A Sad Day in NB for Education

This entry may come off as a bit of a vent. No photos not much fun, so I will apologize in advance. In about 6 hours an announcement is going to be made that will impact my 3 youngest children for the rest of their lives.

As most of you are aware, I live in New Brunswick, Canada’s only bilingual province. That said, bilingualism is in jeopardy here. You see, my 3 boys will never have the benefit of Early French Immersion as the NB Government is planning on eliminating it from the school system. They say their intentions are good, they are planning a new “Intensive French Program” that will start in 5th grade and will give every student the opportunity to become bilingual by the time they graduate from high school. Their goal is to have 70% of students graduate bilingual, the Late French Immersion program will be kept and students will still have the option to start in 6th Grade if they so wish. Core French will not be taught at all until 5th grade, which now starts in 1st Grade, so they can bring back programs like Art and Music (programs that were slashed years ago). These are the recommendation after a report was done of the Early French Immersion program.

The report “said” that EFI is not producing bilingual students, too many drop out of the program before they graduate from highschool. The other problem is”Streaming” as the report calls it. This is when children are having difficulty then their parents are pulling them out of EFI throwing them into the English program causing these teachers to be overwhelmed, and many children are not getting the resources they need.

I was enrolled in the Late French Immersion Program. At the time it started in 7th Grade. This was a difficult decision for me to make at this time. It meant changing schools, leaving all of my friends and a much longer school day because of the location of this school. I remember many tearful nights wanting to quit and go back to my old school. The preteen years can be very tumultuous and this is a very difficult decision to have to make at this age, many will opt out even when they would have excelled in the program. I was fortunate and did excel in the program, stuck it out made many new friends and appreciated the sacrifices I made from grades 7-9.

Skip forward to highschool, I continued in the FI program for my grade 10 year (highschool back then started in 10th grade). What I did not realize was that the Late French Immersion and Early French Immersion students would be integrated together. This is where I saw the advantage of EFI over LFI. The Early Immersion students were so much more advanced, and the majority of them continued with the program through graduation. I dropped out of the program in 11th grade, something I regret all the time. At this age teens just can’t grasp that these decisions will impact them, perhaps if I had of taken the EFI program, I would have rethought this decision. I was very fortunate though as I retained the majority of the conversational French I had acquired and went on to work in bilingual positions with some of my future jobs, I even had an offer to work in France at EuroDisney in the early 90’s.

After seeing the advantage the EFI students had I knew that when my daughter started school, I would have her enrolled in the EFI Program. She’s done very well in the program thus far and I know that when the time comes in highschool, I will encourage her to stick out her commitment with the program. It was a no brainer that we would also enroll our son who started Kindergarten this past fall. Now I have to explain to him he will not get to learn French like his big sister until 5th grade! He will also most likely have to change schools now too, as our neighbourhood school did not have the EFI program so he was enrolled at the school that did.

This comes down to dollars and cents plain and simple. EFI enrollments are down, and the NB Government does not want to subsidize these smaller classes. They are having trouble recruiting teachers to fill the positions. If New Brunswick is to retain it’s status as the only “bilingual province in Canada” they need to rethink this decision or there isn’t much sense keeping this status. What will students do that are coming in from other provinces that have been in the program? We have a huge Military community what will this mean for them?

I know the fight is not over, but we have a long road ahead of us. I just hope that my 3 boys will get this same opportunity as their sister.

For anyone interested reading this confusing 100 page report it can be found here:

http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/comm/FSL%20Report.pdf

Turkey Stuffin’ Meatloaf

I have been feeling so energized lately!  On a whim 2 weeks ago, I moved Finn’s crib into Liam’s room.  I was really overtired and rundown, don’t get me wrong I’m a huge advocate for co-sleeping it really worked well for us, but when you’re sick you get desperate!  The first evening was not too bad, I had a lot of trouble getting him into the crib without waking him, as the railing was too high for me. When I lowered it everytime I’d raise it back into a locking position it would wake the little guy!  He woke up about 3
 times between 8pm and 12am, and Andrew went in to settled him down, he’d pick him right up and cuddle him and once he was back asleep he put him back down.  From midnight until 8am….he slept right through!  The next night, he only woke up once around 10pm and since he has slept through each night for 13 hours!  He has dropped one daytime nap but I’m OK with that! Here’s a well rested Finn:

Since I’ve been so well rested I’ve been trying some new recipes, and my pal Sarah recommended this one!  It was so good, I decided to take photos and show the steps!  She’s a big fan of Rachael Ray and tries a lot of her recipes.  The original recipe can be found here: Turkey Stuffin’ Meatloaf

I made a few modifications to it, as a few of the ingredients were American and I made due with what I had in the house.  Here’s my version:

4 T butter
1 large Carrot diced (not in original recipe, but I added for colour)
4 stalks of Celery
1 large onion (I use a sweet vidalia, I love these)
5-7 cups of stale breadcrumbs (I seasoned mine with Bell’s season..a combo of marjoram, thyme, sage etc and baked them in the oven I also added salt and pepper)
1.5 lbs of ground Turkey
3 cups of chicken broth (may not need all of this)
2 eggs
EVOO- extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

I started by preparing the stuffing to set aside to cool before adding it to the ground turkey.  Melt butter over med-high heat, once the butter is melted add carrots, celery and onion and cook until tender. Add breadcrumbs and broth and combine with veggies, you may not need all of the broth as you don’t want the stuffing to be too gooey.

Here’s a pic of the completed stuffing:

Once stuffing is complete set aside and let cool.  For the next step I used my Kitchenaid mixer, but I’m sure you can do it by hand just as easy, I just love to put my mixer to use!  Once the stuffing has cooled down a bit mix the ground turkey , 2 eggs and stuffing mixture together until combined.  Make 2 long loaves, I set down plastic wrap to form the loaves and lined my pan with non-stick foil (I love the Reynolds Release Wrap!) then drizzle the olive oil over the loaves.

Bake at 375F fr approx 1 hour until the internal temp reaches 165F, I find a meat thermometre is one of the most useful kitchen gadgets I have!

Here’s a shot of the finished product.  I made smashed potatoes as a side dish, they were really easy.

1 Bag of Mini Red skins potatoes
3/4 sour cream
1 onion sauted with 1/4 bacon (you can substitute bacon bits)
3/4 cup of grated marble cheese

Boil Potatoes with skins on.  Once cooked add the remainder of ingredients and mix well.  I found a mixer with combine them the best.  Once they are smashed together put in oven safe casserole and bake for another 20 minutes!  Enjoy!

It was a big hit with Andrew Mackenzie, Finn and myself!  Liam on the other hand told us, “His brain wouldn’t let his hand feed it to him!” , and Ciaran filled up on the “tatoes” his favorite.  I think the only reason he would try the meatloaf was because Liam wouldn’t.  ARRRRGH!

Co-Sleeping, it works for us!

I know Co-Sleeping doesn’t work for everyone, but I don’t think I’d still be functioning if we didn’t. Over the years I’ve gotten smarter about it!

With Mackenzie, I was single and it worked for us. I’d always start her out in her crib, and she’s generally wake once and then I’d bring her into my Queen size bed and nurse her back to sleep. Since it was just her and I, I never really worried about her falling out. When she was about 9 months old we moved into a house and I started working day shifts, previous to this I worked evenings, so I didn’t mind getting up a few times. When I started working days I really needed to have a solid nights sleep, so I went to Cry it Out to get her night-weaned just before her first birthday. CIO was heartbreaking for me, eventually it did succeed, but I vowed never to do it again!

Liam started out in our room in a bassinet, then into his crib in our room. With him everytime he would stir, I would wake. Eventually I brought him into bed with us, but I was always paranoid he would fall out of bed, when I nursed him on the outside. I started only nursing him on the inside between Andrew and I, this worked but I became very lop-sided! Eventually it got a little better, but I always felt a little self-concious about it. I went back to work when Liam was 10 months old, so at 9 months we started the night weaning with him. We were really successful and he was sleeping in his own room after a week or so, and most nights right through. Occasionally he’d wake around 5-6am and I’d just bring him back to our bed, nurse him and he’d go right back to sleep. He was always such a laid back baby, I think this is why we were so successful with him.

With Ciaran, I vowed not to get lop-sided this time! I had heard of the little co-sleeping bassinets that attach to your bed, but couldn’t justify spending the extra money on it when we already had a fairly new crib. I did some research and decided I would try a ” Crib Side-Car” with our crib by removing one side rail and lining it up with our beds mattress. This way I could feed him on both sides at night and not get lop-sided and not feel like he was going to fall out of bed. It worked great! Why didn’t we think of this sooner? We kept this set-up until Ciaran moved into his own room this past summer. We’ve had a bit of a relapse since Finn arrived, but with the Crib Side-Car there’s still room for him, so he usually ends up back in bed with us at some point to nurse back to sleep.

Here’s a couple of photos of our Crib Side-Car:

Who’s Offended More?

[here] pulls this cover off shelves - replaces with clipart cover

OK, now it’s my turn to get this off my chest, no pun intended :oP As a 32 yr old mother of 3 with 48 months and counting of breastfeeding under her shirt, I’m deeply offended and saddened that this cover was pulled.

The actual article- Breast Assured was really well written (thank you Brent MacDonald). It brought to light that New Brunswick Mothers are just not breastfeeding at the same levels as other Canadian Mothers.

Only 64 per cent of NB mothers who had a baby between 1998 and 2003 breastfed, says a council report titled Reproductive Health, published in May 2005. The national average between 1998 and 2003 was 85 per cent.

Further in the article it’s also stated…

The Reproductive Health report by the council says that only 26 per cent of breastfeeding mothers in NB breastfed for at least four months. Past six months, only 17 per cent of mothers’ breastfed. These numbers are in stark contrast to national numbers, detailing that 48 per cent of mothers’ breastfeed for at least four months, and 39 per cent of mothers for at least six months.

I think a big part of that is that mother’s are not feeling comfortable breastfeeding in public. I will quote another portion of the article…

“In Vancouver, people breastfeeding in malls and the public is common,” she says. “In NB, it’s not.” C. Taylor, a 31 year old mother of two who is currently nursing a five and a half month old, says she has a friend who found some trouble in an NB mall.

“She was in a food court in a mall,” she says.

“She had a lady tell her she should feed her baby in the bathroom. She was feeding her baby in a place where everybody else was feeding.”

This was me!!! I was at McAllister Place Food Court, when this cranky lady with her plate of greasy Deluxe fish and chips came over to my table where I was eating my lunch and simultaneously nursing my 3 month old daughter. Now you can ask any of my friends I don’t drape a blanket over me or wear a nursing shawl or canopy, but I’m discreet, I don’t make a big production out of it. Well this woman had the audacity to say to me, “You should be doing that in the washroom!!” At first I was in shock but quickly asked her, “OK, why don’t you bring your fish and chips and join me?” She just huffed a huge sigh and walked off.

Last Week Dr Phil had 2 women debating Public Breastfeeding. The woman that was against nursing in public, kept saying that she didn’t think that a woman taking her shirt off in public appropriate and that breastfeeding in general “was just not attractive or natural”! My 9 year was watching this, and was getting upset with this woman’s ignorance, she said to me, “Come on mom the baby completely covers your boobs, you can’t even tell that your shirt is lifted a little!” She then went on to say something that I hadn’t thought of. “Mom everyone on earth is breastfed!” I didn’t see where she was going with this so I let her go on… ” I mean that, little kittens & puppies drink their moms milk until their big and strong enough, baby cows drink cows milk, were all mammals so it’s only natural that babies should drink their mothers milk as well!” This from a 9 yr old! Why is it that the most intelligent mammal on earth started to give their babies artificial milk? Don’t get me wrong I’m not anti-formula, but why waste your money on it when your body was designed to feed and nourish your child, it’s just that simple a 9 yr old can see it that way.

Breastfeeding is a lifestyle choice but also must be made as a health choice.Breastfeeding takes commitment, support, patience, oh and did I say support? In order for New Brunswick to get their percentages of breastfeeding mothers up it needs to support them. Formula companies can throw so-called “baby-showers” for expectant moms, showing powerpoint slide shows on the benefits of their brand being the “closest ever to breastmilk”. Why can’t the Province do the same thing monthly and throw in a $300 “deluxe travel system car seat combo stroller” as an incentive to get expectant moms to attend, and show the benefits of breastfeeding. Wouldn’t this be a small cost upfront to the potentional savings of thousands on the healthcare system?

I attended one of these baby showers thrown by Enfalac back in 1996 when I was expecting Mackenzie. They really had me convinced that they had the best formula, and I wanted the best for my child, yes their “formula” was a little costlier, but my child was worth it, right? I hadn’t really ever considered breastfeeding, I wasn’t breastfed, my best friend who just had a baby a few months before hadn’t even attempted. Still I was curious, so I attended a La Leche League meeting 3 weeks before my due date. I can honestly say this was the best decision I have ever made. For the past 9 yrs (off and on) I have been a member of this “Mothers, Supporting Mothers” non-profit support group. Thank you La Leche League! I also want to say thank you to Carolyn Goodaire from AHSC-Reg 2 SJRH. I was young and single when I had Mackenzie which I’m sure normally is a disastrous combination to a breastfeeding relationship. She encouraged me, answered my questions when I had difficulties, and saw me through nursing my daughter into toddlerhood. I know a lot of people saw her passion for mothers to succeed as arrogance, I for one saw it as a challenge, and I want to personally thank her, and hope to do so soon face to face, but if you’ve managed to find this Carolyn..”Thank you for your support!”

Back to the original reason for this entry today, [here] has been completely hippocritical pulling this cover. I realize it’s not censorship as it’s their publication and they can do what they please with it, but this came down to dollars and cents. Supposedly advertisers and storefront distributors of the paper threatened to pull advertising and not distribute the paper if the “offensive cover” was not changed. I’d love to know which advertisers and distributors threatened to pull [here], but we’ll never find out who “they” were so maybe I’ll just boycott [here] in the meantime? I don’t get it? They’re publishing an article on how more support is needed to elevate NB’s numbers, but a baby can’t be shown breastfeeding on the cover? How are we to normalize and encourage breastfeeding in this province, when [here] is sending this mixed message?