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Here's why we will not be sending our children to #school in #Quebec on May 19th. I'm writing as a parent and as a teacher educator. 1/
One of the major reasons given for sending children back to school is to help students with #learning difficulties. Checking my child's IEP, there is no way his teacher will be able to meet his needs any better at school than at home. 2/
@francoislegault talked about how it's important for a student with ADHD to be in school right now. I agree. However, students are NOT going back to a learning environment they were used to, one that will support their learning-it will be worse than home. 3/
There will be no computer labs open. School libraries closed. Specialists will play a limited role. No physical education classes. 4/
Most all classes in elementary are more than 15 students. Last time I looked, schools are overcrowded. Quebec was struggling to find teachers before the pandemic. 5/
Can you imagine how a child with ADHD is going to survive in an environment in which their movement will be severely restricted? A movement restricted classroom and recess yard? 6/
They will have to stay in their seat for extended periods of time while teachers, as best as they can, try to keep all students 2 meters away from each other at all times and manage washing hands every hour. 7/
Do the math, you give kids 2 min. to wash their hands alone X 15, that's 30 min. And they're expected to do this every hour?
Tell me, how will they teach 15 students, especially those with learning difficulties when they are not able to use all of the available resources necessary? I train teachers and I can't imagine how this will be done in a humane and effective way. 8/
The Quebec Association of Pediatricans stated that children need to get back to a normal routine and I agree. But what kids will return to will be anything but normal. It will be stressful, angst ridden, and confusing to children who need to move and be close. 9/
I trust doctors to know about my child's health, but stay in your lane-I know schools and this environment will do more to harm how children feel about school in the long term. 10/
Four weeks of this will leave a negative association with schools. Kids in later years who are already struggling in school will most likely have an even worse attitude about school when their movement and autonomy are severely restricted in ever part of their day. 11/
We did a study with youth who dropped out of school. One of the things they told us about why they didn't want to come to school as teens was how their bodies were controlled--never allowed to move and always held, fixed in a space, be it a desk all day or detention. 12/
Teachers won't really be able to teach because they will be spending all their time managing how students move (and don't move) and keeping up with disinfecting constantly. All of their best practices are taken away with social distancing. 13/
Good teachers do not stand at the front of a classroom and lecture to rows of evenly spaced desks (now 2m apart) like we see in the movies, especially elementary teachers. 14/
Not only are you asking teachers to put themselves at risk of catching the virus, you're asking them to teach using what we know are some of the most ineffective and outdated teaching methods. 15/
For the education minister saying this is to ensure students get adequate meals-read your guidelines that state all students and teachers are to bring their own meals to school-no handling of food at all. How's this supposed to work then?
I won't get into how they cherry picked research to justify this move (I can easily pick research to counter their conclusions), other public health scientists are doing a much better job. However, this is putting teachers and their families in danger. 16/
Going back this soon to school without adequate testing and protection measures is nothing short than an act of violence against teachers. 17/
All of the teachers I've spoken with will keep their young children home if they can-they won't send them to school! They know the situation will be dire. And they are afraid. I trust these teachers and respect them so much that I will not overburden schools with my children. 18/
Let's call this what it really is-a strategy to babysit young children while @francoislegault desperately tries to get the economy restarted. This is not education. This is not for children with learning challenges. And it's not for children with food insecurity. end/
