Some of you know: I spent most of my childhood in Africa, where my father taught English and math.
The schoolboy before the miracle
hen this time of year arrives that begins November, I always feel what I felt at 13 when I saw winter coming for the first time, that is to say the darkness, the cold and the snow. “Tell me it’s going to end!” » It ends, indeed… but it’s very long.
Africa, at the age I was, was a lot like school. There was, among my African comrades, immense respect for her. The supply was limited.
For example, it was through a competition, that of entering sixth grade, that we accessed (or not…) secondary school. Many candidates, few elected officials. Some of my friends who had passed the exam came from far away and on foot to Manengouba high school (Nkongsamba). And I still see young people studying in the evening under the only street lamp
neighborhood…
Back in Quebec, it was a culture shock.
These beautiful buildings called secondary schools, these magnificent classrooms; these libraries full of books and magazines; these loudspeakers in each class which allowed management to speak to everyone at the same time; these incredible science laboratories with everything that was there; this cafeteria; those school buses… Miracles, nothing less. And all these dedicated teachers.
The miracle that seems to turn into a nightmare
I soon learned the secret of this miracle: the Quiet Revolution, and above all the Parent commission, to which I have always had immense respect. Clearly defined ideals, means of implementing them, the courage to face the resistance that all this inevitably raises.
Then the years passed. I ultimately dedicated my life to education, embracing ideals that largely seem to me to be those of our quiet revolution.
Today, I cannot hide the great sadness that invades me more and more as I contemplate what becomes of the miracle.
These schools in poor condition; these teachers trained at university for four long years and who nevertheless leave the profession in large numbers; these classes full of students with serious problems who are very difficult to manage; this management staff that we have difficulty recruiting; and it would even seem, if we are to believe recent research carried out by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) among 22,000 teachers, professionals, support employees and school administrators, that psychological distress would explode in our schools.
Above all, I will not have the presumption to claim to be able to explain all this, which is vast and complex. And even less throwing stones.
The time has passed ; we have not always reacted appropriately; we did not foresee what was predictable; profound technological upheavals have occurred, sometimes with major and unprecedented effects; the school clientele has changed.
I nevertheless venture the idea that we have undoubtedly moved away from some of the great ideals held by the Parent commission, particularly on issues such as equality of opportunity and the democratization of access to education, on the role of the State, on the place of the private and, above all, on the very definition of education, a matter of access to knowledge which liberates, which makes autonomy and citizenship possible – and which It is therefore not only or even primarily a matter of acquiring capital enabling one to earn a living.
Reasons to hope
Despite everything, my feeling is that the ideals of the Parent commission remain widely shared among the population and that we are collectively quite like my African friends of the past on all this.
But we can’t know. And the structures in place, all attached to defending their positions, hardly allow the necessary questions to be raised and answers to be provided.
Is there reason to hope? Here are two, taken from current events and which comfort me.
It is announced that, in the context of current negotiations, parents are inviting people to form human chains around primary schools, to demonstrate their attachment to the public institution and school staff. The project and the image comfort me.
And then, there is this document produced by the Parti Québécois and entitled Education, the cornerstone of a nation. The very first proposal we read there states this: “The Parti Québécois undertakes to hold a public consultation on the model of the Parent commission in order to define a common vision for the education system. »
This is exactly what needs to be done, and for too long already. Let’s act, says the African in me. Let’s not delay. And let’s save this miracle that was given to us in the 60s of the last century. Let’s solidify it. And let’s remember why we care so much.
Doctor of philosophy, doctor of education and columnist, Normand Baillargeon has written, directed or translated and edited more than seventy works.