(Saint-Hyacinthe) Premier François Legault is committed to tabling a plan on school discipline, because lack of respect is “a real problem.” It is “a damn good idea,” he believes, to impose sanctions and training on students who bully or are violent, as his party’s young activists are demanding.
“It’s as if we had become a society where there are only rights, and there are no duties, there are no sanctions,” he lamented during his closing speech at the annual congress of the Coalition avenir Québec’s Commission de la relève (CRCAQ), Saturday in Saint-Hyacinthe.
Wearing uniforms in secondary schools, teachers addressing each other formally from nursery school onwards, sanctions against bullying or violent students, compulsory training for them and their parents: the young activists have adopted, without much debate, proposals to “establish a culture of civic-mindedness” in schools.
“The number of times we hear of cases of violence or intimidation against students or teachers, it doesn’t make sense,” acknowledged François Legault.
“We will have to be able, and I like some of your proposals, to say: Students who are violent and who intimidate, there should be sanctions, there should be consequences,” he adds.
The Prime Minister is putting his government to work to get things back on track. “I know that Bernard Drainville has taken some steps to ensure that we reduce these problems, but I think it is not enough. I am officially announcing today that I am giving the Minister of Education Bernard Drainville the mandate to quickly submit a plan to me to ensure that there is more respect, more civic-mindedness and more discipline in our schools,” he said.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville
In a video broadcast earlier at the convention, Bernard Drainville cautiously welcomed the proposals of the young caquistes, refusing to make a formal commitment. He could not go there because of a long-planned commitment.
“We are ready to take suggestions. […] “We’ll see what we’re going to do with that,” he said, stressing that some proposals “will still cause a reaction.” “You’re going to shake us up a little bit, no stakes, be bold. I’m not saying I’m going to agree with everything.”
The youth wing deplores a loss of “decorum” in schools that harms learning and penalizes the majority of students. We must “bring back a healthy climate in the classrooms. It’s time to ring the end of recess!” said CRCAQ president Aurélie Diep.
This education student considers that “discipline, respect and civic-mindedness” are “basic conditions for a stimulating school.”
The proposals submitted to the congress by the CRCAQ went down well. The young CAQ members are demanding that the formal address of teachers and school staff be “the norm starting in kindergarten.” An activist from Lotbinière-Frontenac, Camille Jean, managed to have the initial proposal amended, which proposed that this measure only apply starting in grade 5.e primary school year.
The youth wing is calling for the “generalization” of wearing uniforms in secondary schools, a subject that was touched on at the convention. At most, one activist pointed out that the cost of uniforms could “be an issue” for some families. The young CAQ members also want students to be more involved “in school tasks.”
For the CRCAQ, students guilty of violence and bullying, as well as their parents, should be “required to attend mandatory training aimed at repairing their actions and changing their behavior.”
“A student who is disrespectful, who is violent, to send him to training, well, I think that’s a damn good idea,” said François Legault. If some parents experience difficulties and have trouble taking care of their children, he believes, “the vast majority of parents are capable and have the duty to instill respect in their children.”
Another proposal adopted: the government should give teachers and school staff “the powers and support necessary to apply the code of conduct of their establishment by imposing the sanctions provided for in the code of conduct, without fear of reprisals, including community work with a restorative perspective.”
During the congress under the theme “The school we love”, the young caquistes adopted a proposal asking “to establish programs for obtaining a secondary school diploma in 4 or 6 years and to allow the pursuit of professional training during secondary studies”.
They are calling for more extracurricular activities in both primary and secondary schools, because they contribute to perseverance and success at school. According to them, participation in these activities should be “formally recognized by a certificate or an entry in the school report.”
“It annoys me a little when I hear politicians denounce the three-speed school system,” Aurélie Diep said in her speech. “As if it were desirable or even possible to impose the same speed on all students. The greatest successes of our education system in recent years are thanks to the diversity of choices for students and parents, the choice to go to public school, to go to private school, the choice to enter a particular program that corresponds to their passions. When I see that, I tell myself that we need a school with 10, 15 or even 100 speeds.” François Legault supported Ms.me Diep in his closing speech.