Quebec Report
Jon G. Bradley
Culture and English Schools in Play
I would have missed the plaque entirely if I had not dropped my last quarter as I was attempting to insert it into that small slot. Lighting is poor in basement cafeterias and even poorer around the machines themselves. I guess that modern quick food demands grays and dark hues to complement the fare. In any case, as I stooped to retrieve the errant coin, I glanced between the machine and a protruding wall and spied the obscured wall plaque. Barely visible due to long forgotten renovations, this monument to another time and to other places seemed strangely majestic in its isolation.
In Memoriam
Harold Lothrop Borden, B. A.
Lieut. Canadian Montreal Rifles,
Born at Canning, N. S., May 23rd 1876
Killed in Action at Witpoort, S. A.,
July 16th 1900
Edwin Patrick O'Reilly, B. A.
Royal Canadian Artillery.
Born at Hamilton, Ont. Dec. 29th 1875
Died While on Service at DeAar, S. A.,
May 17th 1900.
Erected During the Session of 1900 - 1901
As an expression of admiration
by their fellow-students
of the classes of 1901, '02, '03, '04.
As I peered around the omnipresent soft drink dispenser, I wondered about the scene a hundred years ago as friends, relatives, classmates, and other members of the McGill academic community came together in that basement room to honor two alumni. Why had that particular spot been chosen and why had they been honored in this stellar fashion?
They had been born many miles from each other and yet had somehow come to this University at a time when such training was indeed exceptional. Further, they felt compelled to travel to another place to administer to a particular function, and they had been born and had died within months of each other. What mark had they left that so affected their academic colleagues that four classes came together to erect a permanent memorial?
The Quebec Historical Scene
In an article in the Globe and Mail (February 6, 1999) commenting upon Canada's particular and peculiar brand of history, Mark Starowicz observed that Canadians tend to have difficulty dealing with history, not because it is boring or ill-defined, but because it's alive! And because it's alive, we'd better not go into those dark woods. Everything is still in play.
The Quebec historical scene is certainly alive! History, as a separate discipline worthy of study in its own right, is now a compulsory subject from Grades 3 up to and including the last year of high school. Furthermore, the ubiquitous Quebec and Canada history course will remain a required high school leaving subject with a mandatory province-wide twenty-five question objective exam (with a couple of short answer questions thrown in for good measure) used to determine success or failure. No one can accuse Quebecers of being soft on history as over 20% of francophone and almost 30% of anglophone students fail this exam on their initial attempt. History is serious business in this province and, while one may query the orientation, one can certainly not question the placement of the subject as an important component within the newly evolving curriculum reform.
The most recent report by the Advisory Board on English Education (Culture and English Schools in Play, December 1999) is a timely document that presents a well articulated position for the French majority to allow the English minority a realistic and focal voice within the curriculum historical parameters that are currently being developed. Unlike some past missives that have sort of whined or begged for a percentage or a set piece of the curriculum pie, this document sets a most impressive tone by grounding its recommendations within a relevant historical, pedagogical, and political framework.
The Advisory Board argues that numerous waves of non-francophone immigrants have made meaningful contributions to the development of contemporary Quebec. These various constituencies, with their attendant libraries, social institutions, enclaves and cultural forays, have had a significant impact over time upon the Quebec landscape, culturally and linguistically. Drawing upon a solidly grounded literature base and utilizing the community and cultural resources that abound, this report paints a compelling historical scenario.
In summary, the Advisory Board on English Education elevates what can too often become a minute debate of details concerning curriculum elements to a much higher plane. Calling upon various elements of what might be termed the broad anglophone community, the Advisory Board challenges these disparate groups to come together in meaningful partnerships so that the history that is told and presented in the elementary and secondary schools is more encompassing, more inclusive, and maybe even a touch more relevant, to youngsters and adolescents of a modern Quebec.