The perceptions of an administrator embroiled for several years in the language issue in Quebec are briefly summarized in this paper. Before the first legislation concerning language (Bill 63) was passed, it became clear that in spite of the fact that Quebec was the home for a large number of French immigrants, French language and culture were in jeopardy of being displaced by the English language and culture. By 1974, a bill (Bill 22) was passed to establish French as the official language of Quebec. Only those students whose mother tongue was English were allowed to go to English schools. A means was to be devised to determine each student's mother tongue. The author, who was a deputy director of a school board, devised a method of interviewing prospective students. But, since few children were screened out of the English schools and admission standards varied, it was ordered that eligibility be determined on the basis of test results. This procedure was doomed to failure because of a lack of objective testing methods (for example, in one case the parents of twins were ordered to send each to a different school). This law has now been replaced by a new bill (The Charter of the French Language) that promises to be more efficacious. (Author/JM)