This text is part of the special Syndicalism booklet
In the era of the commodification of education, teacher unions play a role of spokesperson and their message is clear: education must be made a priority.
The school must bring education back to the heart of its mission. This may seem obvious. However, the school is increasingly drifting from its fundamental role, and teachers are called upon to do a multitude of tasks that deviate from their mandate, according to the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE). The teacher must be refocused on his primary task: to instruct.
“The school has three missions: to instruct, to qualify and to socialise. In the years 2000 and 2010, we really focused on qualification, with targets to be achieved, ”says Patrick Bydal, vice-president for political life of the Autonomous Federation of Education. When we talk about qualification, we are talking above all about graduation.
“There have really been drifts in recent years, adds Patrick Bydal. There is no more duplication, we make the students “succeed” and we let them continue. But when a student has not reached the level in a subject and we still make him go to the next level, at a certain point, he is no longer able to follow and this leads to dropping out of school. It’s not better. It also leads to a race to the bottom, lowering the requirements for obtaining diplomas. We’re going for diplomas at a discount. We also changed the vocabulary we used to talk about the education system, speaking of clientele, instead of school population, and integrating a commodification of education. »
During the pandemic, we also quickly understood that socialization was sorely lacking in students. Psychological distress among students has led to awareness and there has been a lot of talk about socializing looking for ways to address this distress. Today, the students are back in class and socializing extensively.
Talk about instruction
“It’s time to talk about training,” says Patrick Bydal. We haven’t talked about it for years. Qualification and socialization are also important, but what teachers want to do, above all, is to teach. More and more, they are made to deviate from their role. We lead them to do more qualification and less education. We are far from the base. Teachers see that their profession is going badly, they see that learning conditions are deteriorating, they observe the difficulties that students are experiencing, and realize that their working and exercise conditions are deteriorating. »
Only teachers can raise their voices, but will they really be listened to? They need a megaphone. “That’s our role, as a teachers’ union. We are the spokespersons for these people. Through our democratic structure, we can feel the pulse of practicing members and carry their message. It’s primordial. »
Beyond producing graduates, we must train the citizens of tomorrow. Young people capable of functioning in society, of making it evolve, of thinking critically and of solving problems. “It’s not a degree that is proof of critical thinking,” says Patrick Bydal. The problem with a qualification-based approach is that teachers are evaluated on the performance of their students. It’s like evaluating a doctor based on the condition of his patients. We put pressure on the teachers. If their students perform less well, teachers are tempted to teach only according to the exams. Machines were then made to answer the examinations of the Ministry of Education. »
It goes without saying that this pressure to succeed contributes to demotivating teachers, who leave the profession in large numbers. At the time these lines were written, many positions were still vacant for the current school year.
“Today, in Quebec, we have a three-speed school: private; the public with special educational projects, such as sports-study programs; and regular classes. At the Federation, our position is to put an end to the financing of private schools and to set up completely free public schools. As we speak, this is not really the case with regard to specific educational projects, which entail costs for families. We still see a lot of social inequalities in Quebec. If students have enough to eat at school and do not live in poverty, they will have better learning conditions. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.