“You saved us”: A nursery allows parents to continue studying despite the strike

The students’ parents would not have been able to attend their classes or write their theses had it not been for the urgent establishment of a daycare at UQAM with the help of the future teachers themselves affected by the strike.

“If we didn’t have this emergency service, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” says Max Boutin, father of little Gabriel, 5.

He and his partner are in the process of writing a doctoral thesis on the study and practice of the arts. Without day care at UQAM, it would be more complicated for them to develop their thesis while looking after Gabriel, whose school was closed due to the strike.

Max Botin, PhD student, with his son Gabriel, 5 years old.

QMI Photography Agency, Joel Lemay

UQAM’s daycare already existed before the strike to help student parents, but it did not accommodate school-age children, except in the evenings and on weekends.

With stirring An unlimited general strike by the Independent Federation of Education (FAE), many parents find themselves with their mouths watering.

This is the case for parents of students, whose reality is often disproportionate to the rigidity of work demands, exams and other demands of the school world, explains Annie Noël de Tilly, general coordinator of the Student Support Committee. .

the win

In one week, the service expanded to accommodate an additional 24 children between the ages of 6 and 11 during the day for $14.

Six university teaching students come to organize DIY activities or outings to the park or gym with the young people.

It is a win-win partnership that allows these future teachers to fill the void left in schools by the strike, which halted their training or opportunity for replacement.

“There are parents who have no other solution. They tell us: ‘I don’t know what I would do without her.’ I would miss classes,” says Origen Damouret, a special education student.

This is the case of Olena Grygoryeva and Roman Stolbukhov, who arrived from Ukraine about 8 months ago with their little boy, Nazar, 7 years old. They take French courses at UQAM, a program that has little tolerance for absences.

Roman Stolbukhov and Olena Hryhorieva with little 7-year-old Nazar.

QMI Photography Agency, Joel Lemay

“Thank you very much, thank you”

Despite his rudimentary mastery of the language, M^I Hryhorieva was able to express her gratitude for the nursery.

“For us, it’s wonderful! Thank you very much, thank you,” she said, simulating shivers.

This is also the case for Shirley Claremont, a single mother studying for a bachelor’s degree in management. “Financially, it’s costing me [de l’argent]But at least I have peace of mind.”

“Parents tell us: Oh, my GodSave us,” sums up Tatiana Nassif, a primary and pre-school student.