Believing that “on the side of the political powers, things are not moving” and that the problems of the education network cannot be resolved, a group will hold, starting in March, forums open to all in 18 cities in Quebec, in the aim of engaging in “social dialogue”.
“I’ve been in the field of education and listening for 55 years, it’s been a long time since we lost it,” said Suzanne-Geneviève Chartrand, spokesperson for the group Debout pour l’école! , and also the Let’s Talk Education coalition, at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
Three other organizations – École ensemble, I protect my public school and Movement for an open and modern school (MÉMO) – participated in the founding of Parlons éducation, a movement that wants to be “independent” of political parties, the government and unions. .
The forums will begin on March 10 in Montreal and there will be forums in Sept-Îles, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Chicoutimi, Gatineau, Trois-Rivières, Rouyn-Noranda and Rimouski, in particular, until June 3. Five themes will be addressed during these citizen consultations, including rethinking the school’s mission, building an equitable education system and social and cultural inclusion.
“We hope to be able to influence the course of things and the government. How to go about it remains an open question for us, underlines Jean Trudelle, coordinator of Parlons éducation. We don’t want to arrive with a series of recommendations and a grocery list. We want something much more global”.
The consultations are not neutral and a vision of education and “a democratic, open and ecological society” will be put forward. A synthesis, the contours of which remain to be defined, will be made. What will happen with the process and the conclusions of the reflection once the forums are over will be subject to discussion.