The roadmap presented by the Minister of Education has one virtue: it relies on concrete solutions on which there is consensus.
Teachers love the help of educators in the classroom, let’s try to expand on that. The master for unqualified teachers is a nightmare, let’s make it easy for ourselves. Success in French is a lure, a construction site on it and so on.
The goal is clear: to show the actors in the network that he heard them.
But let’s be clear that the proposed pole, important as it is, is not a plan for academic success.
Stuck between bloated unions, an exodus of teachers and a ministry worthy of a madhouse, the minister seems to have made a bet not to stir the cage too much. Getting results for his seven priorities will take enough effort as it is.
The risk, however, is that Bernard Drainville will end up missing the point because he doesn’t want to displease anyone.
- Listen to the meeting Latraverse-Dumont with Emmanuelle Latraverse at the microphone of Mario Dumont QUB radio :
The elephant in the room
The Legault government, like previous governments, does not want to tackle the framework of a three-tier education system. Very good. But it has a duty to offer a solution to “those students who don’t like anything,” those who are neglected by the network and don’t have access to the privileges of private schools or special programs.
And in that regard, it’s clear that Bernard Drainville remains far from the mark. With no clear targets, without even a promise of funding, his proposal to extend each project is more like a bottle with the sea to avoid a real debate.
Above all, the reality remains, the public system is always burdened by the weakest students. We have to offer a solution for them. Unfortunately, the Drainville plan is silent on them.
The educators in the classroom certainly take the pressure off the teachers, but their presence will not help young dyslexics succeed or help those with ADHD to organize their heads. And what is offered to these troubled students in secondary school? Where is the plan to offer them the specialized services they are entitled to?
The silence on this point is deafening. Because if more theater or sport motivates some of them, it doesn’t give them the tools to succeed.
- Listen to the meeting Latraverse-Dumont with Emmanuelle Latraverse at the microphone of Mario Dumont QUB radio :
What view?
The sociologist and one of the fathers of the Parent Guy Rocher report recently wrote: “While it is true that there is no ideal educational system, it is nevertheless imperative that an educational system have an ideal, which is in fact that of social justice.” .
The Quebec school has strayed from this ideal over the years and budget cuts.
But it must serve as a beacon at night. And as long as the minister avoids articulating this ideal clearly and precisely, given today’s society, any plan in the world, any list of priorities, will look more like patching up a broken system than a coherent vision for the school of the 21st century.
