With news that there is still no deal between the Quebec government and the teachers’ unions, overburdened parents who are juggling child care, work and now the holidays are pleading for an agreement that is good for teachers.
Shiri Singer is doing everything she can to keep her six-year-old busy.
Because of the FAE teachers’ strike, he has been home from school for about a month.
“We do it day by day, we play it by ear, we have to be flexible,” Singer said.
Singer says she is lucky because she works from home and is able to rely on her community for help.
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But there is one thing she’s having a harder time with.
Singer’s son attends a French school and with every day he’s not in class, she fears he is losing out on learning the language.
“As much as we try — you know, we read books at home in French — it’s not our first language and it’s not our home language and we want our child to know both,” Singer said.
While teachers affiliated with some unions returned to the classroom last Friday, the FAE union will not go back to class until it gets a deal.
It makes parents like Alexa Azran nervous.
“I want to cry for our children, because at the end of the day, I can work from home and I’m lucky, but our children cannot do school from home anymore,” said Azran, who has two sons, five and eight years old.
Azran fears if no deal is reached soon, teachers at her children’s school will walk out again.
“If they don’t get what they want, we’re all going to suffer. I’m extremely nervous for them, I’m nervous for our children and I’m nervous for all the working parents out there,” Azran said.
Both Azran and Singer say they stand with teachers and hope the government soon gives unions an offer they will accept.
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