Patrick Lagacé writes about the Bedford School scandal which ought to raise questions about school governance and whether the CAQ’s pet “service centres” are doing any better than the school boards they replaced. Not that he mentions this angle – the issue of the suspect teachers all being Maghrebi, speaking Arabic together and holding old‑fashioned ideas about school discipline and mores is the story.
Update: It’s reported Tuesday that the school will now have two “accompagnateurs” sent to sort things out among the staff.
jeather 12:30 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
I’m working my way through the government report (linked in the article!) — education bureaucratese is the most obscure to read. But the report very clearly states that not all of the “clan” teachers were Maghrebi (though most were), and not all Maghrebi teachers were in the “clan”.
I’m at the language portion of the report, and though it’s clear that teachers spoke Arabic amongst themselves in part to ensure secrecy, it’s also pointed out that their use of Arabic was entirely legal, and though they might greet kids in Arabic, they taught entirely in French.
I believe the article is the first in a planned series, so I am curious whether service centres will come up later.
Nicholas 12:42 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
jeather, is using a language other than French in the workplace legal, even if all the people present prefer it? If so, don’t tell the CAQ.
Ian 18:24 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
I guess since they succeeded in getting rid of hijabi the next phase of erasing muslim minorities in the public sector has commenced.
Kate 09:36 on 2024-10-16 Permalink
I think we can focus here, that there may be a group of older schoolteachers from another country with old timey views on child behaviour and discipline, without it becoming necessarily about Islamophobia. Hell, when I went to school there were no specialized helpers for kids with dyslexia or other learning blocks, nobody talked about assessments for kids with difficulties, and there was no understanding of ADHD or autism. Children with severe difficulties were dealt with elsewhere. Teachers didn’t hit kids as they had in my parents’ time, but there was little patience for kids who couldn’t cope. Transport those teachers to our time and they would pretty much behave the way the Bedford School teachers are reported to be behaving now.
Gabrielle A Brenner 18:25 on 2024-10-20 Permalink
It is more than old fashioned. They didn’t let girls play soccer and forbade speech therapist in a class because she was a women.
Just plain Muslim misogyny…