Fearing that more and more teachers are throwing in the towel, two unions are calling on their superiors to denounce “ridiculous” teaching conditions which “lead straight to exhaustion”.
The shambles of managing the pandemic in schools does not stop at poor ventilation. “Teachers simply don’t feel safe,” says Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, president of the Alliance of Teachers of Montreal. In the health instructions, we still find distancing as an element of safety. It’s insulting. […] Let us be told that, for example, when a student [infecté] comes back after 5 days [à la maison], he has to try for 5 days to maintain a distance, it’s a bit ridiculous. »
His union, which represents nearly 10,000 employees, sent a letter on Tuesday to the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge. In it, union representatives demand in particular “COVID leave” banks for sick teachers and N95 masks for those who request them. They would also like Quebec to revise “downward the percentage of absent students which causes groups to switch to virtual teaching”.
The ministerial rule states that a class can switch to distance learning if 60% of the students in the group are in isolation at home due to COVID-19.
“With a figure like that, the teachers will not be able to give new material because the majority is absent, pleads Ms. Beauvais-St-Pierre. Schools are more like daycare centers. We find ourselves doing the occupational, because there are too many students missing. »
According to preliminary data published by the ministry, more than 2% of students are absent from the network due to COVID-19.
The insoluble mix of the virtual and the face-to-face
The duty recently revealed that disability leave for teachers jumped 50% in one year in private schools.
According to the Federation of Private Education Personnel (FPEP), “education in co-modality” is one of the practices that undermines the morale of the troops. This duplication of the class – both face-to-face and virtual – is a headache especially reserved for private schools.
The FPEP sent a letter on Tuesday to their employer counterparts, the Federation of Private Education Establishments (FEEP) to denounce what it describes as a “time bomb”.
“Teaching both a face-to-face class and another remotely requires intellectual acrobatics, illustrates Stéphane Lapointe, president of the FPEP. Doing both at the same time is demanding and leads to exhaustion. »
The perpetual back and forth in the ways of teaching prevent teachers “from validating their pedagogy”, he points out.
“There is an urgent need to take care of education personnel by stopping asking for more and focusing on face-to-face teaching,” he concludes in his letter in the form of a cry from the heart.