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Why Feller Closed

  "SUMMARY OF THE FELLER TEACHING PROGRAM

    Since 1936 (I think he means 1836 - Rick), or shortly thereafter, Feller has offered, some elemantary and a complete secondary programme of studies. In the beginning it was a completely French School, the only one available to children of French Canadian Baptists. These few English-speaking young people in attendance were simply integrated into the French curriculum.

   Shortly after the turn of the century, the picture changed completely. In 1905 Protestant government schools were made free of tuition - at the elemantary level - throughout Quebec. Within a year or two virtually all of the French Protestant elemantary porochial schools, small and inadequate as they were, closed their doors. From then on, our French Protestant children were assimilated into the English Language group through free elemantary schools. Pupils from our French Baptist churches arriving at Feller at the grade 6 and 7 level were already Anglicized.to the point where it was easier to continue their education - at Feller - in English. his was a step taken as early as 1910. Feller became English in curriculum.

    Besides the cultural shift from French to English, the school was more than doubled in size in 1903. There was no appreciable increase in pupils from the French Protestant milieu - the school was enlarged so that one-half the student body could be drawn from English homes. Thus by 1910, Though the staff was French, the students were mixed in equal proportion, and the first school language was English.

    From 1910 on, for half a century, slowly but surely the need for Feller dwindled - as far as French Canadian Baptist children were concerned. Despite there never having been a place refused - at most generous reductions - by 1910 only 1/5 of the pupils were French.

    From 1963 to 1967, gradually a French program has developed, and that section of the school has grown to be one-third of the student body. This was possible by (1) generous reductions in fees to all French pupils ($400.00 automatic) and (2) by an amazing growth in the number of Roman Catholic pupils. With some 50 pupils, this year, in the French section, we can calculate that this represents a burden of $20,000 subsidy on the Mission. Though the school, and the French section in particular, is doing good work academically, and the school spirit - among staff members as among pupils - apears to be at its top level, the financial cost of the French section appears to be beyond the means of the Grande Ligne Mission.

    In addition to the cost of the French section, it appears now that our English pupils have been paying far less than the real cost of receiving them here at Feller. Fees for the past two years have been 1300 dollars, where as recent studies of our Mission Finances, suggest that it has cost us a minimum of perhaps 1600 dollars per pupil. Thus the plight of Feller College in financial terms appears to have two immediate causes -

THE SERVICE THAT TODAY'S FELLER IS RENDERING

    One-half of the pupils come to this school because the situation in the home lacks necessary strength and stability. One-Quarter come because of learning disabilities, and the final one-fourth come for the bilingual opportunity. It appears that boarding school today is the choice mainly of parents aware of their home difficulties. Since these difficulties are most acute in our Urban centres, and financial ability is still much stronger among Anglo Saxons, Feller can realistically think only in terms of serving this group. Whatever the school may offer in excellence, in bilingual opportunity or in Christian atmosphere, it can offer this only to those who can pay and make the financing possible. Thus the school, if it survives, can do so only by seeking its students in primarily English speaking North America. "

Rev. John Gilmour

The portions in bold are in bold because I put them so. These statements must have been very difficult for Mr Gilmour to make. Because he had put so much energy and hope into turning Feller back into a French School. Rick.