Accused of being more passive and demotivated than ever, teenagers send the mirror back to some of their teachers, who themselves are often absent or content to read a textbook in class.
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“It is also up to the teachers if we are not motivated. You are never there. She is always a substitute. They don’t care,” says Jessica Dumergean, 16.
The Journal spoke to 10 people who work in a secondary school or in a youth center. Almost all observe a lack of motivation to learn and difficulties in getting organized or becoming active.
How can this trend be explained? The Journal met with fifteen students at Maison des jeunes Le Squatt in Ahuntsic, Montreal, to get their opinions.
“Correspondence school wasn’t really school,” testifies Noa Livet-Pages, 15 years old. “I just wasn’t there [aux cours virtuels] and I still passed. »
loss of grades?
Days and hours were shorter, homework almost optional.
“You really turn the screw there,” says the young man, who noticed a “radical” change of pace after the end of the health crisis.
“The students simply kept their habits from the COVID period,” Noa sums up.
The Journal asks her if her grades have dropped since the pandemic. At the same time, everyone raises their hands.
“I got from 90 to 50 percent in almost all subjects,” says a student who asked not to be named.
Many blame it on the teachers. On this subject they are inexhaustible. “It is not normal for the teacher to only let the notebook be read in class. And that when we have a question, he tells us: “go to Google,” reports a student. i won’t lie If I don’t understand anything, I don’t work [pour réussir]. »
Despite denouncing the behavior of certain teachers, Jessica Dumergean admits that the ball is hers too. “It’s starting to worry me [la baisse de notes] “. She’s hoping to join CEGEP next year. To achieve that, she plans to spend less time sleeping… and more time on her homework.
money before homework
A 13-year-old college student admits that he prefers babysitting when given the choice of completing an important task or babysitting to make money.
Young people seem to be particularly aware of labor shortages, which manifest themselves at school but benefit them in the labor market. “Even if studying is very boring, it is still important. I don’t want to spend 30 years of my life in a supermarket,” says Ron Laviatrice, 16.
For the youngest, the concept of a career is very far away. “There are people who ask me: ‘What do you want to do later?’ But I’m in secondary school right now,” says Sydney Fleury, 14.
The school staff is at their wits end
Young people who report demotivated teachers may not be entirely wrong, as many school staff feel that their peers are at their wit’s end.
Mathieu* supervises the first cycle as director in a secondary school in the metropolis. What struck him the most this year was not the attitude of the students, but that of his team.
“I’ve never dealt with so many conflicts or emergencies among adults,” he says.
He sometimes has to mediate between employees. Sometimes, between an employee and a student, he illustrates. “There is a lot of irritability. »
“I’ve never seen people so broken,” Mireille* enthuses about her colleagues at the elementary school in Montreal where she teaches.
Not only has the pandemic affected their own mental health, but they are now having to deal with the increasing burden of difficulties among students, several speakers point out.
“It’s disturbed,” sighs Marjorie Racine, who teaches at Longueuil.
Her fourth-year students just don’t have a fourth-year academic level, she summarizes.
“Sometimes we feel like we’re not doing our job well. […] We no longer know where to set our priorities. »
taken on board
Crystel* is a school psychologist in Montreal. His job is mainly to evaluate the students. “But I have teachers there who visit me in my office. I didn’t have that before. »
It is likely that the students feel this tiredness, suggests Camille Rivard, coordinator of the Maison des jeunes de Repentigny.
“I don’t throw rocks at school staff,” she warns. But we often hear from young people: there are some who do not feel supported and understood by their school’s staff. You feel turned. »
*Fictional names. Several involved remained anonymous to avoid identifying their students and to avoid reprisals from their school service center.
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