This text is part of the special Syndicalism booklet
The national negotiations that are beginning for the renewal of the collective agreements obviously concern the public education network. The Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) has already drawn up its list of union demands. At the top of it is the composition of the classes.
“Ordinary classrooms today are anything but ordinary,” says Mélanie Hubert, president of the FAE. Classes have become bigger and bigger, in particular because of the growing number of pupils with learning difficulties, and they are therefore more and more difficult to manage. The government of the CAQ recognizes it, since it wants to set up a “help with the class”. »
This classroom assistance would involve school daycare services, whose employees would lend a hand to the teachers. These employees currently have reduced hours and often work part-time; their presence in class would allow for a more balanced work schedule.
“This measure seems a bit simplistic to me, given the complexity of the problem,” says Ms.me Hubert. And it in no way calls into question the current composition of the class, which is absolutely necessary if we want classes that do not exhaust teachers, who often feel powerless in the face of the heaviness of the challenges to be taken up. Perhaps the number of special education classes should be increased in order to free ordinary classes from the heaviest cases? »
Added to this are other challenges, continues Mr.me Hubert. “For children of immigrant origin, too often francization is done by immersion in the ordinary class, which also complicates the task of the teacher. Would it be necessary to francize otherwise? But, in any case, solutions must be found to make the ordinary class more balanced. »
Teacher shortage
According to Mélanie Hubert, the next negotiation will not be like the previous ones. “The shortage of personnel places this negotiation at a crossroads,” she says. Either we find solutions to attract and retain teachers or we fail, and instead of improving the network, we make it worse. We more or less maintain the status quo or we operate a change of direction. »
A change of course implies, among other things, a greater appreciation of the teaching profession, which should be reflected in better working conditions, that is to say a class that is more balanced and less cumbersome to manage, and a remuneration commensurate with the task.
“The CAQ government prides itself on having increased the salaries of teachers by 15%, but this increase only applies to the first and last levels, she recalls, and not for those who are between the two. This situation must be corrected. Moreover, it is time to rethink the whole of the remuneration of teachers in Quebec, because today, we are still below the Canadian average. “A helm is therefore necessary, according to her, if we want to curb the shortage.
Beyond negotiations
Mélanie Hubert is well aware that the problems currently plaguing the education network cannot all be resolved by this negotiation, or any subsequent negotiation for that matter. This is why it calls for a broader reflection on the role and place of public schools in Quebec.
“What is the role that citizens want to entrust to the public network? Currently, it is facing strong competition from the private network which, thanks to skimming, attracts the best students, at least those whose parents have the ability to pay, she underlines. The public network is left with the task of taking care of the rest of the students. Is this the composition we want for a class of the public network where the social mix, origins, classes and financial means does not reflect that of society? »
She also wonders about the quality of the training of future teachers. “Wouldn’t a training more closely aligned with the reality of today’s classroom be a way of better equipping teachers? »
Be that as it may, Mélanie Hubert wants the public network to be given the means to fulfill its mandate, which is to develop the full potential of each student.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.