Education

What are languages of school instruction in Canada?

Are schools free in Canada?

Would you like to study in Canada? Why or why not?

Canadian government directs the education of children on Indian reserves, Imiit children /37,000/, the children of members of Armed forces, and inmates of federal penitentiaries.

Provincial governments, also control education! Most children attend public schools which are coeducational and free.

Canada has two official languages. So some children go to French speaking schools and some go to English speaking ones but most schools are mixed. There are also special schools for the Inuit children.

The school systems of most of the provinces have 12 grades, in Quebec -11 grades and Ontario has 13 grades. The normal size of each class is 17.There are separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants. Most of Catholic schools teach in French. Protestant schools use English. All immigrant chil­dren in Quebec are educated in French.

Newfoundland has 4 types of Schools: Pentecostals, Roman.Catholic, Seven Day Adventist and Protestant.

The school's program is based on compulsory and elective credit system- A subject credit is granted in recognition of the successful completion of a course. School courses include arts, business stud­ies, computer studies, English, French, geography, history, mathematics, physical and health education, science and technological studies.

Courses are offered at one or more levels of difficulty; basic, general advanced. Especial edu­cation program is provided for exceptional pupils, depending upon the student's needs.

The evaluation policy at school emphasizes day to day achievement, regular class attendance and class participation. There exists the program of Scholarship awards /Value $100/ to students who have obtained the best grades.

Available to all students are organized programs counseling, parent consultation and cooperative education programs.

Students in Canada are expected to try to do their best in all the subjects they study. They are also expected to abide by certain rules of appropriate behavior: regular attendance, punctuality, work habits, respect for self and others, respect for authority and property.

There is a variety of extracurricular and other student activities. A wide variety of sports are of­fered: slow pitch, floor hockey, curling, golf, indoor soccer, bowling, volleyball, ice hockey, broomball and badminton.

After graduating from the school the students get a Secondary School Diploma. The School Di­ploma is granted by the Ministry of Education on the recommendation of the principal of the secondary school last attended, to a student who has commenced a secondary school program and earned a certain amount of credits.

After graduating from high school Canadian youths may enter colleges and universities. There are 68 universities in Canada. The most famous and popular among the Canadian and foreign students are the Queen's University in Kingston, the University of Toronto, MacGill University and Trent University.

The Canadian Federation of Students /CFS/ is a national student organization which brings to­gether 400,000 students at over 55 universities, colleges and technical institutes across the country to fight for universally accessible, high quality post-secondary education in Canada.

SPORT

What is Canada's national sport?

Who are national hockey heroes in Canada?

What is the NHL?

Canada's first national sport was lacrosse, which the Indians played before the arrival of the Europeans in North America. Lacross is a field game played between two teams of 10-12 players, each having a curved stick /crosse/ fitted with a shallow string net, used to throw, catch and carry the small, hard, rubber ball. Dr. George Beers is the father of lacrosse in Canada. The Na­tional Lacrosse Association of Canada was formed in Kingston in 1867. The game was declared Canada's national sport.

As settlement expanded westward so too did sport. Horseracing was very popular. In 1789 the Quebec Turf Club was organized. Sport grew hand in hand with settlements. Major influence in such growth has to be attributed to British Army garrisons populated with officers whose sporting traditions were deeply entrenched in the English Public School system. It is not Surprising then that cricket ranked among the most popular sports.

Scottish officers are credited with bringing golf and croquet to Canada. The Canadian Golf Asso­ciation was founded in Ottawa in 1894.

. The Toronto Athletic Games of 1839 launched the organized track and field. They included run­ning, jumping, shot putting and hammer throwing. In addition, "quoiting" - a sport much like horseshoe pitching /tossing a ring on a peg/ - was a popular event on the program.

Scottish influence led to the introduction of the "roaring game" and the first curling club. Ice hockey evolved from the ancient games of bandy, shinny and hurley. Historians are at odds, as to just where hockey originated in Canada. Some place it in Montreal in 1837, while others - in Kingston in 1855.

Rowing became popular competitive past time. The initial regatta was held on July 5, 1837. The Rowing Club was formed in 1839. Sailing began in Kingston in 1826 with formation of the Boat Race Club. In 1860, during the visit by the Prince of Wales, a special canoeing regatta was held in Ottawa.

Baseball is claimed to be invented in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1839, but Canadians in Beachville, Ontario, played the game in June 1838. Whatever its origin, baseball enjoyed popularity among rural and town folks. While cricket was a game for the elite, baseball was the game of the people, and was played by men, women and children.

Football, in varying forms, became another sport in which townsfolk could engage. It provided a physical contact, the individual strength and the minimal cost, factor. A kind of rugby was played in To­ronto in 1859. Soccer was the most popular football form.

Figure skating, or fancy skating as it was then called, was publicized thanks to demonstration tours of U.S. champion Jackson Haines in 1864. Haines, a ballet master revolutionized skating, moving it to a high artistic plateau.

Speedskating involved skaters of all ages and included a variety of novelty races. Billiards became popular in Canada in the 19 century. The first billiards tournament was held in 1864. Cyrille Dion claimed the national crown, his brother being a challenge player ever.

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born PE instructor Dr James Naithmith.

Passive participation was the operative phrase for women. Montreal pioneered active participation in sport by women with formation of the Montreal Ladies Archery Club in 1858.

Today, hockey is the most popular sport in Canada. Young Canadian players can begin to compete in amateur hockey league when they are 7. Toronto is the home of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Professional teams from Canada and USA compete in the National Hockey League /NHL/, the highest professional hockey league. Most players in the NHL are Canadians. Such stars as Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, and Bobby Orr have become national heroes in Canada. Wayne Gretzky won a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games.

Other popular professional sports include football, baseball, and soccer. The Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays attract baseball fans from throughout Canada.