This week marks the 28th edition of Teacher Appreciation Week across Quebec. The Education Ministry has been promoting this initiative since 1994 as an opportunity for administrators, school staff, students, and parents to thank the teachers in their lives. This year, the theme for this week is “Always there for us,” which is as apt as it is a tad ironic, coming from a government that has consistently undervalued the profession throughout this pandemic.
The government has placed such a heavy weight on the shoulders of those in the education sector, tasking them with overcoming their own anxiety in continuing to educate and support our children, while blindly navigating a gauntlet of constantly changing public health measures. Our educators are always there for us, but we need to be there for them as well.
The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) prefers to use the term “Staff Appreciation Week,” which is appropriately inclusive and reflective of the high esteem with which the board holds all its employees.
NFSB director general Rob Buttars does not hold back when talking about his team. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all our staff. Their resilience, their professionalism, and their love for their students has been evident through all of this,” he says. The same can be said for all those involved with schools across the province. If they are weathering this latest wave of the pandemic, it is because they have been able to find a sense of direction within their passion for the job. It certainly has not come from the Education Ministry.
This resilience and passion can also be seen in our educators working in the early childcare sector, and those working in private schools, in special schools, and in our adult and career centres, CEGEPs, and universities. It also holds true for all the volunteers, the coaches and mentors, including those who are ready and waiting to be allowed back into the schools.
We can only hope that when this wave and any future ones recede, they will not have washed away this fierce commitment.
Sarah Rennie
1 Comment
Wonderful acknowledgement ! Thanks, Sarah.