This week is National Parental Involvement Week, organized by the Federation of Parents’ Committees of Quebec, which aims to promote parental involvement in the school environment. We therefore take advantage of this moment to decry loud and clear the gag that hovers over parental involvement in the world of education.
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
Like many parents, we responded to the mobilization call launched by the Government of Quebec during the deployment of the new governance. We were excited at the sight of this new structure and we were eager to be able to make ourselves heard, to make our voices heard in the service of the academic success of the students. Unfortunately, we got disenchanted pretty quickly.
Since the establishment of this new school board governance structure, things have changed, yes, but not necessarily for the better. This new way of doing things should allow parents to make their voices heard more clearly and to obtain more power within the administrative bodies of the school service centres. But this is not the case !
Presently, the Education Act gives responsibilities to parents, but gives them no means to carry them out. After a few months of setting up the board of directors, we already know that it is not the administrators who decide, but the ministry, the boss of your school service centre. Parents spend countless hours on administrative tasks that have nothing to do with student success.
However, that is not why we got involved. We wanted to make a difference with the students. We simply wanted to participate in their academic success. We wanted to make our voice heard. We wanted to be heard.
On the contrary, our rights have been violated. Our rights have not been respected and currently nothing in the Education Act does not allow us to enforce them. It is clear that very often, we do not really want to hear us. Do you hear our silent voice?
It has now been more than half a century since the Parent commission took place, where people from the public and from politics came together to talk about education and get things moving. Moreover, this commission was also interested in recognizing the role and functions of parents and the importance of their collaboration in the world of education.
What lessons have we learned from previous reforms? And, in 2022, where are we? What do we collectively want for our Quebec school system? What is the future of parental involvement in the school world?
It is high time to make things happen, to upset practices. We need a real debate, a broad public consultation on the very foundations of our education system.
Quebec has everything it needs to become a world leader in education. Should we set up a Parent 2.0 or 5G commission as proposed by Normand Baillargeon, philosopher, essayist and ex-teacher in the department of education sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal?
Are you ready to make your voice heard and join ours?