The catch-up plan presented by Minister Drainville is now known. It will cost $300 million. This vast and ambitious program has generally been very well received by stakeholders in the field, even if understandable reservations and concerns have been raised, in particular on the fact that we will rely on the volunteering of teachers to offer tutoring outside class hours.
That said, I would like us to take a step back to see what the obligation to decide what should be done in a matter like this means, what is implied. What then takes place – and which is complex – is common and even banal. And not just in education: in everything that concerns politics.
A step back
First, the relevant facts are not always easy to identify, and there are many variables to consider. In the present case, for example, we will have to take into account different categories of students, the various types of difficulties they may have, the days of accumulated delays (the number being different depending on the union), the fact that schools vary quite a bit from one environment to another and many other data. We will select our relevant facts, and this will be a matter for debate.
Especially since, to do this, we will have given ourselves goals and objectives. We will quickly see that these are also the subject of debate, especially since the environment in which our decisions will have impacts includes numerous groups, with sometimes very different interests, points of view and convictions, That’s the least we can say. And this also applies to society as a whole, which will also have a say in the decisions taken.
Add to all this that there will always be someone (let’s say a philosopher…) to remind you that the values which will guide your actions cannot be simply deduced from the facts that you have retained. Worse still: they will undoubtedly have influenced your choice of these facts. It’s better to know…
Let’s stop there. You will understand my point. I suggest that it is wise, once we take all this into account, to trust the most solidly established data, to choose, by clearly recalling them, our most important, and ideally consensual, values, and to rely, for action, on the most validated theories, at least where they exist. And from there, to act knowing that we will inevitably displease some people.
The above requires respect for evidence where it exists, a choice of values consciously adopted and defended, a certain modesty and the desire to see whether what has been put in place will work or not.
The Drainville plan
What do we think of the Drainville plan if we examine it in this light? I cannot go into everything there is to say on this subject, but I would like to applaud one thing, express one hope and put forward a course of action.
Applause. This plan — and this is rare enough to merit emphatic emphasis — judiciously takes into account solid evidence. Because the fact is that tutoring works. Better yet: research helps narrow down the conditions under which it is most effective. Here are some questions to consider. Who does this tutoring? How many students is it offered to at a time? What exactly do we teach there? How often is it provided? Where is this done, at school or elsewhere? I hope that all of this will be seriously considered when we do these tutorials.
Hope. A value affirmed in this plan is the conviction that teachers and the entire community will voluntarily offer this essential tutoring which is so necessary for students in difficulty, who must be helped. I understand the reservations expressed here and there. But I maintain the hope that, aware of their role and the importance of their work for the future of these children, teachers and other professionals will massively, even if they already have so much on their hands, respond present.
And not just them. Here is precisely my course of action. Why not (quickly) imagine various ways for people who study education to come and work in schools to contribute to tutoring? A very large number of courses given in these university programs could very easily incorporate this type of work into their teaching and assessment. Schools and students would benefit, of course, but so would university education students.
Calling all
Times are and will remain difficult. But even in the storm, teaching is one of the most beautiful and exhilarating professions there is. I would like to tell here some beautiful and touching stories that we sometimes experience there, talk about these beautiful and great moments, some of which even change lives. Things like this have probably happened to you. I would like you to tell me about them… Write to me at [email protected] and I will talk about it in a future column.
Thanks in advance ! Your anonymity will be guaranteed, if you wish.