The union representing the 11 teachers at Bedford Elementary School — who are under investigation by Quebec’s Ministry of Education after alleged physical and psychological violence towards students and staff — says this reported behaviour is just plain unacceptable.
“First of all, we do not have to defend the indefensible. So, the allegations in this report, if they are true, we will not defend behaviours that are not acceptable and that in many cases go against the laws themselves,” said Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, the president of Alliance des professeures et professeurs de Montréal.
“On the other hand, we have a duty of representation. We must make the difference between representing and defending as well, so a duty of representation, that is to say to support teachers who would have, for example, consequences.”
CityNews spoke to a parent, a former Bedford school teacher, and a group responsible for the parents’ committee of the school service centre – the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM).
All are concerned about the impact of these alleged actions, especially on the children.
“That is so terrible. It’s unacceptable, really, how the children have to go through this,” said Chantal Fortier, a former Bedford teacher. “I am very, very surprised. And when I found out on the news this morning what happened, I couldn’t believe it. I’m still in shock. Why? It’s because I taught here at the beginning of my career for 11 years. And never, ever have I seen that.”
Roneric Mosqueda, a parent of two children that attend École Bedford, added “I’m worried about that because the teacher is a model of the kids. That’s the second mother. So they need to have a model for the kids.”
‘We would go back to the 60s in ways of teaching and ways of dealing with students’
The Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec (RCPAQ) and parents committee of the CSSDM is worried, but is reassured that professional help will be onsite for students and staff next week.
“It’s a thing that we didn’t thought was possible to happen in a school in Quebec, you know, we would go back to the 60s in ways of teaching and ways of dealing with students. So it’s very worrying for parents. It’s worrying that it’s been happening for a few years,” said Sylvain Martel, spokesperson for RCPAQ and part of the parents committee of the CSSDM.
“The good news in that is that action is being taken by the Minister today, and there’s going to be more action in the weeks coming,” he added. “There is also action that is going to be present starting next week. Today, there’s no school […], but next week there’s going to be teams of professionals that are going to be in the school to ensure that the students are safe.”