Children told Duty their eagerness to return to class next Tuesday to study their favorite subject and get together with their classmates, after being deprived of classes due to public sector strikes this fall.
“I feel a little nervous to go back to class and I feel happy to see my friends again and start learning again,” says Leonard, aged seven. The boy, who attends a school in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, is looking forward to attending English and physical education classes, his two favorite disciplines.
He describes feeling “a little cut off from the world” this fall, despite trips to the library with his mother Sara Robinson. The latter therefore believes that returning to class will be beneficial for her son who will be able to socialize and resume his routine. “We are parents and not day camp leaders,” she says, laughing. There are lots of things that can make a child feel like he or she is going in circles around the apartment. »
January 9 will mark the resumption of classes in the metropolis as well as in several regions of Quebec. The Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) — which represents 66,500 teachers — ended its indefinite strike launched on November 23, 2023, on December 28, after reaching an agreement in principle with the employer side. The same day, the Common Front concluded a proposal for an agreement in principle with Quebec, which will finally be submitted to members in the coming weeks.
Béatrice, who is “eight almost nine”, says she was “very sad” not to go to class for 22 days due to the FAE strike. “I wanted to go back to school,” says the little girl, who is fond of French and the visual arts.
Her father, Simon Côté, says he was able to bring her with him to work, however, because he owns his own business. “Instead of drawing or playing on the tablet, sometimes she would say to me: “Can you print out some French problems or dictations for me?” The return to class therefore comes at the right time,” he emphasizes.
Between confidence and apprehensions
Mr. Côté is delighted with the imminent return to class of his daughter Béatrice, who attends a school located in the Montreal district of Villeray. “But it’s definitely going to be a weird adjustment to come back after all this time. I can’t wait to see what the first few weeks will be like and whether getting back into a routine with homework is going to be difficult for the kids or not. »
Apart from certain exceptions, schoolchildren will return to the school rhythm quite quickly, estimates Sara Robinson. “I have confidence because children have a good capacity to adapt. Leonard was in kindergarten during COVID-19. This generation has gone through so much,” underlines the 33-year-old woman.
Young people in difficulty will, however, have to work harder, she adds. Not to mention the workload which will be heavy for teachers.
Teachers will prepare on Monday for the students’ return to class which will take place the next day. Some of them, however, are worried about having to wait until Tuesday to find out the details of the school catch-up plan. The latter, which will be unveiled by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, could notably modify the school calendar by removing certain educational days.
With Zacharie Goudreault