Quebec-known for its Europe-esque vibes, its freezing winters and contribution to the world’s love of maple syrup. Quebec is such a unique place to live, and only Quebecers can relate to living here. This is especially true if you teach English education in Quebec. If you teach English Language Arts in Quebec, you are the minority in every school you walk into, and you can relate to these 5 struggles I’m sharing. Keep reading!
Be sure to check out my QEP Competencies Handbook. It is a free resource I created specifically for elementary ELA teachers teaching the QEP.
Let’s get into the 5 struggles of teaching ELA in Quebec…
#1-You have Thought to Yourself That It Would be Easier to Break into Parliament and Pluck One of Trudeau’s Luscious Locks Than It Is To Decipher the QEP
If you teach ELA, you have had to read, and probably re-read the QEP program document. The QEP is WAY overly complicated…and you are constantly trying to figure out why.
Some common thoughts that have come to mind when reading the QEP documents are “huh?” “Ok I get it….wait what?” and “Why don’t they just say…”.
Out of frustration, or pure survival, you have probably resorted to sticking to the Progression of Learning document, which is better, but still…not great.
That is why I created the QEP Competencies Handbook, which simplifies the QEP and makes it user-friendly and easy to use when wanting to see EXACTLY what you have to teach. Click here to download it now!
#2-Googling “English Education in Quebec Resources” leads to crickets
You have tried finding resources to use in your classroom. Whether it be on Google, or Teachers Pay Teachers, only to come up short.
You have thought to yourself, “Am I the only one teaching this stuff?”
My recent blog will show you that this is NOT true. Check out the post here!
Instead, you are left with not only trying to figure out your own curriculum but trying to adapt it, based on the resources you CAN find!
Click here to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
#3-You Know the American Common Core Curriculum Way Too Well!
Have you noticed that most other teacher resources that can be found online are American? I feel like I could recite the Common Core Curriculum better than the QEP, just because of the number of resources I have purchased that were created for American teachers, by American teachers!
Because of this, you have something you NEVER thought you would have… curriculum envy!
Click here to download the QEP Competencies Handbook.
#4-You Feel Like Everyone Else Knows How to Teach English Education in Quebec
Ok, I think all teachers, no matter where they teach in the world, can relate to this one. However, I think this is particularly true of Quebec ELA teachers. Hopefully, this post so far has given you some solace in that you are not alone.
For far too long, I was feeling like the only ELA teacher in the schools I worked at that felt this way. It seemed like everyone knew what they were doing! It wasn’t until I start speaking to other teachers online, that I realized we have ALL felt this way… We have all felt alone, confused and overwhelmed by the QEP and teaching in general!
Click here to join the Quebec Elementary ELA Teacher Community Facebook group!
#5-You learn while your students learn because the only history you learned about was Quebec’s History
If you are like me, you like to incorporate social studies, history and other subjects into your ELA classroom. The problem is, however, that the Quebec Social Studies curriculum is extremely dry. Ok, let’s be honest, it’s boring!
That means you have resorted to researching and including other historical events, and social/political issues into your teaching… This is great, because the only history you learned about when you were a student in Quebec was, well, the history of Quebec!
Final Thoughts…
Could you relate to these struggles? Let us know by commenting below!
Don’t forget to grab your free QEP Competencies Handbook. You can download it right now by clicking here!
