.u-in. wilU no excc|ition. desire 
 and i!i!.'nd that all tlieiv idiidren 
 shall ar(inire at h-ast a workin..:- 
 knowledi;.' 'if ttie laniinajic of tlie 
 majority." 
 
 Pan! Lanianlie. whose memory 
 
 I liold in the Kreatest respect bolh 
 for liis charact(M' and his ability. 
 >^aid m the hi-lin^uai deliate in 
 the Federal Honse; "We conside.' 
 
 II Fr( mil I'dncation as a dntv. and 
 the aciiuisilion of ' ■u' F,nu!i-!i 'an- 
 giiai-'i' as a necessit> " 
 
 111 the same deliate Sii WiUrid 
 Lain-:.-:-, 'he vein ral/lf !ii.-I''.ian 
 orator and statesman, nst-d these 
 words "Xn maa in; this conuneni 
 luijilied for the ba'tle of lif<> 
 has an Knslish ednca- 
 
 |s 
 
 unless 1k' 
 tion." 
 
 Lastly, 1 iinoli- from 'In- b'ti*'' 
 of Mis Iliiiine.ss I'ope I'.enedict X\ 
 ti) the bi.^iops of Canada, dated 
 September >>. I^'IC,. -'Xobody can 
 driiy that the ci\il Oovernnient of 
 Ontario has the rislit to exact lUa; 
 children should learn KiiRlish in 
 thr s(dioots; and thai the Catho- 
 lics of Ontario Icsit imatel\- re(iui- 
 ri' tliat ii should l>e perfectly 
 lai,t;ht. Ill order tliat tle-ir sons 
 slionld be placed on ihe sami' le- 
 vel ill ilii- respect Willi the non- 
 Catholic ihiblrcn wlm freiiufiil 
 neutral sdiools, and thai they 
 should not lie eveiiiually l''ss fit- 
 ted fur the liifihrT schools or b'> 
 disf|ualifi'-d for civil employmeni". 
 Xotliin'.; could be more explicit 
 or more aiillioritalive ttian thi-. 
 Xo Can , liaii. lay or cleric, can ne- 
 i;lect s!i( h weighty and repre- 
 sentative (.jiinion. It now remains 
 
 to discusiL, how these results can 
 best be attained. 
 
 Ill 
 
 I F we accept the view pithily 
 
 I expressed by I'aul Laniarche 
 that to the French-speaking 
 
 Canadian a French education 's h 
 duly and the aciinisition of the 
 English language a necessity, we 
 may proceiMl to our deduction, 
 namely lliat eliipliasis should l)e 
 laid l>\ llie anthorit i<s on resiiUs 
 rather than on niethud>.. U is not 
 for a moment urj^ed that methods 
 of insi ruction are unimportant. 
 Pedai;oKy is a science, but not an 
 exact science. So varied are the 
 conditions of the community about 
 th(> school and of the school it- 
 self, so infinitely varied Ihe mind 
 of teachers and puinls that an in- 
 sist -nee on absolute uniformity of 
 method would inlerfere with the 
 best results. 
 
 On the general result to be ai- 
 med at agreement is not impossi- 
 ble. The school aims to teach the 
 child to think and to do. In all our 
 discussion of the laiiRuage que;- 
 tion we have loo little emphasizerl 
 Ihe real purpose of education, 
 l.anuuag.' is not an end in itself, 
 it is merely a means to the expres- 
 sion of thought. Whether the ve- 
 hiile of thought be French or Ger- 
 man or Knglish or Ilnihenian is 
 leally. from the standpoint of edu- 
 cation, a secondary ( onsideration. 
 
 II we regard the (laims of society 
 
 it may be 'mi'.ortant enough, but 
 facility ill the u.~e of one langua- 
 ge, or of two languages, is a poor 
 Mibstitnte for true .Hiucation as it 
 slioulii be given i:i the prima-'v 
 schools of any country. 
 
 It is no doubt true that a <'oii- 
 siderahle amount of mental train- 
 ing is given in Ihe course of lear- 
 ning to read and write a languge. 
 ,\nd the study of a second langua- 
 
 10 
 

 p,<\ involving ;is it iloes, constant 
 V oniiiarison with ilie mother-tongue, 
 is immensely valuable a.i an 
 intflloctiial stinuilus \ pupil who 
 lias careful;;- studied a secund lan- 
 guage will he likely to have a 
 much tietter knowledge of his na- 
 tive tongue ai the ape of fifteen, 
 even though by reason nf his divi- 
 ded iiitention ht,- m:i. have devo- 
 ted less time to it, ihan our- who 
 has confined himself to the idiom 
 ef his own language. IJut all the 
 time of the school should not !).■ 
 devoted lo language siud>-. Kduca- 
 tion in language mast be conside- 
 red as a means to an end. 
 
 I ft'ar that owing to our di^re- 
 .uard to this fa^t we have (|on!» a 
 serious injustice to children iii 
 our bi-lingual schools. We have 
 confined our discussion to matters 
 of language and not infreiiuently 
 have neglected to tak<^ the besi 
 means to eiiuij' I lie puidls for lli(> 
 battle oi life by tra.iiiing their 
 minds to think aiid their hands to 
 di . Tliis has be. u made painfully 
 apptirenf whenever c-ireful surveys 
 have lieen m.nie. m Or.tario tin 
 
 cts made patent during the l.i 
 report availal)le to the public ^i- 
 •ve conclusive evidence of the ge- 
 lural backwardness of education 
 in these schools. Nearly sixty per 
 rent, of the pupils enrolled under 
 the niJs teachei's visited were in 
 Form 1. Xow the petty tasks oi' 
 th(' firsi form under our system 
 aie suited to the intelligence of |)u- 
 pils of six to eight years. Yet al- 
 most exactly half of rhe children 
 ten years old were still employing 
 themselves or trying to employ 
 tin msplves with these tasks. 
 
 The parents of the children 
 whose education was so retarded, 
 ihildren (|uite as bright as any in 
 the rrovince and rather more obe- 
 dient and mannerly, it was report- 
 ed, than the average, have a right 
 
 to demand something l)etter ihan 
 this. The rest of the province, — 
 for we have come to realize now- 
 a-days what the Greeks knew long 
 ago, that the interests of one are 
 the interests of all, — has a right 
 to demand scmiething better, tn 
 our bickerings over when and how 
 this or that training in language 
 ^hould be given, like the dog ot 
 the fable we have snapped at the 
 shadow and lost the bone. Just s3 
 soon as we realize that it is not 
 til all difficult tir children to 
 Irarn two langua.iAes in school, that 
 the learning of two languages 
 doe^ no*, necessarily imply the gc- 
 nuiring of education and that the 
 method must be .indged by the re- 
 mits — tlien we may expect to 
 find our bi-liugual schools a pri- 
 de to the community and a credit 
 to the province 
 
 The fourth deduction may be 
 presented in a few words. It has 
 to do with finance. I find a good 
 many people who think th;,. fi- 
 nancial considerations are of first 
 .iiM"'rtaiue in education, that if 
 teachers are paid better salaries 
 everything else will follow. I do 
 not agree with this position, Tlic 
 (oiMlitions of teacliin^, the free- 
 dom of (lie teacher to work out 
 l)is own ideas, the general resiH'< I 
 of the conniiiiiiity for the si'hool 
 are ev<'ii more iii'.Morl :int fuetors 
 than ^.lIary in attract inj{ ko<h1 
 teacliers and in retaining; them in 
 llie profession. 
 
 But salaries must be adequate, 
 and in many of our bi-lingnal 
 school sections our present system 
 they cannot be adequate. What can 
 be done with a rural section which 
 has an assessment of $40,000? 
 Even with a school tax of eight 
 mills thit would only bring a re- 
 turn of ,$;5L'0, Very large outside 
 grants would oe necessary to bring 
 this up to an amount at all ade- 
 
 11 
 
quate to the needs of a ono-room 
 school. But when the assessment is 
 one fifth of that amount. (I have 
 heard of a section with that assess- 
 ment, although the figures for hi- 
 lingual schools have not been a- 
 vailable to the i)ul)lio as they are 
 for other schools) what can the 
 poor people of the section hope to 
 :; iiplish in educating their 
 children? It is (luite clear tliat ex- 
 traordinary means must he employ- 
 ed to supplement tlu' local taxes. 
 A law which is satisfactory for a 
 school section with an assessment 
 of $250,000 fails utterly with a 
 school section with an assestment 
 of $2,"(,000 or less. In this 
 case the strong must go to the aid 
 of the weak. Possibly our cherished 
 method of allowing a local board 
 to manage the fin-^nce of the 
 schools must be altered^ At any ra- 
 te, generous county or provincial 
 subvention must be available. Fift- 
 een years ago, in the mountain 
 valleys of British Columbia, so ca- 
 reful was the provincial govern- 
 ment of the welfare of its wards, 
 the children of the province, that 
 where the people was not able to 
 pay for a teacher the government 
 agreed to pay the whole salary of 
 the teacher — the minimum being 
 $720 a year, a;,!, if necessary, to 
 equip a building for the school. I 
 do not advocate this as a general 
 policy. Local Interest is stimulated 
 by local effort. Where the treasure 
 is, there will the heart be also. 
 
 How er, in so far as the local 
 purse in unequal to the task of 
 providing an adequate education, 
 the state must step in. No child 
 Is so mean or so remote that so- 
 ciety should hesitate to open wide 
 the gates of knowledge and op- 
 portunity to him. - 
 
 V 
 
 The fifth and last of the condi- 
 tions I would mention as contribu- 
 
 ting to the solution of the bilin- 
 gual question is perhaps the mo.-<t 
 important of all. It has to do with 
 what is probably the most vital of 
 the functions of the state, the so- 
 I'-rtion of tin' tem'liers «r it;* t-liil- 
 <lren. The stale <annot expect to 
 rise above the type of character 
 and degree of culture represented 
 in its teachers. The most compre- 
 hensive safeguards of law, the 
 most delicate adjustements of cur- 
 riculum fail of effect unless we ha- 
 ve in our schools men and women 
 of sufficient personality an educa- 
 tion to inspiie the confidence of 
 their pupils. It is particularly ne- 
 cessary that the teachers in these 
 bi-lingual schools be carefully se- 
 lected and adequately trained^ 
 their task is more difficult than 
 that of the ordinary teacher. Tliey 
 must be able to present all the re- 
 gular subjects of the ciirriculiiin 
 and in addition a second langua- 
 ge. In order that the pupils wiio 
 have passed through their bands 
 may "not be eventually loss fit- 
 ted for the higher schools or bo 
 disqualified for civil employment", 
 these teachers must be able to in- 
 terpret to their classes the general 
 life of the country rather than me- 
 rely narrow or sectional Ideals. No 
 inferior qualifications should he 
 accepted in their case. Superiority 
 of preparation indeed, as compa- 
 red with that of other teachers in 
 the province is required if their 
 very difficult work is to be well 
 done. 
 
 The French-speaking citizens of 
 Ontario who are Immediately con- 
 cerned may w^ell unite with tlio 
 English-speaking citizens who are 
 indirectly concerned in demanding 
 at least party in qualifications. 
 What was the situation at the last 
 inspection, the results of whicli 
 are available to the public? Out 
 of 53S teachers inspected, only 47 
 
 12 
 
had attained to the de of the 
 
 Second Class certificate, which in 
 all iirhaii ncliools and in the vast 
 majority of rural schools in Onia- 
 rio is considered the niininiuni ri'- 
 (luireinent. .More than 'JO per cent 
 held a lower certificiUe than this. 
 Tlie re.u:ular trainiiiR for bi-lingual 
 teachers when it in obtained in 
 the province consists of two years 
 of study in special Model Schools 
 after the Kntrance Kxainination to 
 High School, while the time rei|iii- 
 reil for the Second Class certifica- 
 te is three, or usually four years 
 in High School, followed by a year 
 in Normal School. The hi-lingual 
 certificate this involves is two 
 years of study, after passing En- 
 trance Examination, while the Se- 
 cond Class certificate involves four 
 or five years of study. This coiiili- 
 tioii raiinnt l»o allowed to coiitiiiiio 
 without placing French-siH-akiiiK 
 rliildreii of the province at a se- 
 rious (hsa-dvanta^e Kipiality of op- 
 l)ortunily necessitat* s the i^iunl- 
 i/in^ of tlie stauihird of training 
 reciuir*-!! of tlie teachers. They aio 
 the key to the situation. 
 
 The difficulty of securing a bo- 
 dy of well-trained bi-linguai tea- 
 chers is considerable, and must be 
 fairly met. It can he met only by 
 the development of a spirit of co- 
 operation between the parties con- 
 cerned. With good will, I repeat, 
 all things are possible; without it 
 little or nothing can be done. 
 Bright pupils of French speech 
 tnust be encouraged to remain at 
 sdiool with a view to fitting them- 
 selves for teaching. They must 
 feel that it is their duty so to im- 
 prove their knowledge of P^nglish 
 and of the other studies of the 
 curriculum that their pupils will 
 not suffer by comparison with thn 
 pupiis of the best ani-lingual 
 sfhools. It will be found advanta- 
 geous to have them fransfered for 
 
 jiart of their training outside the 
 strictly French environment, io 
 that they may become interpreters 
 of a broader Canadian spirit. 
 
 While the greater number of 
 teachers for our bi-lingual school.s 
 will continue to he chosen from 
 those whose mother tongue is 
 French, it \vill i)rohai)ly prove ne- 
 cessary, as well as wise, to take 
 steps to encourage students of En- 
 glish speech to i)repare themsel- 
 ves for work in these schools. To 
 this end, the teaching of French 
 in the secondary schools of Onta- 
 rio should be improved. I doubt 
 it any of the subjects of the cur- 
 riculum are taught with less ea- 
 tisfactory results on the whole 
 than Fi-ench. After four years of 
 training in High School it is amaz- 
 ing how little French most Onta- 
 rio students know. Pupils who 
 read French with ease at the end 
 of their course are rare; those 
 who speak it readily, phenomenal. 
 Yet is not uncommon to find pu- 
 pils who have had a similar educa- 
 tion in England (luite fluent m 
 their use of French. 
 
 What is the reason for our com- 
 parative failure? For one thing in 
 Ontario, children commence the 
 study of language too late. Eleven 
 or twelve, rather than fourteen 
 should be the age at which the 
 study begins for those whose ob- 
 ject is to prepare for teaching or 
 tor similar i)rofessions. Those who 
 wish to iJUrsue their studies 
 through High School or eventually 
 through College, have a distinct 
 grievance against a system which 
 has changed the idea of the High 
 School Entrance Examination into 
 that of a Public School leaving 
 examination, thus deferring the be- 
 ginning ot language studies two 
 or three years beyond the age at 
 which they should begin and at 
 which a generation ago they ac- 
 
 13 
 
tually (lid l„.«iii. Ffiit even so in 
 spite of this ilpliiy. nnd in sjjit,. „f 
 a roMKfslod (iirriciiliini, if wc had 
 more .■iilhousiasin for P'r.Muh on 
 the iiart of the authorities and the 
 f.'achers a Kreat deal more .ould 
 l>e aroomplish.il than is accom- 
 pli- lifil. In the siiiniii.r of 1!M7, 
 when aKrictiliiiral hilior was so 
 scarce, and recruits were l)ein« 
 asked for from the secondary 
 schools, the students of one of our 
 Ontario High Schools requested to 
 lie granted the privelepe of wor- 
 kiiiK in Quebec farms rath.'r than 
 In Ontario, in order to improve 
 their knowledge of French. Tho 
 kind of zeal which iironipted such 
 a request, if more general, would 
 soon prepare a large l)ody of tea- 
 chers with l)i-lingiial qualifica- 
 tions. 
 
 This suggest a iilan which could 
 l)e adopted to very good puriiose. 
 After completing their theoretical 
 training in French, witu such oral 
 Pi-actlce as is possible in class 
 work, and after reaching fie gra- 
 de of the second class teacher, 
 those wishing bi-lingual certifica- 
 tes might arrange for an intensive 
 summer course in some suitable 
 school in the urovince of Quebec 
 At the conclusion of one or more 
 suoh sessions, they would be very 
 well qualified for their work. In- 
 deed, an interchange of teachers 
 between Ontario and Qi'3bec would 
 have widely beneficial results. Such 
 
 teachers would become not merelv 
 tbe means of disseminating know- 
 ledge of languagi ; they would be 
 missionaries of good-will between 
 provinces In which loo long tin- 
 seeds of distrust have been sown 
 and watered by ignorance and bi- 
 gotry. 
 
 The solution of the bi-linguai 
 question is thus partly political, 
 using the term in its broad sens.>, 
 but largely a matter of pedagogy 
 and school administration. A better 
 understanding is necessary between 
 the races in order to create an at- 
 mosphere in which good bi-lingual 
 education is possible. Inter-provin- 
 cial organizations, such as the 
 great Farmer's .Movement. and 
 possibly also the Labor .Movemeur 
 are likely to assist considerably in 
 breaking down the harriers which 
 prevent a better understanding. 
 But when the proper atmosphere is 
 created it will be necessary to give 
 special study, with the fre-est dis- 
 cussion, to the problem of secur- 
 ing a supply of capable bi-lingua! 
 teachers and to the best methods 
 of conducting a school in order to 
 give a sound knowledge of two 
 languages while at the same tim.> 
 avoiding the smothering of real 
 education by devotion to the stu- 
 dy of words. I have faith that we 
 have enough patriotism and com- 
 mon sense in Canada to accomplish 
 a solution. 
 
 C. B. SISSONS. 
 
 14 
 
 ^0 7// 
 
/