Bullen, John, “Hidden Workers: Child Labour and the Family Economy in Late Nineteenth-Century Urban Ontario.” Labour/Le Travail 18 (Fall 1986): 163-87.

This article highlights the ways in which urbanized Ontario continued to utilize the entire family as a means of economic support. The shift from predominantly rural life to an increase in urbanization could, without a careful look, be seen as the end of children contributing to the family economy. However, John Bullen lists and describes the many ways children, especially in lower class families, continued to contribute economically in an urban setting.

The author uses a number of primary sources to illustrate his points about child labourers. Not only does he refer to letters and journal entries written during the late nineteenth-century, he also provides pictures from this time. In one picture, a very young child is shown bringing home coal from a rail yard. This picture was striking to me because it shows just how young the children helping to support their families really were. These were not teenagers, but children under the age of seven years old. It is so striking because today, it seems, children under the age of seven are treated in such a different way. To think of a parent today allowing their seven year old to leave the house alone, let alone go to work, is a very foreign concept.

Reading this article, I noticed that children seemed to be regarded as more of their parent’s property than today. In modern Canadian society, children are rarely expected to help contribute financially to the family. This likely played a part in why parents often had so many children; it also meant more people to, at the very least, help maintain the household. I also noticed that sending your children to work rather than sending them to school may have been the beginning of a vicious cycle. Most child labour jobs rarely translated into better paying jobs as the children turned into adults. Since they spent their childhood working rather than attending school, they forced themselves into continuing the cycle of poverty for own children. Since they would continue to have a lower-paying job as an adult, their own children would likely need to stay home from school to contribute economically, as well. I believe this phenomenon occurs today as well, but it seems like it would be much more obvious during this time.

Mintz, Steven, “Reflections on Age as a Category of Historical Analysis.” The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth vol. 1, no. 1 (Winter 2008): 91-94.

Steven Mintz’ article is about how age is a category based on cultural norms and beliefs, rather than simply a biological category. He compares age to gender, class and ethnicity and overall determines that “age is a system of power relationships” (93). This discussion of age as a category is very important to the theme of childhood and education, as our current school system is based almost entirely on age. Children start school at age five, not necessarily because they are individually ready, but instead because society has determined that this is the age we begin school. I would argue that no other institution uses age as a category as strongly as our modern day education system.

In the very first paragraph, Mintz mentions two opposing views on age as a category. The first is that age categories have grown stronger over the years, and the second is that these categories are breaking down over time. He makes an interesting point about children adapting adolescent and adult behaviours and attitudes at very early ages. I do feel like this is something we are seeing more than ever today. Very young children seem to be given cell phones more and more frequently, and sex and violence are featured prominently in even children’s media. Clothes for children seem to have changed from cute and innocent to miniature versions of adult clothing. I believe the question, then, is whether or not this means age categories are less important now than in the past, or if they are just changing with the times.

Day, Elaine M., & Shapson, Stan, “A Comparison Study of Early and Late French Immersion Programs in British Columbia.” Canadian Journal of Education vol. 13, no. 2 (Spring, 1988): 290-305.

This journal article compares the skills and attitudes of early and late French Immersion students in British Columbia. Through a series of tests and questionnaires, they determine that early entry students (those who began the French Immersion program in kindergarten, as opposed to in grade six), performed better on the tests, but did not necessarily have more confidence or motivation to learn than the late entry students. The authors referenced a number of other studies on the same topic, which made their argument rather convincing.

As a French Immersion student myself, this article confirmed my beliefs that the earlier one is immersed, the stronger their grasp on the language will be. I am curious, however, about the long-term fluency gained by French Immersion students. The tests performed for this study measured French fluency of students currently in the immersion program. I would guess that once they are out of the program, their fluency levels will drop drastically.

I would also be interested to see research done on the socialization aspect of French Immersion. What are the effects of being segregated from one’s English speaking peers? Are social relationships affected by this at all? I would hypothesize that French Immersion students feel like outsiders in many cases, specifically when they are in a school with both French Immersion and traditional English classes.