What should be important
How are we doing in our schools? By answering Patrick Lagacé's question frankly, the artisans of the education community underline what should now be on the agenda, in the interest of our children
PATRICK LAGACÉTHE PRESSFor years, I have been writing about school, because it is a crucial institution for individuals and for society.
For years, I have been listening to those who work in our schools tell me about their daily lives. At the level of children and teenagers, in the classrooms, the teachers are in the best position to explain to us what works in our schools... Or not.
For this file, I launched on Facebook an appeal to the artisans of the school by simply asking them to tell me about their daily lives, on the eve of the start of the 2022-2023 school year. I have received dozens of messages, which paint a relentless picture
of the reality of Quebec schools today.
And what these teachers told me, it overlaps with what I've been hearing about the ills of school for years. It's a bit like Groundhog Day, in education, the same issues come back year after year, without really being settled. The teachers I quote here, almost all anonymously, to protect them from reprisals, tell me pretty much what I was hearing seven, five and three years ago.
Public school has been neglected for years, decades, even. It is a drift that involves all the parties that have governed us for a long time.
We see the consequences, today, in several respects: dilapidated schools, shortage of teachers and specialists (orthopedagogues, speech therapists, etc.), students who "pass" year after year without mastering the subject, so as not
to make school boards, principals and teachers look bad...
Beyond the political spin, the dark reality: the school is not doing well. We can blame the Coalition avenir Québec, which has been in business since 2018. But we must not forget every party that has governed us for a generation.
We must not forget, either, that our collective indolence in the face of the state of the school has allowed many governments to mistreat the school without paying the political price.
By reading these testimonies from many artisans (teachers, directors, speech therapists, etc.), we better understand what should be a government priority in education. From the (non) training of teachers to the involvement of parents through support for students in difficulty, this file addresses the great hassles of teachers, in 2022.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell the artisans of the Quebec school what I try to say to them
as often as possible: thank you for what you do.
Qualified teachersFor years, "non-legally qualified (NLQ)" teachers have been called in to help make up for the lack of teachers. The use of the NLQ has been mentioned by several teachers who have written to me recently: this recourse comes with its share of tensions and frustrations.
Maude, a high school teacher, on the influx of NLQ teachers into schools: "The Education Act requires young people under the age of 16 to be in school. But doesn't it also require them to receive a QUALITY education? That is clearly not the case at the moment. We are already out of breath by the addition of related tasks to teaching, by the lack of resources for students and now we are at the point of showing nice volunteers how to teach. Fast, fast, on the corner of a desk. Between two bells. »
Julie, teacher in Abitibi: "I often have pain in my profession, because I see anyone coming to teach in the next class. Would I like to have surgery by a mechanic in the hospital? I am happy to work in my school. On the other hand, what I hear from nearby schools freezes my blood. The parent who thinks he is sending his child thinking that he is learning there, he does not know what is happening. »
Mélanie, school principal in the 450: "Several offices have not been filled. The reserve lists are empty. Will I have teachers for all groups? We will hire NLQs, but it is far from always a winner. She dispels the greyness of her message a little, concluding: "I taught for more than 20 years before moving on to management. I love my job. But everything is now more difficult for everyone. »
Nancy, primary school teacher: "Our dear minister boasts that our schools have gone through the pandemic without breaking service. He lives in what world? Classes without a teacher, in which an adult is placed without qualifications, is a breach of service. I am not criticizing these people. But despite their good will, they are not teachers. »
Marie, teacher: "In my school service centre, many teacher and educator contracts are unfilled, the same goes for support professionals, such as remedial teachers. Both at the primary and secondary levels, the lack of staff is glaring. »
Salaries up to the markThe Government of Quebec has improved the salary scale for teachers. But to fill positions not filled by certified teachers, school service centers use "non-legally qualified" teachers... who feel like they are being considered cheap labour.
Marie-Pier, 33, has a scientific background. She did a substitute last year. She loved it. "For the start of the school year, high school offered me a 100% task in science. I was happy, I thought I was lucky! I have an atypical background, but I was ready to put the effort to be good and relevant. But I learned that I was going to be paid betweenstep 1 ($46,527) andstep 3 ($52,954). With my experience in science, with my diplomas, I found this salary insane. I had no choice but to refuse. »
Isabelle, a high school French teacher for two years. Like Marie-Pier, an atypical career path, 20 years as a private writer, master's degree in French studies, she is halfway through her qualifying master's degree to become a teacher, in addition to having taught at CEGEP: "When I decided to go teach, I went from $90,000 per year to $60,000. I am assigned the5th step only. »
Parents involved... and respectful
The teacher-parent relationship is a delicate relationship, which can quickly turn sour. Personality conflicts can color this relationship. Of course, the phenomenon is difficult to quantify, but teachers find that more and more parents are more and more chicanery, quick to challenge the authority and expertise of teachers... which undermines their authority with the students.
They also note a form of disengagement among some parents.
Caroline, a high school teacher: "I was accused of being too demanding, even though I lowered my expectations during distance learning because I knew the students hated it. Students have not had the skills since the5th grade of primary school, but for parents, it is my fault that their child stagnates. One parent was so furious that I had to hold the phone five inches from my ear. »
Céline Piché, teacher: "We are afraid of parents. Many colleagues do not write to parents when a problem arises. We minimize, it's simpler. Parents react badly when their offspring are "attacked": "How did you dare to confiscate my son's cell phone!" Another once said to me: "Is it so bad to laugh?", because I had changed places for his child who was talking and laughing with his neighbor.
We can stay marked, when a parent enters us ... »
Delphine, teacher: "Most parents are wonderful. But those who contact us the most are the parent-kings, who believe that everything is due to them and, above all, that their child can do nothing wrong. As his parent excuses, the child now believes he is allowed everything. Encounters with these parent-kings can end with insults. The pandemic had this good thing: we could hang up on them, in case of a bacon crisis. »
Stéphanie: "For more than 10 years, there has been an increase in language disorders. Many parents and children are so in front of screens that exchanges between them are practically non-existent. Children are so late that we must adapt all our practices for this new reality: parents no longer tell their children stories... At 10, they don't know the word "lowercase". »
Ways to teachThe obstacles to teaching with serenity are numerous. From the state of schools to the lack of support from a management overwhelmed by administrative tasks whose relevance can be questioned through the difficulty of teaching children who "pass" from one level to another without mastering the achievements, teachers have a lot to say about what stands between them and their profession... teach.
A high school math teacher: "This year, ALL the school premises will be occupied, due to lack of space. For the past two years, the library has been a classroom; the student lounge is a retreat room, the laundry room, the office of the workers in special education. New: the computer room will be transformed into a classroom and two of our classes will be in the adjacent community center... »
Mathilde, a teacher, never thought one day to defend her school principal: "I can no longer count the number of principals I have seen pass, in5th secondary. For the management, the5th is colossal: graduation activities, ministerial exams, student motivation, consumption, bullying... In addition to all the administrative tasks that the school service centre imposes on them. This means that managers are rarely on the floor. They have trainings, meetings during class hours. When a student is not well, when he needs services, the management sometimes takes care of it one, two or three weeks later... if ever. »
Delphine: "If school were important, we would have fewer students per class and our students would have access to the services they need."
Marie is TES, technician in special education, she offers one of these "services" mentioned by Delphine. A TES intervenes in support of teachers, with students in crisis, for example: "I always find it very funny to hear about staff shortages: it takes years to get a full-time position. We are offered bread crumbs by school service centres. When you are offered a total of 14.75 hours per week, it does not make you want to stay. It is the young people who suffer: if I leave, the young people will continue to go badly, which will exhaust the teachers even more... who will leave. »
Judith, 3rd grade teacher: "Last year, my principal gave me a form to enter my material needs. I asked for manipulation equipment in mathematics (sliders, cube-unit, table games). To date, I have not received anything. »
Karina, teacher: "Many of our schools are in a dismal state. Old and outdated, without air circulation, windows without mosquito nets; premises too hot in summer, sometimes too cold in winter. Shame. The management, on the other hand, is well confused in its air-conditioned office. »
Céline Piché, teacher: "Students today are not very invested. Everything is too easy. And when we fail, we pass the same. It's been worse since the pandemic. The student finishes at 54%? We send him to the next level hoping that he mobilizes. To compensate, he is given refresher courses... But who will give them? I gave these classes, it rarely works: an hour more
French when you have your day in the body, it's not a winner. »
Mathilde, teacher: "Taboo subject: summer courses. Why do students who fail pass hands down, during the summer, year after year? In French5th secondary, it is not uncommon for me to have students who have never taken a French course since secondary 1. From 50-55%, but even in the 30-40%. Yet they finish the summer course with 70-80 and even 85%. We do not help anyone, neither the student who retains huge shortcomings nor the teacher who has to deal with extremely weak students... »
Students to support (really)Students in difficulty are not unintelligent students. Most have excellent academic potential... Provided you are helped. This help is called "school adaptation". When they were integrated into regular classes, we promised to help them with the resources of school adaptation: special software, support from speech therapists, remedial teachers, etc. But these school adaptation resources were the first to be sacrificed when, over the decades, Quebec imposed cuts on school boards. The savage integration of these students
into regular classrooms is a burden that crushes teachers.
Marie-Claude, orthopedagogue: "One of the first things that doesn't work is the ranking of students. The Ministry of Education wants at all costs the integration of students in difficulty, but we do not have the resources to support them in regular classes. »
Delphine, teacher, about the "intervention plans" that supervise (on paper) students in difficulty in the regular class: "When you have 14 intervention plans in a class of 28, it's a lot to remember."
Andréanne, remedial teacher: "Student services are not up to the (big) needs. Adaptation classes are closed under the beautiful theory of inclusion, without giving the necessary help to teachers to support these students. The teacher is left to fend for herself. »
Caroline, primary school teacher for 13 years, still in love with the job... despite everything: "This year, no TES. We are told, "Arrange among colleagues to go and find the one who threatens others or welcome disturbing students from other classes into yours." And: no speech therapist... Despite our three language adaptation classes. »
Isabelle, mother of a primary school child who lives with Tourette's syndrome: "My daughter mentioned to me several times last year that Mrs. A. still went out in the corridor to cry. I knew from other parents and school team members that his class was particularly difficult, but that it was impossible to get more help from professionals: no resources. »
Céline Piché: "Our task is too heavy. We have too many things that are not teaching: information meetings, intervention plans to complete, corridor monitoring, committees of all kinds... »
Julie, a primary school teacher for 23 years, recounts the obstacle course to help students in difficulty: "I fought, I asked for services, evaluations, money, support, I asked again, relaunched, begged, I got angry, relaunched again, filled out requests for papers, made meetings, other meetings ... In 2019, I was called to another meeting during my "free" time to talk again about the same poorly ranked, allophone and probably intellectually disabled student who they still wanted to put in my already full and unserviced
classroom. I suddenly started crying, crying and crying. »
The dedication of the artisans of the Quebec school, in extremely difficult conditions characterized by shortages of all kinds, is nevertheless worth mentioning.
I conclude with this testimony from a mother:
Marie-Josée Samson, mother of a teenager, at Mirabel High School: "Sylvain Coursol, the TES, and Jean-François Thibeault, the math teacher, literally saved my daughter's high school. She had all kinds of difficulties. She was on the verge of failure, on the verge of repeating herself. But Mr. Coursol never let go of her, he talked to her regularly, I could communicate with him without problem. He even transformed hold periods into study periods, to help him with ministerial reviews. Mr. Thibeault, the math teacher, gave my daughter recovery in the morning before class. Thank you! They didn't have to do that. My daughter is going to start secondary 5. Of Mr. Coursol
and Mr. Thibeault, there are plenty of them in the province. »
PATRICK LAGACÉTHE PRESSFor years, I have been writing about school, because it is a crucial institution for individuals and for society.
For years, I have been listening to those who work in our schools tell me about their daily lives. At the level of children and teenagers, in the classrooms, the teachers are in the best position to explain to us what works in our schools... Or not.
For this file, I launched on Facebook an appeal to the artisans of the school by simply asking them to tell me about their daily lives, on the eve of the start of the 2022-2023 school year. I have received dozens of messages, which paint a relentless picture
of the reality of Quebec schools today.
And what these teachers told me, it overlaps with what I've been hearing about the ills of school for years. It's a bit like Groundhog Day, in education, the same issues come back year after year, without really being settled. The teachers I quote here, almost all anonymously, to protect them from reprisals, tell me pretty much what I was hearing seven, five and three years ago.
Public school has been neglected for years, decades, even. It is a drift that involves all the parties that have governed us for a long time.
We see the consequences, today, in several respects: dilapidated schools, shortage of teachers and specialists (orthopedagogues, speech therapists, etc.), students who "pass" year after year without mastering the subject, so as not
to make school boards, principals and teachers look bad...
Beyond the political spin, the dark reality: the school is not doing well. We can blame the Coalition avenir Québec, which has been in business since 2018. But we must not forget every party that has governed us for a generation.
We must not forget, either, that our collective indolence in the face of the state of the school has allowed many governments to mistreat the school without paying the political price.
By reading these testimonies from many artisans (teachers, directors, speech therapists, etc.), we better understand what should be a government priority in education. From the (non) training of teachers to the involvement of parents through support for students in difficulty, this file addresses the great hassles of teachers, in 2022.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell the artisans of the Quebec school what I try to say to them
as often as possible: thank you for what you do.
Qualified teachersFor years, "non-legally qualified (NLQ)" teachers have been called in to help make up for the lack of teachers. The use of the NLQ has been mentioned by several teachers who have written to me recently: this recourse comes with its share of tensions and frustrations.
Maude, a high school teacher, on the influx of NLQ teachers into schools: "The Education Act requires young people under the age of 16 to be in school. But doesn't it also require them to receive a QUALITY education? That is clearly not the case at the moment. We are already out of breath by the addition of related tasks to teaching, by the lack of resources for students and now we are at the point of showing nice volunteers how to teach. Fast, fast, on the corner of a desk. Between two bells. »
Julie, teacher in Abitibi: "I often have pain in my profession, because I see anyone coming to teach in the next class. Would I like to have surgery by a mechanic in the hospital? I am happy to work in my school. On the other hand, what I hear from nearby schools freezes my blood. The parent who thinks he is sending his child thinking that he is learning there, he does not know what is happening. »
Mélanie, school principal in the 450: "Several offices have not been filled. The reserve lists are empty. Will I have teachers for all groups? We will hire NLQs, but it is far from always a winner. She dispels the greyness of her message a little, concluding: "I taught for more than 20 years before moving on to management. I love my job. But everything is now more difficult for everyone. »
Nancy, primary school teacher: "Our dear minister boasts that our schools have gone through the pandemic without breaking service. He lives in what world? Classes without a teacher, in which an adult is placed without qualifications, is a breach of service. I am not criticizing these people. But despite their good will, they are not teachers. »
Marie, teacher: "In my school service centre, many teacher and educator contracts are unfilled, the same goes for support professionals, such as remedial teachers. Both at the primary and secondary levels, the lack of staff is glaring. »
Salaries up to the markThe Government of Quebec has improved the salary scale for teachers. But to fill positions not filled by certified teachers, school service centers use "non-legally qualified" teachers... who feel like they are being considered cheap labour.
Marie-Pier, 33, has a scientific background. She did a substitute last year. She loved it. "For the start of the school year, high school offered me a 100% task in science. I was happy, I thought I was lucky! I have an atypical background, but I was ready to put the effort to be good and relevant. But I learned that I was going to be paid betweenstep 1 ($46,527) andstep 3 ($52,954). With my experience in science, with my diplomas, I found this salary insane. I had no choice but to refuse. »
Isabelle, a high school French teacher for two years. Like Marie-Pier, an atypical career path, 20 years as a private writer, master's degree in French studies, she is halfway through her qualifying master's degree to become a teacher, in addition to having taught at CEGEP: "When I decided to go teach, I went from $90,000 per year to $60,000. I am assigned the5th step only. »
Parents involved... and respectful
The teacher-parent relationship is a delicate relationship, which can quickly turn sour. Personality conflicts can color this relationship. Of course, the phenomenon is difficult to quantify, but teachers find that more and more parents are more and more chicanery, quick to challenge the authority and expertise of teachers... which undermines their authority with the students.
They also note a form of disengagement among some parents.
Caroline, a high school teacher: "I was accused of being too demanding, even though I lowered my expectations during distance learning because I knew the students hated it. Students have not had the skills since the5th grade of primary school, but for parents, it is my fault that their child stagnates. One parent was so furious that I had to hold the phone five inches from my ear. »
Céline Piché, teacher: "We are afraid of parents. Many colleagues do not write to parents when a problem arises. We minimize, it's simpler. Parents react badly when their offspring are "attacked": "How did you dare to confiscate my son's cell phone!" Another once said to me: "Is it so bad to laugh?", because I had changed places for his child who was talking and laughing with his neighbor.
We can stay marked, when a parent enters us ... »
Delphine, teacher: "Most parents are wonderful. But those who contact us the most are the parent-kings, who believe that everything is due to them and, above all, that their child can do nothing wrong. As his parent excuses, the child now believes he is allowed everything. Encounters with these parent-kings can end with insults. The pandemic had this good thing: we could hang up on them, in case of a bacon crisis. »
Stéphanie: "For more than 10 years, there has been an increase in language disorders. Many parents and children are so in front of screens that exchanges between them are practically non-existent. Children are so late that we must adapt all our practices for this new reality: parents no longer tell their children stories... At 10, they don't know the word "lowercase". »
Ways to teachThe obstacles to teaching with serenity are numerous. From the state of schools to the lack of support from a management overwhelmed by administrative tasks whose relevance can be questioned through the difficulty of teaching children who "pass" from one level to another without mastering the achievements, teachers have a lot to say about what stands between them and their profession... teach.
A high school math teacher: "This year, ALL the school premises will be occupied, due to lack of space. For the past two years, the library has been a classroom; the student lounge is a retreat room, the laundry room, the office of the workers in special education. New: the computer room will be transformed into a classroom and two of our classes will be in the adjacent community center... »
Mathilde, a teacher, never thought one day to defend her school principal: "I can no longer count the number of principals I have seen pass, in5th secondary. For the management, the5th is colossal: graduation activities, ministerial exams, student motivation, consumption, bullying... In addition to all the administrative tasks that the school service centre imposes on them. This means that managers are rarely on the floor. They have trainings, meetings during class hours. When a student is not well, when he needs services, the management sometimes takes care of it one, two or three weeks later... if ever. »
Delphine: "If school were important, we would have fewer students per class and our students would have access to the services they need."
Marie is TES, technician in special education, she offers one of these "services" mentioned by Delphine. A TES intervenes in support of teachers, with students in crisis, for example: "I always find it very funny to hear about staff shortages: it takes years to get a full-time position. We are offered bread crumbs by school service centres. When you are offered a total of 14.75 hours per week, it does not make you want to stay. It is the young people who suffer: if I leave, the young people will continue to go badly, which will exhaust the teachers even more... who will leave. »
Judith, 3rd grade teacher: "Last year, my principal gave me a form to enter my material needs. I asked for manipulation equipment in mathematics (sliders, cube-unit, table games). To date, I have not received anything. »
Karina, teacher: "Many of our schools are in a dismal state. Old and outdated, without air circulation, windows without mosquito nets; premises too hot in summer, sometimes too cold in winter. Shame. The management, on the other hand, is well confused in its air-conditioned office. »
Céline Piché, teacher: "Students today are not very invested. Everything is too easy. And when we fail, we pass the same. It's been worse since the pandemic. The student finishes at 54%? We send him to the next level hoping that he mobilizes. To compensate, he is given refresher courses... But who will give them? I gave these classes, it rarely works: an hour more
French when you have your day in the body, it's not a winner. »
Mathilde, teacher: "Taboo subject: summer courses. Why do students who fail pass hands down, during the summer, year after year? In French5th secondary, it is not uncommon for me to have students who have never taken a French course since secondary 1. From 50-55%, but even in the 30-40%. Yet they finish the summer course with 70-80 and even 85%. We do not help anyone, neither the student who retains huge shortcomings nor the teacher who has to deal with extremely weak students... »
Students to support (really)Students in difficulty are not unintelligent students. Most have excellent academic potential... Provided you are helped. This help is called "school adaptation". When they were integrated into regular classes, we promised to help them with the resources of school adaptation: special software, support from speech therapists, remedial teachers, etc. But these school adaptation resources were the first to be sacrificed when, over the decades, Quebec imposed cuts on school boards. The savage integration of these students
into regular classrooms is a burden that crushes teachers.
Marie-Claude, orthopedagogue: "One of the first things that doesn't work is the ranking of students. The Ministry of Education wants at all costs the integration of students in difficulty, but we do not have the resources to support them in regular classes. »
Delphine, teacher, about the "intervention plans" that supervise (on paper) students in difficulty in the regular class: "When you have 14 intervention plans in a class of 28, it's a lot to remember."
Andréanne, remedial teacher: "Student services are not up to the (big) needs. Adaptation classes are closed under the beautiful theory of inclusion, without giving the necessary help to teachers to support these students. The teacher is left to fend for herself. »
Caroline, primary school teacher for 13 years, still in love with the job... despite everything: "This year, no TES. We are told, "Arrange among colleagues to go and find the one who threatens others or welcome disturbing students from other classes into yours." And: no speech therapist... Despite our three language adaptation classes. »
Isabelle, mother of a primary school child who lives with Tourette's syndrome: "My daughter mentioned to me several times last year that Mrs. A. still went out in the corridor to cry. I knew from other parents and school team members that his class was particularly difficult, but that it was impossible to get more help from professionals: no resources. »
Céline Piché: "Our task is too heavy. We have too many things that are not teaching: information meetings, intervention plans to complete, corridor monitoring, committees of all kinds... »
Julie, a primary school teacher for 23 years, recounts the obstacle course to help students in difficulty: "I fought, I asked for services, evaluations, money, support, I asked again, relaunched, begged, I got angry, relaunched again, filled out requests for papers, made meetings, other meetings ... In 2019, I was called to another meeting during my "free" time to talk again about the same poorly ranked, allophone and probably intellectually disabled student who they still wanted to put in my already full and unserviced
classroom. I suddenly started crying, crying and crying. »
The dedication of the artisans of the Quebec school, in extremely difficult conditions characterized by shortages of all kinds, is nevertheless worth mentioning.
I conclude with this testimony from a mother:
Marie-Josée Samson, mother of a teenager, at Mirabel High School: "Sylvain Coursol, the TES, and Jean-François Thibeault, the math teacher, literally saved my daughter's high school. She had all kinds of difficulties. She was on the verge of failure, on the verge of repeating herself. But Mr. Coursol never let go of her, he talked to her regularly, I could communicate with him without problem. He even transformed hold periods into study periods, to help him with ministerial reviews. Mr. Thibeault, the math teacher, gave my daughter recovery in the morning before class. Thank you! They didn't have to do that. My daughter is going to start secondary 5. Of Mr. Coursol
and Mr. Thibeault, there are plenty of them in the province. »
