Education Minister Bernard Drainville unveiled his seven education priorities. Faster access to the teacher’s certificate, the increase in the number of “accessible” specific educational projects in schools and the addition of “class assistants” to give teachers a hand are on the menu.
“What I am presenting to you today is a game plan that comes from the field, that comes from people who work in the network, the schools,” declared the Minister during a press conference in Laval, Thursday morning, on the sidelines of the CAQ caucus. More detailed announcements are forthcoming.
To “act concretely” in the face of the labor shortage, Bernard Drainville wants to work to set up a faster path than the qualifying master’s degree at 60 credits towards the teacher’s certificate. Rather, he wants training like the 30-credit pedagogy certificate that has already existed in the past. This would affect those who already have a baccalaureate in a subject taught at school, for example in French, geography, history or mathematics.
“Several drop out because it’s too heavy, it’s too long,” said the Minister, speaking of the qualifying master’s degree. These are the teachers we are losing”. Asked whether there will be the same patent quality with a certificate, he replied that he had “consulted several education specialists”, who told him that “it is possible”. The Minister is unable to quantify the number of teachers missing from the network.
To take a load off the shoulders of teachers who have to deal with students in difficulty, Bernard Drainville also suggests adding a “second adult” in classes “where possible”, for example technicians in school guard who have holes in their day. The minister hopes to have the support of the unions and that will be part of the negotiations with the public sector.
Are they trained enough to work with students with special needs? “As soon as a child becomes disorganized, a child experiencing anxiety starts crying, a child wants to go to the toilet, it is the teacher who is obliged to accompany him. The class stops during this time. But a class aid can take care of it, illustrated the minister. Sometimes it’s the little things […] we have a pool of people who, in many cases, are ready to do more.”
Bernard Drainville also believes in the virtues of specific pedagogical programs in secondary schools, often criticized in the wake of the “three-speed school”, and wishes to “democratize them”. “We see that many students are disappointed not to have access to these particular projects,” he said, lamenting that students are enrolled “in nothing”. “We must put forward this idea that we go to more and more specific projects, in all public secondary schools in Quebec,” he said.
“It’s good for school motivation, it’s good for perseverance, it’s good for developing an attachment to school,” he insists. He also wants to develop some for students with special needs, “so as not to leave them out”.
The increase in the budget of the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI) devoted to the renovation of schools and the improvement of French learning are also part of the priorities.