A postponement of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship course called for
After private high school teachers, it is the turn of the largest teachers' union in the province to demand the postponement of the new Quebec Culture and Citizenship course, which is scheduled to be implemented in all schools next year.
Since the beginning of the school year, the content of this new curriculum – which will replace the controversial Ethics and Religious Culture course – has been taught in some thirty primary and secondary schools in the form of pilot projects.
However, the Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE-CSQ) notes "serious shortcomings" in its implementation.
"Can we do things right? Teachers tell us that the machine is going too fast," says its president, Josée Scalabrini.
The program is still incomplete and teachers "have empty hands," she says.
Those who volunteered to test the new content this year expected materials to be provided by the ministry, but they are the ones who have to design everything, the FSE laments.
In these circumstances, it seems necessary to postpone "at least one year" the implementation of this new "important" but also delicate content, adds Ms. Scalabrini.
A gradual implementation, rather than a wall-to-wall approach from the beginning of primary to the end of secondary school, is also called for.
The course aims to prepare young Quebecers for "the exercise of their citizenship".
The topics to be addressed are wide-ranging, from cyberbullying and democratic institutions
to cultural or religious identity and sexuality education.
The FSE-CSQ also recalls that the implementation of the Ethics and Religious Culture course was done gradually,
after two years of pilot projects.
The union federation thus joins its voice to the Quebec Association in Ethics and Religious Culture, which has already called for a much tighter deadline for the implementation of this new course.
Training, please
The Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN), which represents private high school teachers, is also asking for a postponement of at least a year, La Presse reported last week.
In schools, teachers need time to train, says Scalabrini, who goes so far as to say that specialist primary school teachers, such as music and English, should teach the new content.
"With the number of teachers we are currently lacking, let's arrange to keep those who are already there," she said.
Since the beginning of the school year, the content of this new curriculum – which will replace the controversial Ethics and Religious Culture course – has been taught in some thirty primary and secondary schools in the form of pilot projects.
However, the Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE-CSQ) notes "serious shortcomings" in its implementation.
"Can we do things right? Teachers tell us that the machine is going too fast," says its president, Josée Scalabrini.
The program is still incomplete and teachers "have empty hands," she says.
Those who volunteered to test the new content this year expected materials to be provided by the ministry, but they are the ones who have to design everything, the FSE laments.
In these circumstances, it seems necessary to postpone "at least one year" the implementation of this new "important" but also delicate content, adds Ms. Scalabrini.
A gradual implementation, rather than a wall-to-wall approach from the beginning of primary to the end of secondary school, is also called for.
The course aims to prepare young Quebecers for "the exercise of their citizenship".
The topics to be addressed are wide-ranging, from cyberbullying and democratic institutions
to cultural or religious identity and sexuality education.
The FSE-CSQ also recalls that the implementation of the Ethics and Religious Culture course was done gradually,
after two years of pilot projects.
The union federation thus joins its voice to the Quebec Association in Ethics and Religious Culture, which has already called for a much tighter deadline for the implementation of this new course.
Training, please
The Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN), which represents private high school teachers, is also asking for a postponement of at least a year, La Presse reported last week.
In schools, teachers need time to train, says Scalabrini, who goes so far as to say that specialist primary school teachers, such as music and English, should teach the new content.
"With the number of teachers we are currently lacking, let's arrange to keep those who are already there," she said.
APHNÉE DION-VIENS
A postponement of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship course called for| JDM (journaldemontreal.com)
A postponement of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship course called for| JDM (journaldemontreal.com)
