Should Canadians Be Required To Know Both French And English Upon High School Graduation? No

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. Lastly, the opinion in this essay does not necessarily reflect Millennium River’s beliefs on the subject being discussed.

Canada’s Languages

Long before Canada became the country it is today, there were many indigenous languages spoken throughout the land. While there are still several indigenous languages spoken by small populations throughout Canada, they are vastly outnumbered by the colonial languages of English and French. The Official Languages Act in 1969 made English and French the official languages of Canada. It demands all federal institutions to provide services in English or French on request. The law was passed on the proposal of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism by the Prime Minister of the time, Pierre Trudeau.

Canada is aware of the fact that the majority of the population speaks English. Canada knows that it only has one province with a French-speaking majority — Québec. And only one province that is officially bilingual — New Brunswick. Canada wants to see an uptick in bilingualism of its official languages. What does Canada do to get Canadians exposed? They make one of the official languages a mandatory subject in schools. This is up until the first year of high school. After that, it’s all up to the students to decide whether or not, they want to continue.

But what if, one day, Canada decides to get very serious with increasing bilingualism. What if the curriculum made it mandatory to be fluent in both languages by the time a student graduates from high school? Is this a good idea? Should Canadians be required to know both French and English upon high school Graduation? No, absolutely not.

1. This would create far too much pressure on high school students, something of which they already have enough of in their lives.
2. It is a serious waste of educational resources
3. There is more to the world than French and English

Youth Already Have Enough Pressure

To say that high school students do not have enough challenges in their lives, would be a complete insult. Homework, exams, assignments, bullying, self-esteem, grades, depression, anxiety, peer pressure, relationships, extracurricular activities, clothes, and post-secondary school are examples of some of the challenges high school students face. Forcing them to be fluent in the nation’s official languages as a graduation requirement, will significantly increase their anxiety and work loads. Adding to this, those that end up delaying graduation from it, will end up feeling very lowly and depressed.

Considering the struggles high school students go through, and the aftermath of what would happen if they fail to be fluent in both languages before graduation, this move would be very insensitive to their life challenges.

A Big Waste of Educational Resources

This point could be an entire essay on its own. In schools, there are already enough forced subjects that have nothing to do with what students are trying to pursue. While controversial to say, subjects such as history, art and novel studies are an example of this.

Why should a student that plans to become a family practitioner, be forced to be exposed to what a king in Egypt did 5,000 years ago? The same thing can be said for how ridiculous it is that students have to be forced against their will, to participate in classes for English/French for many years throughout their academic life. And to make matters worse, the English-speakers do not end up with French fluency, and vice versa is also true. The reason? Lack of interest. They would rather spend the time learning something much more enjoyable and relevant to them. An aspiring visual artist would find classes pertained to drawing and art history, much more useful and engaging to them.

Forcing students to engage in a variety of irrelevant subjects for the sake of exposure is not right. French for Anglophones and English for Francophones certainly is not either. No wonder student engagement is so poor in some classes; lack of interest. Secondary language classes are a big waste of educational resources.

There is More Than Just French and English

There is more to the world than French or English. It may seem easy to discredit this point, given that these two languages alone dominate a significant portion of the world in terms of the numbers of speakers. English particularly is a huge international language with lots of power. However, it does not dominate the entire planet, nor is it useful in a number of places. In fact, French and English are not in first or second place in terms of the sheer numbers of speakers. That place would go to Chinese and Spanish respectively.

Looking within Canada’s own borders, there are more languages spoken than just French and English. Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog and Arabic are excellent examples of foreign languages in the nation that happen to have a lot of speakers. The indigenous also cannot be forgotten. They may not have anywhere near as much speakers as the foreign languages do, but that does not mean that none of them have a decent amount of speakers. Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway are the most frequently reported Aboriginal languages. This makes them ideal to learn for students who are interested in studies revolving the indigenous peoples’ of Canada.

Seeing as though there are plenty of other populous languages spoken inside and outside of Canada, it is more than safe to say that there are better or equal options to French or English.

No Bilingual Force Please

Canadians know what the official languages of their country is. Some understand the benefits of being able to converse in both French and English. Should Canadians be required to know both French and English upon high school Graduation? No, it would create far too much pressure and stress on high school students; it is a serious waste of educational resources; and there are other important languages aside from French or English.

Let the choice to be bilingual be optional; not forced.

Should Canadians Be Required To Know Both French And English Upon High School Graduation? Yes

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. Lastly, the opinion in this essay does not necessarily reflect Millennium River’s beliefs on the subject being discussed.

Official Languages of Canada

In Canada there are two official languages: English and French. A foreigner not familiar with the actual language distribution within Canada, would naturally assume or hope that the majority of Canadians would be bilingual. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Why? Why is this not a reality? The country has a had a long, complex history of how these two languages became established in Canada. Yet, the language distribution is not equal. In the English-speaking parts of Canada, not enough people know or care about French. Likewise, in the French-speaking areas of the country, they hold similar attitudes towards English. In the English-speaking parts of the country, Canadian children are exposed to French at some point in elementary school. They are then required to do at least one year of it in high school, in order to graduate. Similarly in Québec, students are exposed to English in elementary school, but do not need to continue with it throughout high school.

Canada knows it wants to be bilingual, but Canada has been all talk and no walk. The schools are a good place to start. Should Canadians be required to know both French and English upon high school graduation? Yes, for three solid reasons:

1. There is plenty of time for it to be realistically done
2. Bilingualism is good for the brain
3. It will significantly improve business

Generous Amounts of Time

Depending on which part of the country a Canadian goes to school in, they will start with one of the official languages. This is typically done at 9 years old. Canadians usually graduate at 17 or 18 years old. This means that from the time they are exposed to the second official language to the time they graduate is a period of 8 years. While it is possible to learn a language later in life, it is best done sooner than later. The reason? Responsibilities that often come later on in life, create less time for secondary language learning. Within the 8 years, there are plenty of opportunities for immersion, practicing and additional tutoring to achieve fluency in the second language. In fact, it can be done sooner than 8 years, if a student really invests their time in the language. Rosetta Stone, Rocket Languages, Babbel, Fluenz and Duolingo are all examples of software or applications that are specifically catered to learning languages.

Brain Benefits of Bilingualism

It is not a myth, hyped up marketing scheme or propaganda: bilingualism really does benefit the brain. Various studies on how it impacts the brain have been published in print and online. To start with the general, studies have shown that bilingual people consistently outperform their monolingual counterparts on tasks involving executive control. What precisely is executive control? An umbrella term used to describe a list of cognitive functions: inhibition, shift, emotional control, initiation, working memory, planning, organization and self-monitoring.

The reason this is possible is because learning a second language challenges, trains and improves the brain. With this, naturally comes improved memory, multitasking skills and denser grey matter. Learning a second language creates more awareness of languages’ grammar, sentence structure and sounds. After all, a person has already been through these areas of a language when they were learning their mother tongue. When they pick up another language, they have to go through these areas again, causing them to be more aware of them in both their native language and target language.

Another important aspect of bilingualism is the fact that it helps prevent dementia. The number of Canadian seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of neurodegenerative complications is rising steadily. This creates an increasing demand on their caregivers and health care systems across the country. While there a plenty of ways for seniors to keep their brains mentally fit, learning a secondary language during their earlier years is a big step up against preventing dementia. In fact, bilingual adults with Alzheimer’s take twice as long to develop symptoms compared to their monolingual counterparts.

Business, Business, Business

Being bilingual increases opportunities in job searching. Based on statistics, knowing more than one language increases the options a candidate has within the job market. There are a number of workplaces that have a special need for language-based services such as interpretation and translation. Others might want someone who can get into contact with a certain community. In these scenarios, knowledge of French and English become very important. In New Brunswick, Canada’s officially bilingual province, it reports that its bilingual workforce has been a major reason why it has attracted big corporate players. Knowledge of French and English can also lead to opportunities outside of the country. And finally, the salary. On average, Canadians that know both of the official languages earn more.

French And English Is The Way

Canada has long dreamed of being a truly bilingual Canada. There have been disputes and misunderstandings between the English and French-speaking Canadians many times throughout history. What if, just what if, the average Canadian could read, write, and speak both French and English by the time they graduate from high school? Would it solve all of Canada’s English and French problems? Certainly not, and it would be highly romantic to think so. However, given the fact that there is a lot of time for children to learn to the languages, the benefits bilingualism has on the brain, and all the business and financial opportunities real bilingualism would bring to the country, there is no reason for Canada to shy away from pushing it. Canadian students should be required to have a knowledge of French and English upon graduation of high school.

Is it acceptable for women to breastfeed in public? No

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. Lastly, the opinion in this essay does not necessarily reflect Millennium River’s beliefs on the subject being discussed.

Introduction

Mankind has been able to successfully reproduce for thousands of years, across many continents of varying landscapes and temperatures. This is largely due to the excellent survival skills and knowledge our ancestors had. Child rearing and protection was also very important. Otherwise, our species would not have been able to make it to maturity and reproduce. Today, mothers continue to nurse their children for obvious reasons. However, in many places, especially public places, there is an issue about whether it is appropriate or not for a woman to expose a teat for child nursing. Some people encourage public breastfeeding, others discourage it, while some are not sure what they think about it. What is the truth? Who is right? Is it acceptable for women to breastfeed in public? The answer is no. Baring the breasts in public is indecent, unnecessary exposure, and not everything deemed natural should be done in front of people out in public. It is important to point out that public breastfeeding can also be dangerous too.

Being Respectful To Sensitive Eyes

Many people do not like it when people expose certain parts, especially the penis or vagina. The breasts also happen to bother some people or make them feel uncomfortable. It can be tempting for mothers to simply want to pull their shirt or brassiere to quiet a hungry, screaming infant, but mothers must be considerate of those around them who they may offend. Finding a quiet or private place to breastfeed is not difficult to do. In fact, some places even offer private stations or areas specifically designated for infant nursing. Doing this can also make the bonding moment with the mother more peaceful, quiet and much more discreet. There are things people experience in private, and there are parts of the body that are not meant for everybody to see and touch. This brings up the next point: natural things.

Natural Does Not Mean Ok To Do In The Open

There are several natural, primal things people do on a daily basis, but not everything deemed as natural should be done in public. Urinating, defecating, sexual intercourse, and showering while nude are just a few of many examples of natural things done frequently, but certainly not in public. The reason? These actions are simply not acceptable and appropriate to be done in modern public places. People have accepted that they must find a private location to carry out these activities, peacefully and respectfully to avoid potential conflict. Some might argue that breastfeeding does not fall under the category of the other actions listed, but it truly does. Considering how intimate and personal the act is, and the partial nudity involved with it, it is not appropriate to be done in front others. Using a cloth, blanket, towel or other alternative cover-ups is not an effective solution either. Powerful breezes, or even the infant itself can easily lift, rip and destroy the material the mother is trying to use. This will cause great humiliation that could have been easily avoided by feeding the child in a more private area.

Potentially Dangerous

Breastfeeding an infant in public is also potentially dangerous. The context of nursing is supposed to be a harmless procedure. Unfortunately, it leaves the mother at risk for harassment, awkward interactions and possibly even assault from nearby people, even when there are laws in place. The reason for this, unfortunately, largely boils down to the fact that the breasts in most cultures today are viewed as highly sexual, erotic body parts. Yes, the female mammary glands biological role is supposed to be for milk production and nursing. People can try and convince others to keep their hands or eyes to themselves. However, this does not work with everyone because some people do not listen, lack respect, and have no self-control. This will cause them to blurt out inappropriate comments, ask questions, touch, push, tease and do many other inappropriate things to a public breastfeeding mother, who only wanted to satisfy her child’s hunger. Feeding a hungry infant is a must, but there are too many dangers and problems that can occur from feeding in a public area. It is a great risk that should not be taken, if the mother really cares about herself and her child. Even if a friend or husband are present, it still will not stop certain people from doing, saying or asking inappropriate things.

Modernity and Decency

Breastfeeding itself is not taboo or illegal. It is mandatory for weaning and raising healthy children. If mothers never breastfed, the population would not successfully grow. The time it is done, or the place where it is being carried out, matters greatly today and needs to be done discreetly. It is not acceptable for women to breastfeed in public because it is improper exposure, falls under the category of inappropriate acts of nature, and is dangerous to both the infant and the mother.

Is It Acceptable For Women To Breastfeed In Public? Yes

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored. Lastly, the opinion in this essay does not necessarily reflect Millennium River’s beliefs on the subject being discussed.

Introduction

Humans have been reproducing and rearing their children for thousands of years in many different locations and climates. Mountains, deserts, temperate forests, rainforests, savannahs, tundras and many others. People did not care when or were their babies were being breastfed. Hunting, gathering, fending off predators, and all things pertained to survival were far more important. Breastfeeding a child, was considered as casual as drinking water from a nearby source. Fast forward to the modern times, and it is now a hot topic. A topic so hot, that it has garnered many different, variable opinions. Some people agree with public breastfeeding. Some are against it. Some lie in the middle of the spectrum, but what does it ultimately boil down to? Is it acceptable for women to breastfeed in public or not? Yes, yes it is. Why should it be? Because hunger is an uncontrollable state, breast milk is more natural and healthier than formula milk, and most importantly, it is illegal to harass a mother while she is nursing her baby in the public spaces of Canada and several other countries.

No Control Over Hunger and Thirst

Hunger and thirst are natural, uncontrollable conditions that occur whenever someone has a need to eat or drink. Older children, teenagers, and adults can eat and drink whenever they want. In the event of work, school or forbidden areas, they can go to designated areas or wait until break time. Infants on the other hand, especially in the earliest stages, cannot communicate with words. They are not capable of waiting until break periods or buying food on their own. Due to these limitations, they will cry out loud to bring it to their mother’s attention that they need to be fed. Knowing that hunger is an inherent condition, and the fact that infants cannot deal with hunger pangs the way older people can, why should a mother inconvenience herself and go out of the way to deal with her infant’s hunger? All she has to do is raise they child to her teat and let it drink her milk. For those that complain about indecent exposure, or even mothers themselves that might be worried about showing too much, a sling, wrap or cloth can very easily remedy the problem without walking away, exposing oneself or making the infant wait unnecessarily long.

Naturally Healthier

Still, some people might suggest that mothers should just carry a bottle of formulated milk in order to meet the demands of their baby, and avoid all the other potential troubles associated with natural breastfeeding in public. This is not a good idea for several reasons: one, the mother is caving into negative energy. Two, the mother has to spend money on something that could be given away for free. Three, the formula itself can be problematic due to high sugar content, genetically modified ingredients, allergen risks and many others. Breast milk on the other hand, can be delivered readily, shows negative individuals that the mother does not care about antagonistic onlookers, reduces allergen risks, provides better maternal bonding, and plenty of other benefits, thus making it a superior choice compared the option of formula feeding.

Legal Protection

Perhaps the most important thing to be aware of regardless of whether people accept public breastfeeding or not, is the fact that it is illegal to bother a nursing woman in many countries. Places such as Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom are examples of countries with legal protection in place. These countries have put these laws in place to discourage onlookers who may tell nursing mothers to move a more discreet area such as a washroom or car, tell them to cover up, or provoke them otherwise. Not every mother may know their rights in these countries. What they should know is that there are rules in place that has them covered for difficult, unpredictable events.

Summary

Given all the changes that happened over the centuries, breastfeeding has become more and more of an endangered practice. This is especially true, thanks to the amount of negativity that arises from nursing in the open. Now for the important question: is it acceptable for women to breastfeed in public? Particularly large, urban, modern areas? Yes, because hunger and thirst cannot be controlled, breast milk offers better benefits and more self-esteem than formula milk, and most importantly, there are many countries that have laws in place to protect mothers and put a damper on negative onlookers and harassment. Oftentimes, women are discouraged by others from breastfeeding in public places due to fears of indecency or provocation. It is important to remember that it is more of a health and life issue, than indecency issue. Women should have the choice to breastfeed their infants upon demand, regardless of location. On a final note, that has not been touched upon throughout this write-up is the teat. This could be an essay topic entirely on its own. If society wishes to stop the sexualization of the female teats, it needs to stop treating female teats as sexual objects.

Havelaar Canada Website Critique

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

2019-11-13 Notice: The website has changed considerably. This critique reflects the way the website looked back in autumn 2018. As such, the links redirect to the current look, and not the original look.

Additional Notice

This full website critique was not endorsed by Havelaar Canada in any way. It was solely done as part of a trio for a portfolio project. The other websites done were Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Tire. If you are reading this, and want a full critique of your website that will look just like this, you will need to message me. From there the cost, details, and other important things will be discussed. For the sake of this critique, I will be writing it towards Tony Han, as if he were a buyer who had purchased the full website critique service from Millennium Creek. Finally, I must mention something extremely important that has not been mentioned up till now. That is, the “Inspiration Behind This Post” will not appear on services you purchase. Yes, that is probably obvious, but felt that it needed to be brought up.

First Impressions

I entered your website from the main www.havelaarcanada.com URL. From there, the first thing that I noticed before anything else, was the presence of a bison! It appears that it is a looping video of a real(?) bison standing there, while breathing with visible breath streams coming out of the nostrils. Definitely a very unique and reflective touch to your website’s image. At the time I reviewed it, there is not a lot else to be seen on your website. Being a startup, perhaps more will be added at a future date? So far, I can say that the small website looks very neat and clean. But will I be able to say the same thing once I am finished with it? To find out, I will proceed to critiquing the website in various areas.

Navigation

There are only four pages present on your website at the moment: Corporate, Bison, Sustainability, and Reserve. This made navigation and speed testing very quick. I did not run into any problems with lag or instability, thankfully. With your website being small, there were not a lot symbols, icons, photos and graphics to test. Those that were present, functioned as they should. Example: the Havelaar logo in the top left corner always brought me back to the main page.

Final Verdict For Navigation

Opening multiple tabs was smooth. Pop-ups pertained to spam, scam or bribery were absent. With all this said, I can safely say that navigation on your website is very good.

Content

What makes a website good in terms of content? Well, one of the areas is relevancy. From reading the paragraphs within the corporate area of your website, your goals are focused on social and environmental responsibilities. Did you website relevantly reflect this throughout? Yes, it was well reflected throughout.

Though your website is not a shop per se, it does have many visuals throughout. They appear relevant to what is being described. Example: when talking about the Bison E-Pickup, the frame of the truck was portrayed, as opposed to showing nothing at all, or even the frame of another truck. Sounds like something that everyone would obviously try to get right, but believe you me, I judge this for a reason.

Grammar. I read the texts across the pages to look for grammatical errors. On large websites with numerous pages and sub-pages, looking through every page is not feasible. Therefore, I typically judge them by reading the About Us page and few others. Though your website is presently small, I judged it started from the same place I do with others: the main page. Unlike the others, I was able to feasibly read all of it. Based on what I see, the grammar and spelling is good.

No third party advertisements were present. In fact, there were zero advertisements on the website at this time. There is nothing wrong with using monetary advertisements, but I always check them out to make sure that they are not too big, too numerous, whether they have sound or not, and if they are a security risk. While on the topic of security, your website unfortunately does not have a secure connection. Before adding new areas, you should definitely make this a priority, especially since you are planning to sell vehicles and create a members’ community. A Privacy Policy page must included as well.

There are no indications of when the website was launched, or when it was updated. Oftentimes there is usually something like a “last updated on xxxx”, “2015 – 2018″ or ” Reserved 2018″ on the foot or top of a website. Not an absolute must to have, but something good.

Final Verdict For Content

Even with your website being small, I can say that the content is presently good, aside from the website certificate security.

User Acknowledgement, Satisfaction and Contact

Seeing as though your website is under development, there are no extensive Contact Us or Customer Care areas present. No social media accounts for people to connect, comment and discuss were there either. That said, the product you hope to sell someday, Bison E-Pickup, demonstrates user acknowledgement through its description. The reserve area of the website also allows people to be placed in the priority list, and be the first to receive pre-order information on the vehicle. Below this there is an e-mail address available for other media and inquiries.

Final Verdict For User Acknowledgement, Satisfaction and Contact

Even though there are areas missing, based on what is present, and importantly the message behind the Bison E-Pickup, I can honestly say that user acknowledgement is impressive.

Findability

Your website may be new, but is it ranking well in search engines? To find out, I searched “Havelaar Bison” in Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask and AOL. I must also make a disclaimer that I accessed these search engines from the Opera browser, my main browser of choice. Some browsers may have certain things present or absent.

Google Search

A link to the main page was the first thing that comes up. Below it were links to YouTube on some videos people made on the announcement of it.

Bing

Main page comes up first, while links to plenty of media outlets on your truck follow below it.

Yahoo Search

Extremely similar results to Bing’s first page, but one big difference — the presence of a search bar below the first result. Not sure if it had to do with your website or not, so I tested it to find out. It turns out that its Yahoo’s, but narrows it to only yield results from the website.

Ask

This is where things got both interesting and hilarious. When I first entered the term “Havelaar Bison” and hit search, a blank screen came up. After a few seconds, it finally loaded everything. The first results are links to YouTube videos people made based on the announcement. Below this is where the main official link to your website appears. In the related search area, “Bison Meat” is the first word that appears. Considering that the Bison E-Pickup is by no means an edible product, this is comical.

Aol.

No bison meat or YouTube videos come up as the first thing in this search engine. As it should be, the main page of your website is the first thing available.

Final Verdict On Findability

Across all five of these search engines, finding your website was easy. Even though there were plenty of other bigger websites with stories talking about the announcement of the Bison E-Pickup, the main page was always either first or second. Therefore, the findability of your website excellent.

Browser Compatibility

To determine how well your website operates within certain browsers, I have tested it within the following: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera Browser and Safari (iOS).

Google Chrome

All parts of the website loaded quickly. No noticeable issues occurred.

Microsoft Edge

Interestingly, and honestly unexpectedly, this was the only desktop browser that had the buffalo video loop play immediately upon entering your website. With all the other browsers, it only plays after you visit another page and then return back to it. Media aside, the webpages loaded quickly.

Opera Browser

My main browser of choice, so most of my time was naturally spent on it. All the pages loaded up smoothly and responsively during my time with it.

Safari

While I was browsing and jumping between the pages, they did so with speed and smoothness. However, the bison does not move at all. Even when I returned to it after visiting the other parts of your website. Certainly not anything serious, but still something that should be brought up. After all, it is the first thing users notice on your website.

Final Verdict For Browsers

The website operated smoothly within all of the browsers. Some a little better than others, but all worked at comparable speeds. When your website expands in the future, please keep the page load times as smooth as they were in the beginning.

My Final Thoughts and Summary

Mister Han, it is now that time of the critique. The time where I must tell you how I truly feel about your website.  Based on the areas of critique, it fared very well in nearly all of them. The only two concerns I have are the insecure connection and lack of a news or updates area. How is the project going? Is it still alive? Without any social media accounts on your website, or dedicated news section, it will be hard to keep people interested in the Bison E-Pickup and the company behind it. There is some potential in your website, but you must let people be aware of it, if you are serious about expanding your business.