For the past month, the media have echoed the citizen action Parlons éducation, which invites people who care about education to come and discuss it at forums to be held in 18 cities in Quebec from March 10 to June 3. We hereby wish to give our support to this important process and invite the population, in particular students, to participate in it in order to provide answers to the questions submitted for discussion.
As we know, the education system is in bad shape. Successive governments do not seem to take the measure of the serious problems observed which affect all components of the school system. However, many well-argued solutions exist in order to provide the population of Quebec with an emancipatory, equitable, inclusive and democratic school.
What kind of citizens does the school form today? Have young people who have completed secondary school acquired sufficient knowledge and skills to understand the world in which they live and contribute to its improvement? Have they developed their ability to think and react critically to dominant discourses?
So, when we aim for academic or educational success, what exactly are we aiming for? It is therefore time to reflect collectively on the school’s mission. A youth workshop, available on the Let’s Talk Education website1offers high school, CEGEP and university students the opportunity to collectively prepare for these forums.
The Parlons éducation citizen forum participation document is available on its website. It allows all interested persons to prepare to discuss the five selected themes: the school’s mission; educational equity; the social and cultural inclusion of all school populations; enhancement of staff skills; and the democratization of the school system.
Let’s talk about education is only the first step in a process that calls for reform, if not in-depth transformation, of our education system. You can register now for the forum of your choice on the Parlons éducation website.
* Co-signatories: Réda Ait Ali, educator, president of the National School Support Council (SEPB-FTQ); Réjean Bergeron, philosopher and essayist; Émile Cloutier-Brassard, mining analyst at Eau Secours; Daniel Cossa, oceanographer; Naomi Fontaine, writer; Catherine Germain, editor; Marco Micone, writer; Claude Lessard, educational sociologist, professor emeritus, University of Montreal; Marie-France Maranda, animator, Arquemuse School of Music; Michel Perron, sociologist, retired professor from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC) and from Cégep de Jonquière; Olga Ranzenhofer, violinist and director of the Molinari Quartet; Céline Saint-Pierre, professor emeritus of sociology, University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), member of the General Assembly Commission on Education, 1995-1996; Alain Saladzius, engineer and president of Fondation Rivières; Maïté Sinave, actress and playwright; Lucie Sauvé, researcher emeritus at Centr’ERE – Center for research in education and training relating to the environment and eco-citizenship; Lorraine Pagé, ex-union leader (Alliance of Montreal teachers and CEQ) and ex-municipal councilor in Montreal; Isabelle Peretz, holder of the Casavant Chair in Music Neurocognition, Officer of the Ordre du Québec