Step 1: Blame on the students.
M. Hamel first blamed the students themselves. He said that they often neglected their lessons and postponed their learning for the next day. Instead of paying attention to their studies, they wasted time loitering around or engaging in fun. Their casual attitude made them careless about their own language.
Step 2: Blame on the parents.
M. Hamel also blamed the parents for their role in the negligence of French. He explained that parents were more interested in sending their children to work in the fields or mills so that they could earn a little extra money. In this way, they discouraged the importance of education and weakened the love for their national language.
Step 3: Blame on himself.
Finally, M. Hamel accepted his own fault. He confessed that at times he had given holidays to students when he wanted to go fishing or needed rest. He had also assigned tasks that were not always useful for the study of French. In this way, he admitted that even he had failed in his duty as a teacher.
Step 4: Conclusion.
Thus, M. Hamel said that all were equally guilty—students, parents, and even himself—for not giving proper importance to the study of their national language, French. His words served as a wake-up call to realize the value of their mother tongue before it was too late.