When it came to making up for the weeks of class lost due to strikes, barbarians like me suggested dropping a few pedagogical days. Outrage!
We were called to order by both the unions and the defenders of the system. Pedagogical days are essential, untouchable. “You have to understand nothing about schools to think that you could simply do without them,” I was told.
A few weeks later, Einsteins from the school organization decreed school closures for the day of the solar eclipse, April 8. This decision displeases several parents who see it as an ixth pretext for closing schools. This decision displeases scientists who consider that the extremely rare event should, on the contrary, have been the occasion for an exceptional educational activity.
To save face, school service centers swear not to add a day off. They simply moved an educational day that was scheduled later in the calendar. Oh! Suddenly the educational day is no longer immutable and untouchable. We change it every month without impact.
And then, there is this pitched battle waged by education unions so that educational days can take place remotely. They won and got five. If we rely on the reluctance expressed by school administrators, some seem to doubt that it will be as “productive”.
I give you my opinion: the number of educational days in Quebec is a farce. Among all Canadian provinces, Quebec has by far the largest number of educational days inserted into its school calendar. If we add public holidays, parents have the impression that the normal five-day weeks are less than one in two.
Comparative figures
Quebec plans 20 educational days annually. Do you want to know what it is like elsewhere in Canada?
Seven in Ontario. Eight or nine in Manitoba. Between three and fifteen in Saskatchewan. Between five and thirteen in Alberta. Six in British Columbia. Two in Newfoundland. Two or three in Nova Scotia. Ten in Prince Edward Island. Two in New Brunswick.
More instructional days mean fewer days in the classroom. We are aiming for an average of 190 class days per year in the rest of Canada, ten more than in Quebec. It will be said that more school days do not automatically equate to a better education system. The data nevertheless makes us think…
“Storm” days
I might add into the equation the ridiculousness of days predicted for snowstorms or other bad weather. Obviously, in a climate like ours, basic wisdom suggests planning for some. But if the weather does not force enough closures, it seems absurd to me to transform them into additional educational days which will be inserted like that into the spring calendar.
In a normal school year, we experience educational days without questioning them. By habit. But in a school year where so many weeks have been lost, the ridiculousness of pedagogical days is obvious.