Educ-action: The Organic Persuasion of Change and Citizen’s Responsibilities

On the weekend of March 11th , as journalists of News Blitz, we attended the Forums Citoyens Parlons Éducation, a board education alike event organized by multiple grassroot civilian organizations which was hosted at Cégep du Vieux Montréal in the downtown area. A banner was hung outside of the College, announcing the presence of the conference. The cegep campus, characterized by its modern, brutalist style of architecture and a slight touch of artistic interior decorations, invited the 140 participants into its classrooms as they arrived.

The event was  dedicated to the discussion of the on-going issues concerning the primary, secondary, and adult training sector of the current education system in Quebec, the long-term effects of such issues as well as potential solutions to them. Unlike the official board education, the event welcomed a diverse range of people who all serve different roles in the education system to an open discussion where they are allowed to freely express their thoughts on the subject matter.

With most of its organizers being senior members of different schools and commissions scolaires, many of whom have had decades of experience in their associated field of expertise, the event is centered around one theme that is the recognition of the inefficiency and politicized nature of Quebec’s education system. “Le gouvernement donne souvent des solutions qui gèrent à peine les problèmes, ou même, qui vont contre les intérêts des étudiants.” As their government fails to deliver the reforms it has promised and base its educational policies entirely on political agendas, many disappointed residents across the province have decided to take the responsibility on themselves – to voice their opinions and try to solve the issues which has been and is still plaguing the system. “C’est donc à nous, les citoyens, de pousser pour les changements” (“Thus, it is up to us, the citizens, to pursue changes.”), said Mme. Geneviève, the spokeswoman of the forums, during the opening ceremony.

Event organizer, Claude Champagne, at the opening ceremony

Discussion format

On the days of the event, discussions on diverse aspects of education were held in different rooms of the eighth floor of Cégep Vieux-Montréal, with each room having an animator to direct discussions and a note-taker to write down key ideas. In most rooms, chairs and desks were organized in a circle to facilitate discussions.

In one of the discussion rooms, an empty desk was set up to remind the participants of those who are absent to the event.

Workshops were held in a round-table format with participants being able to raise their hands in order to have two minutes to speak on the current topic, propose solutions, or even respond to other participants. Those who had  already spoken once could speak again if time allowed for it and no one else wanted to speak for the first time on the current topic. Despite having seven  workshops happening simultaneously in different rooms, discussion topics followed the same list of themes – each given one and a half hours of discussions – and were broken down into smaller questions. Themes ranging from social and cultural inclusion of students to ways to democratize the Quebec schooling system were discussed and questions helped revitalise discussions once a specific aspect of the theme has been touched on enough. Time management was kept fairly relaxed in order to allow everyone to fully express their ideas.

Themes discussed during the Parlons Éducation forum:

• Theme 1 : Repenser la mission de l’école d’aujourd’hui et de demain (Rethinking the current and future goals of schools)
• Theme 2 : Construire un système d’éducation équitable pour tous les élèves (Building an education system that is equitable for all students)
• Theme 3 : Viser l’inclusion sociale et culturelle de toutes les populations scolaires (Seeking the inclusion of all student population on a social and cultural level)
• Theme 4 : Respecter et valoriser les compétences professionnelles des personnels scolaires (Respecting and promoting the professional expertise of school staffs)
• Theme 5 : Démocratiser le système scolaire québécois dans toutes ses composantes (Democratizing every component of Quebec’s education system)

Participants

As previously mentioned, many people from different backgrounds who were previously or are currently serving various  roles in the education system are all included in discussion. Among many of them, M. Guillaume, who had bachelor’s degrees in both history and Mandarin, accepted the request for an interview with our reporters. “Notre système d’éducation met trop de focus sur de petites détailles qui ne sont souvent pas nécessairement utiles pour la vie quotidienne” (“Our education system puts too much emphasis on the small details that are not necessarily useful to our day to day lives”), said Guillaume to Tianen. “Nous ne devrions pas enseigner ces détails extrêmement spécifiques, mais une image plus grande et moins précise” (“Instead of teaching these extremely specific details, we should focus ourselves on a broader, more complete view on the subject”). Guillaume had prepared a powerpoint presentation for the event. However, due to a malfunction of the projector, he was unfortunately unable to put his ideas on display.

Student participation

Edy, a university student from Université de Montréal, is part of the student team of Parlons Éducation and served as note-taker for one of the workshops of the event. On the subject of students who were unable to attend the forum, he says that it is not over, and “on peut toujours participer d’une manière ou d’une autre justement au mouvement et c’est pas nécessairement en faisant les forums et c’est aussi en faisant l’atelier Parlons Éducation” (“We could always participate in the movement by one way or another, it is not just necessarily participating in the forums, but also by the online workshops”). This workshop can be found on the website (embedded link: Animer un atelier (parlonseducation.ca)). “Aussi, une autre manière pour les jeunes de s’impliquer, c’est pas nécessairement par Parlons Éducation. Il y a mille et une manières de s’impliquer dans le milieu éducatif, que ce soit du bénévolat, du militantisme… Faire la tête aux autorités en parlant fort, […] c’est important! Rendu là, c’est au-delà d’une responsabilité, c’est un devoir, pis c’est quelque chose d’essentiel pour garder une société qui évolue de manière positive. [Il] faudrait justement plus parler et laisser plus de la place aux jeunes” (“Also, there are thousands of ways for students to be involved, whether it is by volunteering, activism … Going against government authorities by speaking out loud, […] it is crucial! At this point, it (taking actions) has become a responsibility, a duty, and something that is essential for maintaining a healthy and up-to-date society. Conversations must be had and young people’s voices need to be heard”).

Despite being organized in the campus of one of Montreal’s well-known CEGEPs which has a very vocal student body, we noticed how few students were actually present at the forum to speak their mind about the education system even though many have strong opinions about it. Is it due to a lack of promotion among students? The fear of speaking out? Something more? After all, without the student’s input in the discussion room, can collective action be made effectively on education?

“Je trouve que c’est bien dommage d’une certaine manière parce que on parles de notre avenir pis on a même pas le droit de dire ce qu’on en penses.”

“I find it to be shameful that we are talking about our future, yet in a certain way, we cannot even say what we have in mind.”

In the end…

The Parlons Éducation discussion forum held at Cégep Vieux-Montréal on March 10th and 11th was an attempt to dynamise discussions over Quebec’s current education system and its shortcomings. Solutions were proposed, problems were denounced, and ideas clashed on what a “school” should serve as. Is our education system made to bring joy and happiness to the citizens of tomorrow? Is it there to churn out well-educated model citizens? Or is it the catalyst for the development of our children’s passions and interests? 

If I could conclude the event in only a few words, it would be pessimism with hope. Despite the lack of participation from the younger generations, people have started a slow but steady process of organic mobilization in response to the increase of  government control over the education system. However effective the effort will be, it’s still a cause worth fighting for.If not now, then when? If not us, then who?

Far and wide, education affects us all and the schools in which our childhood and young adulthood selves are in are the molds of who we become, whether we agree upon the present state of the system or not. Whatever might be our opinion, we hope that many of you give your piece of mind in one of the upcoming forums to be held in the province. After all, how can we expect change by keeping our mouths shut? Being part of the generation that will shape our future society, it is our duty to voice our opinions, denounce what is wrong, and find solutions for the problems that plague us all. Let your opinions be heard and see you at the next forum!