Parents worry about learning gaps with end of Quebec teacher strikes

For Jacqueline Comeau, it feels like September all over again.

Her daughter has been out of school for weeks as the Quebec teachers' strike that began in November dragged on.

With classes set to resume, her daughter will have some catching up to do.

"It's going to take some time to readjust," Comeau said. "Everything's going to be new again. It's going to take more time, so they might miss out on some things they would have learned during the strike."

Only one union — the Fédération Autonome de l'Enseignement, or FAE — went on unlimited strike, resulting in the closure of 800 schools for 22 days.

Other schools, whose teachers are represented by a different negotiating bloc called the "common front," were closed for 11 days; private school students missed no class at all.

Union leadership reached tentative agreements with the government over the holidays.  None of the unions have presented the tentative deals to their members for a vote yet.

Mylène Lapratte from Gatineau said she worries about learning delays.

"We're talking about five lost weeks," she said in French. "So as a parent, yes, there are fears, but we'll have trust and see how it goes."

Call to not forget socializing time

Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville is set to release a catch-up plan on Tuesday for 368,000 students affected by the strike.

Annie Bérubé, a professor in the department of psychoeducation and psychology at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, hopes the plan doesn't sacrifice children's social needs.

"It would be a mistake to focus solely on academics," she said. "It's certain that children have missed a lot in terms of their lessons. But they've also missed a lot in terms of socialization."

She said school is a place to form friendships and practice problem solving.

Bérubé said children learn quickly and there's plenty of time in a day for them to catch up on their lessons without cutting social and cultural activities, like field trips.

"School is a living environment for children, not just a learning environment," she said.