It is by reading news from my colleague Daphnée Dion-Viens that I learned of the great return of the three newsletters. Probably my boss found out when I did.
Bof!
For two years, I got into the habit of knowing my future by consulting the media.
It must be what the government proudly calls “promotion of the profession”.
The good old times
“We heard the need for parents to be informed on a more regular basis about the progress of their children. For this reason, we are going back to three bulletins.” – Jean-Francois Roberge.
In the era of the dissemination of all results in real time on a school portal, do parents really suffer from a lack of information concerning the progress of their children?
According to the Higher Council of Education, the experience of the two bulletins “has enabled the teaching staff to focus more on student learning and to increase teaching time”. Moreover, the Policy on the Evaluation of Learning is clear in this regard: we must focus on evaluation in order to promote learning.
Several actors in the field really hoped that the COVID-19 event would push us to review certain practices, that the pandemic would finally offer us the opportunity to carry out a national reflection on evaluation. They considered that it would be a pity simply to “do as before”, without debating the question.
Some blame the Department of Education for the lack of leadership on this file. As a professional who worked for this department for five years said: “You have to distinguish minister and department. The professionals of the ministry are unfortunately too often answered that “it is not what the minister wants”, when they recommend solutions or actions seriously documented.
Double speech
Still according to Jean-François Roberge: “We consulted the partners of the network, both the parents, the directors, the experts and the unions. In light of these consultations, we had to strike a balance.”
I don’t know about you, but this quote seems to me a bit contradictory to the one where he justifies his decision by saying he wants to meet the needs of parents. If I understand correctly, the balance seems to tip towards customer satisfaction. Have parents’ organizations become educational references?
We say we want to promote our profession, but, once again, the main players in the field were not consulted.
This idea of returning to the three bulletins (which may seem trivial for stage managers) raises a much more important question: how to reduce political influence in education and who is responsible for the quality of educational and pedagogical issues?
This decision is yet another proof that Quebec teachers must equip themselves of a true professional association in order to be in control – at least in large part – of what happens in the field from a pedagogical point of view.
It seems recognition of our expertise will come when we take the place that belongs to us.
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com