Teachers fear the pandemic second academic year

(Quebec) Elementary and secondary school teachers fear for the coming academic year, the second of which is in the COVID-19 sign, says Sylvain Mallet.

Caroline Plante
Canadian Press

In an interview on Friday, the president of the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) – which represents more than 45,000 teachers in Quebec – issued a warning to the government.

There are teachers who say “I can’t believe we’re going to revive this”. Living that one year, it’s one thing, but there, there are fears to start all over again ”, Mr. Mallet related.

“It was always a little worrying, but the pandemic was adding to this weight,” he continued. It’s not true that we’re going to live again: well, here we are face to face, we fall into the virtual, wow, we come back to face to face. ”

Sylvain Mallet said she discussed the start of the school year with Education Minister Jean-Franకోois Roberz on Thursday as Quebec 305 registered new COVID-19 cases and entered the fourth wave.

“The minister asked me, ‘Do you want a mask?’

Mr. Roberz may revise his plan for the start of the academic year; On June 2, he said he aimed to return to school 100% normal, without masks or bubble classes, if the epidemiological situation allowed.

The situation has arisen, Mr Mallet stressed, calling on the government to be careful and far-sighted. According to him, teachers can only be reassured if they see that “there are scaffolding A, B, C, D plans”.

The Central des Union du Quebec (CSQ), which represents nearly 110,000 teachers, support staff and professionals, is also calling for more sustainability this year.

“Trying for the last few months. […] Everyone wants as simple and consistent a environment as possible to carry out their work properly for the benefit of the students, ”said CSQ President Eric Gingross.

Mandatory test

Mr Mallet wants schools to take advantage of the fast-paced screening mechanism to “spread, be there” to ensure everyone’s safety.

He also suggested that like vaccinated health workers, vaccinated teachers should be tested three times a week to prove that they are not carriers of the virus.

“If you choose not to be vaccinated, you can imagine the consequences of this choice,” he chuckles. But a mandatory vaccination for teachers, the union leader said, “we are not there yet.”

However, it would be interesting to know how many parents, students and staff have been vaccinated in their schools, he said.

“It is possible to draw a portrait, […] To fully understand the situation, ”said Mallet, who did not understand why the government did not collect the data while handling Dolce.

How to paint a portrait today? “There is a question in the ministry, the minister told us. […] I think, this is a voluntary statement. ”

In addition, the FAE on Friday demanded that air quality in classrooms be improved and that the half-class model be adapted as it spreads.

The Teachers Union is also demanding that we focus on the knowledge we need in the 2021-2022 academic year.