We are school support staff. The invisible ones who have received starving employers’ offers and whose leaders want to roll back working conditions. What if we all left?
Monday morning, 7:15 a.m. The first students arrive. It snowed yesterday and Mme Sonia, the director, struggles with a shovel to clear the front door. Since José, the janitor, teaches at the university (he finally had his Mexican doctorate recognized), the subcontractor only clears the parking lots. The door finally opens. The smell of yesterday’s garbage cans makes her heart ache, but Mme Sonia doesn’t have time to deal with it. She sends the children into the gymnasium asking them to be quiet, because she has to take the telephone messages. She hasn’t checked her emails since her computer stopped working. She thinks back to the time when she dialed four digits on her phone and Philippe solved her problems with a few clicks. Mme Sonia takes the first message. The teacher of 5e year will be absent today.
The director’s sweater is pulled. It’s Zeineb, a little girl from Syria who doesn’t speak French yet. Her progress has slowed since she is no longer accompanied by Natacha.
It’s chaos in the gym! If only Hassiba were still here! With her daycare team, the children always started the day on the right foot.
Little Océane is crying. Ryan, who clearly didn’t take her medication this morning, pushed her to get a ball. Besides, he is just climbing the basketball hoop. Mme Sonia wants to go and warn her, but Océane screams in pain while Jasmine comes to complain that Manuela looked at her.
Finally the bell rings! The students enter the classroom. Mme Sonia sits down at her desk. Mme Lucie, the teacher of 2e, calls her. Alexis, the handicapped child who is integrated into his class, has just soiled his protective panties. Since Cynthia, the attendant, is no longer there, they take turns changing the student. Arriving in the classroom, Mr.me Sonia notices that the students are watching an educational video. Mme Lucie took four students in a subgroup to show them reading strategies. Before, it was Johanne, the special educator, who did it. Students look at the interactive whiteboard with their heads tilted. A screw has come loose and this one is crooked. Unfortunately, Patrick, the certified worker, returned to work in construction. She will have to ask her husband to come and fix it: it will last three days!
Mme Sonia leaves the room with Alexis. She narrowly avoids a shoe thrown by Antoine, an autistic student who is still in crisis. It has become a daily occurrence since Julie, the special educator who accompanied her, left to become an insurance agent. Alexis will have to wait in her soiled panties.
Mme Sonia has just enough time to calm Antoine down when Mr. François, the English teacher, comes to see her, gesticulating. His paycheck is nearly $500 short. It is true that errors have multiplied since the executives are responsible for the administration of the service center alone.
It’s 8:40 a.m.me Sonia locks herself in her office to cry.
Rest assured. It’s just a short story. We won’t all leave! We love our students and colleagues too much. It shouldn’t be abused though. Treat us with respect, we are your children’s guardian angels!