In today’s La Mère Aventurière article at Nola Française I cover French Week’s Education Fair.
A bilingual Louisiana native keeps the panel laughing with his stories of traveling in France.
As an immersion school parent I was interested in seeing what French Week had to offer at its Education Fair. Organized by the French Consulate, this first annual event reached out to prospective students and considered the future of the French language in Louisiana. Most of New Orleans’ French immersion schools were present to speak with parents, as well as universities offering French language programs and local organizations holding adult language classes. A discussion panel led by Joseph Dunn, executive director of CODOFIL (Center for the Development of French in Louisiana) featured many of the biggest supporters and organizers for the Francophone community in Louisiana including state senator Eric Lafleur, Dr. William Arceneaux, president of CODOFIL, Jean Claude Brunet, Consul General (French Consulate in New Orleans) and Brooke Smith, an international advisor to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, among others.
The event was more academic than I was expecting, and I felt like a geek for being at Tulane University on a Saturday morning to talk about “Qui va là?: What Is New For French Speakers in Louisiana.” But I was interested, and the panel was interesting. For those of us who hope to see Louisiana bilingual once again, these are exciting times. Since the unintended shake-up of the education system in 2005 due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, several new immersion schools have opened in the state and thousands of parents like myself consider bilingualism a requirement for a quality education. Also, many adults that weren’t interested in learning before are considering it now, especially the parents of immersion students.
Read the rest at Nola Française –>
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