Chapter Four 75

In the 19405, the Acadians finally obtained something towards which they had been working for decades - classes in French for their children. These were held at the Convent and the Dalton School, and covered the first three grades. In the country schools of the francophone districts instruction was, of course, in French as the children arrived at school knowing no other language.

At the end of this period, after much thought and study, a programme of informal learning, not unlike the study clubs of the thirties, was being developed in Antigonish for any community which wanted to try it. Tignish was one of the first places on the Island to start a “Community School”, as these organizations were called. The Home and School Association and some of the Sisters promoted the concept, which encouraged anyone, regardless of educational background, to come to the School and discuss the questions of the day in a small group, without a group leader from elsewhere. Instead of this, however, the schools quickly turned into places where anybody who was skilled at something and interested in teaching it to others could work with them for eight weeks in the winter, when there was less to do at home. In Tignish the school flourished from 1965 to 1976. In 1983, it was started again, but at Profit’s Corner, three miles from Tignish. It still offers some twenty different short courses ranging from Line Dancing to Flower Arranging - but not current affairs.

There is little to say about the place of the Church during this time. It remained at the centre of everyday life, but received a serious blow through the decisions of the Second Vatican Council (1963-1965). The directives for updating and simplifying ritual and liturgy were not well interpreted by the current priest or his assistants. Changes such as the use of English in the Mass, dropping