Spring is upon us and the 2021-2022 school year is coming to an end. The past two years have been very trying for our education system. One of the biggest issues that came to light was the , especially teachers. Schools had to be very flexible and creative in order to avoid disruptions in educational service. We must now think about the coming school year.
The shortage of school staff is an issue that has persisted for several years and will not be resolved in the short term. On the other hand, simple and quickly applicable solutions can be considered now to minimize its impact:
1. Allow schools to call on pedagogical advisers who work in school service centers and at the ministry, especially when it comes to longer-term replacements. Educational advisers are usually legally qualified former teachers with several years of experience. They would therefore be able to take over quickly in a class without a long period of adaptation. Given the current situation, labor needs should take priority over training needs.
2. Review course schedules for students in faculties of education. Teaching students should have the option of doing their courses in the evenings, on weekends or remotely, in order to free up their weekdays, thus adding a large number of substitute teachers who are only looking to gain experience. in the school.
3. Implement internship programs in the workplace for graduates in education, allowing them to enter the labor market immediately at full salary, under the supervision of a colleague, rather than doing a very poorly paid two-month internship .
4. Create a quick and condensed training program, similar to the program Teach For America, where people with a university degree could follow an intensive program of 5 to 6 weeks during the summer. While the qualifying master’s degree leads to obtaining a teaching certificate, this intensive program would lead to a temporary certification valid for 2 or 3 years. This intensive training would make it possible to acquire rudimentary bases in pedagogy, in class management as well as to better understand the workings of the school world. An assessment of skills, in particular the quality of French, would be included at the end of the course. This would compensate for the “wild” integration of unqualified personnel, who are generally parachuted into a class without any preparation. The Quebec university network must be put to work in order to quickly implement this type of training.
Intensive training programs as well as those for the integration of students in education must be implemented at the same time as a mentoring program, where these new teachers would be accompanied throughout the year by qualified and experienced colleagues. This program should enable mentor teachers to lighten their workload, particularly teaching-related tasks (supervision, administration, etc.), allowing them to devote time to supervising and supporting new teachers. Everything must now be negotiated urgently and in good faith between the government and the union federations if we aspire to an implementation for the start of the 2022 school year.
It takes a long term plan
The current contingency plan is in reality only a legitimization and legalization of measures that already existed in several schools (compulsory availability, replacement by non-teaching staff, etc.). Let’s not forget that compulsory overtime, the famous TSO, was originally intended to be a very temporary measure in the health network, but has become not only common practice, but also the norm in certain health establishments. We must at all costs avoid falling into the same trap with our schools.
The shortage of teachers is not about to be completely reduced. It will take several years to train and integrate the next generation who go through the bachelor’s degree in education. It will be necessary to ensure the retention of this succession by upgrading the teaching profession and the school environment as a whole, otherwise we will be eternally in this same vicious circle. A real long-term plan, spread over several years and above all without electoral aims, must be established by involving people in the field. Several long-term solutions exist, all you need to do is listen and be open.
We can put these measures in place to minimize short-term staff shortages and thus ensure a better educational service in our schools.
If everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel and shows good will, we can make it happen. Our children deserve it. Now, what are we waiting for to act?
Simon Landry, Secondary school teacher in the metropolitan area