NPA pledges to expand Mandarin courses as part of Vancouver school board platform

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      The Non-Partisan Association's school board platform includes a pledge to give students at every high school in the district the option to take Mandarin, and to double the number of Mandarin bilingual schools in the city to four.

      The party also announced public-school policies including providing at least five more instruction days, minimizing wait times for student learning assessments, and making school resources available to help non-English speaking families.

      If elected, the NPA is promising to look at funding alternatives to keep neighbourhood schools open, such as renting out extra space to childcare providers. They also cite grants, partnerships or sponsorships that are "compatible with Vancouver's educational values" as potential funding sources.

      “The Vision School Board chair has turned down almost $500,000 in grants to support kids because the sources didn’t fit its rigid ideological views,” NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe charged in a news release today (October 24).

      “An NPA School Board will not be bound by ideology that short-changes our kids.”

      Vision Vancouver was quick to respond to the NPA's announcement, charging that the party would turn to "corporate sponsorship" to fund schools.

      "Their proposal to rely on corporate sponsorship as a way to fund our schools would be a serious step backwards for our kids,” Vancouver School Board chair Patti Bacchus said in a news release.

      Bacchus noted the school board rejected funding for school supplies from Chevron's Fuel Your School program earlier this year due to the board's policy on corporate sponsorship.

      Vision said its school board achievements include creating a new Mandarin bilingual program at Norquay elementary and securing more than $200 million in upgrades for public schools.

      According to the NPA, Vancouver currently has two schools with Mandarin bilingual programs and electives in the language are offered at less than 25 percent of high schools in the city.

      Comments

      15 Comments

      DJ Lam

      Oct 24, 2014 at 1:38pm

      Yes, let's promote Mandarin in the wake of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the socio-political damage that is the PRC state. Or not. The push for Mandarin is sold under a bill of goods that says it'll be a seminal 'business language of the world'. While it's true there's massive Mainland population that gives other weight toward a push to teach Mandarin, education should, however, consider first social licence in curricula choice.

      I also can't recall any similar political push to teach Cantonese growing up here in the late-1980s and '90s. Perhaps we were less multicultural when Cantonese-speaking-cum-Chinese Canadians arrived and were then too showing us the money.

      Forest

      Oct 24, 2014 at 2:55pm

      Where, exactly, does the NPA think the funding will come from for these programs? Did they all happen to be absent from Vancouver for the past 6 months? Oh, sorry, I see: we privatize our public schools - which is just what the province has been hoping for.

      James Garrett-Chen

      Oct 24, 2014 at 4:44pm

      It's a good plank in building a comprehensive yet ethical conservative platform. Congratulations are also in order for divesting their slate of incendiary bigots. I think they can't expect much more than keeping Ballantyre during what I see as the current lovefest between the BCTF and the federal Liberals (or Vision) but credit where it's due.

      Boris Moris

      Oct 24, 2014 at 5:30pm

      More than a few of the NPA cannon fodder in the group photo look like undead zombies in thrall to the big cheese: aka " Grand Wizard Harper-Zombie/Lizard Fuckwit".

      Moris Delores

      Oct 24, 2014 at 7:49pm

      @Boris, Careful sweetie, your fangs are showing again. We know who pays you and who's greedy little message you splatter. Try pretending to be a bit classier

      Xtina

      Oct 24, 2014 at 9:37pm

      And now the NPA supports public education! A-Hah-haaah-HAAAAAH! Ain't politics funny!

      where is it gonna end?

      Oct 24, 2014 at 11:41pm

      Why just Mandarins? Why not Punjabi, Philippine, Italian or Russian?As usual, the N P A placate the highest bidder.

      Hazlit

      Oct 25, 2014 at 10:39am

      I'm all for it. Can we tax Jim Pattison and all supporters of the Fraser Institute to expand those days of instruction?

      richard

      Oct 25, 2014 at 11:35am

      this might be controversial, but how about languages being taught like they are in singapore. Everyone learns english, but their second language must be one that's not spoken at home. That way people end up learning up to 3 languages, which helps build bridges across different communities when they can all speak each other's language.

      bobo

      Oct 25, 2014 at 1:36pm

      Here's an idea. How about more English as a first language classes?