Election campaign spotlights Quebec's school system — and whether it's fair to all students

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u/PaddlefootCanada Liberal Party of Canada 23h ago

Also… the split between French and English systems. When was the last time an English school was built…. Or properly renovated?

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u/PaddlefootCanada Liberal Party of Canada 20h ago

And to think…. Our English schools have certain water that is safe to drink…. Because only certain water sources have the least filters on them…

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u/Libertas2222 23h ago

They renovate English schools all the time. Actually one English school just completed a multi-million dollars revamp with a new innovative architecture.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1728748/plan-lab-ecole-gatineau-architectes-pierre-elliott-trudeau

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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 22h ago edited 22h ago

Drummondville got one too recently:

https://globalnews.ca/news/8691364/drummondville-elementary-school-inaugurated/

They are bussed 1 hour down the highway if they want an English high school, though.

Quebec City is also getting a new high school to consolidate the old Catholic and Protestant schools 30 years after the Catholic and Protestant boards were merged into an English one:

https://qcna.qc.ca/tag/quebec-city-consolidated-english-high-school-project/

Most of the students here are francophone though from historical anglophone famliles that have been assimilated by the Quebecois. There are very few actual anglophones loeft in these regions.

These essentially function as private English-immersion schools for francophone students that are advancved enough to learn in their second language. This is the case for most English schools in Central Quebec. These schools effectively act as a 4th tier of education, as they receive a quality of education equivalent to what you might get in a French private school, with advanced English teaching and small class sizes not available at French public schools. Most students with learning difficulties or disabilities will go to French schools, as they would have difficulty with learning in their second language, which means more attention and resources to learning English as a second language for advanced students. These English schools are often seen as private, elite schools in these communities, and you're considered lucky and priveledged if you are eligible.

This is on contrast with Gatineau, which serves mostly anglophone families from Ottawa looking for cheaper housing on the Quebec side of the Ottawa river. You will actually get French immersion programs here geared towards anglophone children learning French as a second language, and programs geared towards anglophone families.

So in the Ottawa area, these schools serve a growing anglophone community that is in fact an extension of Ottawa. In Central Quebec and the Eastern Townships, they serve a growing number of francophones that are eligible for English education because of the assimilation of the anglophone community.

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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 21h ago edited 18h ago

I'm glad the QS is campaigning hard on this. These semi-funded private schools are a vestige of the old Classical College system run by the Church to train Quebecois priests, doctors, and lawyers. The Quebec government took over funding what the Church used to pay for instead of forcing them to go completely private. They are politcally hard to get rid of because the upper-middle class parents who can afford them like the subsidies and they tend to be more and influential than the working and middle class parents who cannot. The government also likes them because it means they can cut funding to public schools as these schools are quite popular and well used by the people who can afford them. Even the social democratic government of Levesque couldn't really touch them because most MNA's are well-to-do and send their kids there.

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u/Longtimelurker2575 Conservative 22h ago

Doesn’t bring up the biggest issue with public schools. There is around 2-4% of kids who just can’t seem to function, usually tied to horrible parents and home life. They disrupt and make it impossible for any teacher to do their job properly which essentially poison’s a classroom. Private schools don’t have better teachers, they are just able to do their jobs because they kick those kids out.

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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 21h ago

A lot of these kids have disabilities that go undiagnosed because the parents are too overwhelmed to cope and advocate for these kids.

That will go up to 10 or 20% in most public schools because all the other parents send their kids to the private schools, leaving the public schools with a lack of funds to deal with these kids because funding is per capita.

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u/JeNiqueTaMere 14h ago

It's not just about the disabilities being undiagnosed.

Even when diagnosed it doesn't mean you'll get help.

My oldest kid has ADHD with significant hyperactivity. It took very long for him to get medication because everyone else was resisting me, and even more he's under medicated, but at least his grades have improved even if his behaviour is still problematic sometimes.

But we had no help at school. We sent the doctor reports to the director, asked for an intervention plan, we even had some social workers follow him for a while and they tried to get the school involved, but nothing came out of it.

My youngest has other issues with coordination, balance and fine motor skills which affects his writing and now he will lose marks in French because he can't write properly due to his fine motor skills issues. We have reports from occupational therapists, neurology etc that we sent to the director and again, nothing. He has the right to have an intervention plan and extra help, but there are no resources available.

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u/Mundane-Teaching-743 Trump/Polievre 2028 | Sponsored 11h ago

I'm very sorry to hear that. Sounds like it's time to consider changing schools if you can.

I was diagnosed with several "neurodiverse" conditions myself in late adulthood when I struggled with burnout. Autism and ADHD often come with a slew of sensory processing disorders that are not always picked up at the same time, so finding the right medications and accomodations can be challenging even with the school's support.

These conditions are also very much hereditary. You might want to consider getting yourself checked. It was very easy for kids to slip under the radar back in the day, and it is often with the demands of adulthood that ADHD, Autism, and sensory processing disorders take their toll.