Values and choices of exogamous couples

kindergarten through the end of high school, except for classes
in English language arts. These English courses, contact with
the anglophone parent and relatives, the community’s
predominantly English social and institutional milieu, and
frequent contact with anglophone media all guarantee that
students will be strong in English and will integrate their
anglophone heritage.

French language and culture are an integral part of school life
in the classroom and in extracurricular activities.

French schools aim not only to meet students’
academic needs, but also to encourage the exploration
and integration of their francophone heritage.

The family and exogamous parents’ role
with respect to their school-age children

Parents are children’s first educators, and thus play a decisive
role in the education their youngsters will receive at both the
preschool and school levels. In the following section, we’ll
discuss these parents’ role vis-a-vis their school-age children,
focusing on how they can participate when their children attend
a francophone school.

How can parents participate in their children’s francophone
schooling? The school alone cannot bear the entire
responsibility for passing on French language and culture and
developing children’s francophone identity. The school can
only continue the work begun at home. It therefore acts as a
partner to parents in their children’s learning, maintaining and
mastering of French, forming a francophone identity and
integrating into the francophone community.

Collaboration among staff, parents, students and the
community is vital and contributes greatly to children’s
educational success. Children who see that their parents and
the staff enjoy an open, transparent, healthy relationship based
on trust and mutual respect will rely on these adults to succeed
in school. Adults become mentors or guides in whom children
can have confidence and with whom they can share their
successes and difficulties at school.

More concretely, parents can help their children by adopting
favourable attitudes toward French school and participating

in school life. They can also support their children’s
schoolwork and homework by providing French-language
resources such as books, magazines and software. It’s
important to foster a home environment that is conducive
to studying. Parents who value study, who promote
learning and who empower their children academically
display favourable attitudes toward school. It’s also vital
to encourage good work habits, see mistakes as learning
opportunities and keep abreast of children’s education.

Depending on their ability to understand, speak and write
French, anglophone parents will be able to participate in
their children’s francophone education in various ways.
One of the most important elements is for anglophone
parents to value French and francophone education, and
to support their francophone spouse’s participation in the
children’s education. The anglophone parent who doesn’t
understand French can help with mathematics and English
classes, among other things. In short, it’s essential that
anglophone parents also show an interest in their children’s
academic work.

As the school’s primary
partners, parents are call-
ed upon to play a major role
throughout their children’s
schooling. Children need
their parents’ presence,
love, support and en-
couragement in order to
succeed at school.

Exogamous couples can participate in academic life in
various ways, including sitting on parent committees, doing
volunteer work, etc. They can offer assistance in the
classroom, in activities that occur during the school day
and with extracurricular activities.

Remember that, in a majority anglophone setting, the
francophone school is one of the only places where almost
everything happens in French. By respecting this
francophone space and upholding French as the common
language when dealing with teachers and administrators,
exogamous couples show their children that French is
important, and thus help their youngsters develop balanced
additive bilingualism.

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Jufo-Parents