New education minister knows the territory
We must let schools breathe! Each school should be able to develop its own personality.
Jean-François Roberge knows Quebec’s school system from the inside out, having spent 17 years in the classroom as a primary teacher. Now minister of education, he will be the one spearheading the reforms promised by the Coalition Avenir Québec government, which has vowed to make education a priority. Roberge will be responsible for rolling out pre-kindergarten classes, expediting badly needed construction work to overhaul the province’s deteriorating school buildings and potentially abolishing school boards, among other CAQ pledges. But what is Roberge’s vision for education? What are his views on what’s needed in the school system he knows so intimately? Insight can be found in the pages of the book he wrote about his time in the classroom, Et si on réinventait l’école? Chronique d’un prof idéaliste. Penned in 2016 while serving as education critic when the CAQ was in opposition, it not surprisingly hews closely to the party’s platform. But Roberge’s book is peppered with anecdotes from his own school days, involvement in Quebec’s student movement and tenure as a Grade 5 teacher that provides a very personal take on the challenges ahead — challenges he will face from a new perspective as minister. Roberge contrasts the heartwarming tale of a disabled child he once taught who defied everyone’s expectations for his success thanks to a wonderful support system with heartbreaking stories of other students who fell through the cracks because they didn’t get enough. He blames a lack of resources, the difficulty getting help from specialists, the way their work is parcelled out and dogmatic approaches — either separate classes or integration at all costs — for the system failing children with learning difficulties, not to mention their peers and teachers. “There are children who are ‘integratable’ and others who, it must be said, are not,” he writes. “Imposing their presence in the classroom is the equivalent of trying to insert a puzzle piece in the wrong spot. Forcing it to fit only damages the piece as well as all those around it.” The CAQ has promised rapid assessments of all young children entering school so they get a prompt diagnosis and access to the services that may spell the difference between thriving and struggling. Roberge also shares his frustration over structures that prevent teachers from thinking outside the box or hamstring principals from making decisions in the best interests of their students, staff and school. He recounts the hoops he had to jump through to take his students on an excursion to Quebec City to see history up close simply because they wanted to leave early in the morning and come back late at night. He also shakes his head at the hurdles he encountered hosting a slumber party at the school to promote a love of reading. Needless to say, he is not a fan of school board bureaucracy, strict union protocols or collective agreements that stifle teacher creativity and undermine accountability. He is in favour of giving schools and principals more autonomy, which is in line with the CAQ promise to eliminate school boards and replace them with “service centres.” “We must let schools breathe! Each school should be able to develop its own personality,” he writes. “We must absolutely reverse the hierarchy: service centres must work for the schools and not manage them.” Roberge is also in favour of higher pay for teachers, to help attract the best and brightest, as well as the creation of a professional order to regulate members’ educational requirements, mandate training and skills upgrades and handle disciplinary matters. “Teaching is not a right, it’s a privilege. Obtaining and maintaining a privilege requires effort,” Roberge writes. He not only expects rigour for teachers, but for students, too. He deplores the inflation of marks and the “social passing” of children to the next grade who haven’t met the requirements of the previous level, so as not to bruise their confidence. “The lowering of standards has created a veritable chain of mediocrity throughout the school system,” Roberge laments. Among Roberge’s novel ideas is the creation of youth director positions on the boards of Quebec’s state enterprises to give promising students valuable experience and build intergenerational bridges. He is also enthusiastic about bringing more extracurricular activities to schools, from sports to drama. He even goes so far as to suggest lengthening lunch periods or the school day itself to make this happen, although he points out these new duties would not fall to teachers. Rather, he said, local sports leagues and arts organizations should be brought in, which would free up more time during the school day for teachers to mark papers or plan lessons. Although he published his book first, Roberge is the second successive education minister to have put pen to paper to reflect on the importance of education for Quebec’s future prosperity. Sébastien Proulx, who served in the role until the Liberals were defeated in October, released his own tome last spring that read like a manifesto for education. Roberge’s book is less treatise than diagnosis of what ails the school system. Although the title suggests a total reinvention, what he seems to be advocating is a return to basics and a focus on high standards in the classrooms. Can he deliver? As a former teacher, Roberge would know better than most what he’s up against.