François Legault wanted to give his first task to education.
The pandemic decided otherwise. we can understand
The deep meaning Mr Legault wants to give his second term, if there is one, is not clear.
chaos
Incoming education minister Bernard Drainville is being forced to prioritize hiring primary school teachers.
We can’t blame him. If there is a fire, the dirty dishes can wait.
Being Secretary of Education in Quebec isn’t bad: you’re putting out fires all the time.
If it’s not due to a lack of teachers, then it’s due to leaking roofs or inadequate ventilation.
There is never time for a fundamental reflection on the direction to be taken.
Think about it, we’ve had 16 education ministers in 20 years. How do you make something permanent when you’re just passing through?
We have not had a collective reflection on education in Quebec since the States General of 1995-1996.
The conclusions of the time – prioritizing early childhood, streamlining basic education instead of thinning it out, raising the cultural level, etc. – were the right ones.
What followed was a kidnapping in many ways.
Rather, it was the disastrous twist based on the so-called “social-constructivist” doctrine.
You know the song: knowledge is no longer the sum of general knowledge passed on to everyone, the child learns by itself, the teacher is a “guide”, “self-esteem” is fundamental, etc.
The mess is almost total.
Those who succeed would have succeeded in any system.
The others who really need help are the real victims.
If we fantasized a bit, if we cared about something other than fire, what would we do? Many things.
We would completely rethink the recruitment and training of future teachers.
We wouldn’t let them down. We would start from scratch.
Normand Baillargeon, one of our brightest minds, has ideas on this.
We would stop automatically moving students who don’t have the level to the next year.
We would stop messing around with the notes.
We would stop giving junk diplomas like those certificates of preparation for work that are often given to functionally illiterate people after internships.
The results would be measured as objectively as possible. How else can you improve?
Did you know that 27% of our college graduates are functionally illiterate? Yes indeed.
A functional illiterate is someone who has difficulty reading a text that is more complicated than a recipe or the dosage of a drug.
hostage
Above all, we need an education minister who will not be held hostage by faculty officials allied with those who spread research-disproved rubbish, such as the idea that homework isn’t necessary or that computer hardware helps.
There is so much to do that we can’t get out without putting it all back together. All.
We have not had a collective reflection on education in Quebec since the States General of 1995-1996.
There is so much to do that we can’t get out without putting it all back together. All.
