Both Canada and the United States will this fall be electing new heads of state. Some time back, I posted links for some tools to help you discuss politics with your children. I’ll try to dig those posts up a little later & re-post the links in one place together, so anyone who missed them can check them out.

If you want to discuss the current issues with your kids CTV has a questionnaire you can take as a family, to see which of the four major Canadian parties best represents your values and concerns. Issues discussed include climate change, the Arctic, abortion, carbon tax and privatized health care. Have each member go through the questions separately and vote, or debate the issues and come up with a family choice for each issue. The choices offered are direct quotes from the party leaders, but the exercise is blind: you won’t know which leader said what until you’ve completed the questionnaire. Then you can opt to see who you were agreeing with on each question. You may be surprised on some of these! Maybe you’ll even re-think who you want to vote for….

To access the quiz, go to CTV’s 2008 Election page then select “Pick Your Party“. The exercise opens as a pop-up, so if nothing happens you may need to go into your pop-up blocker & give permission. Also on the site are a number of other interesting features, including poll results and a tracker that will allow you to see where the candidates are travelling on the campaign trail.

For anyone interested in the American election, regardless of which side of the border you reside, watch for the free download release of Michael Moore’s latest film, Slacker Uprising. The film looks at the 2004 US presidential election, and its aim is to get the youth out in 2008 to vote. You can go to the web site to register for notification when the movie goes online later this month. The download will be available to US and Canadian residents free for three weeks, after which the DVD will be released.

According to Moore, no one connected with the film will be seeing any of the proceeds. He is taking this opportunity, 20 years after the release of his first film, to give something back to the public that has supported him.

The film features performers such as Roseanne Barr, Joan Baez and REM. Moore warns that if you don’t generally like his politics, you’ll probably find the movie offensive….

For all of you who are eligible to vote this fall, young or old, please get out & have your say!

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

The language law in Quebec has limited access to an education in English since the late 1970’s. For those of you unfamiliar with the issue, yup, we have “language police” here in Quebec. The intent of the law & its associated limitations was to preserve the French language and to encourage both anglophones and allophones to learn to speak it. I won’t get into the constitutionality or efficacy of the law here. That is a subject for another time, and perhaps another forum.

Let’s just say that if you’re concerned about all the schools in Quebec teaching in French, this simply isn’t the case. There are lots of English schools in the province, especially in the Montreal area. The issue, however, is whether you get to send your kids to one of them. One of the measures implemented in the language law was to require that anyone enrolling a child in an English school produce a certificate of eligibility to access English-language education. That little piece of paper is so precious, I know of at least one family who have framed the certificate and hung it on the wall!

If you are new to Quebec and you are coming from outside of Canada, in all likelihood you are not eligible to send your kids to school in English. If your family has lived in Quebec for generations, but no one has ever been educated in English, chances are you will have to send them to school in French. There are some exceptions, but basically it’s not easy to get that little paper for your kids unless you were educated in English somewhere in Canada.

It is important to note that the language law applies to public institutions, and as such, does not apply to homeschooling. If you are a homeschooler moving into Quebec, or if you are withdrawing your child from a French school, you may have been told that you are not permitted to educate your child at home in English. Rest assured, this is simply not true. You may educate your child at home in the language or languages of your choice.

Here is the official statement of the ministry of education (the MELS):

[L]’enfant non admissible à recevoir l’enseignement en anglais, en vertu des dispositions de la Chartre de la langue française, peut recevoir, en anglais, son enseignement à la maison puisque ces dispositions sont inapplicables dans ce cas.

My translation:
The child who, due to the provisions of the French Language Charter, is not eligible to attend an English language school, may nevertheless receive instruction at home in English; the provisions of the Charter do not apply to homeschooling.

~ La Scolarisation à Domicile, Orientations, Projet; MELS, Mai 2005

The document continues by saying that parents can register for homeschooling with either the English or French school board in their region, according to the language of instruction. (This registration is, however, a hot issue. Many feel this is not required by law.)

We are also told that, as is now the case with private education since the legal loopholes have been closed, homeschooling in English cannot be used to establish eligibility for public education later.

Folks who may benefit from this option:

• Anglophones and allophones entering Quebec from outside Canada, who would ordinarily have to send their kids to French school, and who are concerned their children will not be able to keep up with their classmates;
• Francophones without eligibility certificates, who would like their children to benefit from earlier exposure to English instruction or from a bilingual or English immersion format that is not available through the local public French-language school;
• Anyone with a child who seems to struggle a great deal with the French language, but who has no specific diagnosis of learning difficulty or other disability that may grant him eligibility, and who would therefore be required to send this child to school in French.

If you choose this option, do keep in mind that if you ever need to return your kids to public school they will have to attend a French school. It is wise to provide some French instruction!

The bottom line: If you are not ordinarily eligible to send your children to English school you have a legal right to give them an English education by opting to homeschool.

Update: I’ve just re-read Sonya’s post on this subject at Montreal Homelearners. The advice from AQED is worth reading, particularly if you have approached an English board about homeschooling & been refused for lack of the eligibility certificate. Check it out here (and thanks for the shout out, Sonya!)

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

The content of this blog is offered in the spirit of sharing information and ideas, and all factual information is accurate to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing. Please be aware that laws change and new requirements may be imposed on homeschooling parents. I am not an expert. You should consult legal counsel for the best advice on homeschool legalities and your rights as a home educator.