When Josie Scalabrini utters the phrase in an interview, the truth catches up with her.
She takes a deep breath and holds her breath. “Yes, after 11 years as head of FSE [Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement], I will leave in June. »
Most of its members should learn it by reading this text.
I wanted to use his perspective to talk about the evolution of the network.
Since he was elected vice president and then president of the FSE, he has seen nine ministers pass. She wanted to see less. “The lack of stability has hurt the network,” he laments.
The reason? Turnover in the leadership of the Ministry of Education, but also its politicization.
The foundation of the network is increasingly fragile. All politicians say that education is a priority. But they come with their solutions in the campaign and once in power, they have to implement them. Instead of reinforcing foundations we add floors.
Josie Scalabrini, President of FSE
This weak foundation is a three-tier system in which struggling students are integrated into the regular classroom without resources.
And the floors? He gives the example of 4-year-old nursery schools, a priority for François Legault. The idea was good, she likes to point out. “But it shouldn't have been wall to wall. We were already short of campus and teachers and that made the problem worse. »
Mme Scalabrini didn't want to target the CAQ. The same trend was among liberals, radical English or smart whiteboards. “Some stayed in the furnace room, and the teachers didn't like them,” he says.
FSE's outgoing president is not committed to creating a national institute of academic excellence that must use evidence to determine best practices. “We would have liked more guarantees to protect the independence of the institution in relation to the ministry,” he said.
Mme Scalabrini didn't want to give the appearance of settling scores. He wants to use the end of his mandate to expand thinking about the role of the school.
When youth's sedentary lifestyles, sexual violence or financial illiteracy make headlines, the solution is always the same: Add curriculum.
Taken individually, the ideas all sound good. The problem is, they pile up. However, there is a limit to the number of hours in a day. These demands also increase the workload of teachers, who do not always receive the necessary training.
“As a society, to what extent do we want school to solve our problems?”
Mme Scalabrini began his career as a teacher at Saint-Joseph High School in Mont-Laurier. He taught moral and religious classes there.
“I don't come from a trade union background. To be honest I had my prejudices… but I was asked to get involved because I was interested in the work environment…”
During his career, Mme Scalabrini had before him a full list of ministers. Who was easy to work with? Liberal Sebastien Proulx. “He is approachable. If he disagrees, he said so, but he can consider an opinion other than his own and he asked. »
During the pandemic, unions were accused of always criticizing proposed solutions. Mme Scalabrini denies this. “We wanted to quickly publish the views of people on the ground to identify the right solutions. But what bothered us was learning the results directly at the Prime Minister's press conference. The Ministry of Education was sometimes in the same position. »
However, he regretted directly describing the demand for teachers to contact their students during their detention as “horrendous”. “I am not anti-policy. I feared that teachers would fail to do this – some were busy parents. I was afraid that the children would be forgotten. »
Education is a tricky ministry. From the outside, it looks like any plan will be condemned by at least one group.
The teacher shortage is real. It is estimated that almost 20% leave the profession after five years. The purpose of trade unions is to fight for better working conditions. In this sense, their criticisms are useful.
But don't they risk discouraging young people from entering academic faculties by emphasizing what is going wrong?
Mme Scalabrini admits the balance is delicate, but she doesn't think she's gone too far.
“When I came to FSE, we noticed that teachers were not valued, and according to opinion polls, this is a profession that was considered the most important for society. Members were asked why. They told us: because you don't talk about beauty. » In 2012, FSE Started the campaign “Professor, My Pride” Two conferences have been organized on this topic and others will continue.
His other priorities at FSE include an emphasis on educational work and reforming union practices. She had to leave before the last collective bargaining agreement. He agreed to extend his mandate, warning that he would not complete it.
At the end of the interview, it is difficult not to talk about the split in the FSE that led to the formation of the Federation of Autonomous Education (FAE), shortly before he became vice president.
She is reluctant to talk about the matter. Should the two unions work together? “We approached them,” she recalls. They told us: if we are autonomous, it should not work with someone else. But it's up to the members to decide whether to change it. »
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