On Tuesday October 4th, teachers are being asked to vote on a new collective agreement. We have been without a contract since August 2015 and this will be the second "offer" we will vote on. The first "offer" was voted down with 61% saying NO and 91% of all teachers casting a ballot. This led to almost a year of bargaining, I believe there were 12 sessions, and a "new" tentative agreement being reached in August. The Provincial Executive of the NSTU met, debated and voted 12-11 with 3 abstaining to recommend acceptance of the contract because "it was the best we could get". Differences from the 2015 offer were highlighted and while some change exists, the offers are much the same. All through the process the threat of government legislation has been held over the heads of the negotiating team, and teachers in general (along with other NS unions).
To steal a line from Grant Frost, "first they came for the service award".... my fear is that when this contract (if ratified) ends the government of the day will look back and think "What can we take this time?", health care benefits, pensions, maternity and parental benefits... the list goes on and on. Teachers today are no longer seen as professionals, from the average Joe on the street to the Minister of Education who is basing all of the educational reforms on the OPINIONS of the populace. Now while I was one of those giving an opinion, my concern is that everyone feels they are an expert on public schooling because they went to school. I think that few outside the teaching profession have a true understanding of what is really going on and while I respect their right to an opinion on education, I do not believe that it should be the basis of educational reform. For example how would doctors feel if I told them how to treat patients? I have been to a doctor many times and can google info on pretty much any medical issue.... Teachers represent one of, if not the most, educated and diverse populations of professionals in Nova Scotia. We are smart, dedicated and committed to our professions. I would argue that ALL teachers do it because they love spending time with children and youth, love helping them to learn and grow, love watching them explore and investigate....and on and on. No body gets into teaching for the money (which is definitely pretty good), they get into it for the love of schooling and what it is about. A "NO" vote to this contract offer can lead to many possible scenarios, but to be afraid to say NO because it will hurt the children is just not true. Having experienced a strike in elementary school, it made very little difference to me, the student, I simply got to stay home rather than go to school for a month or so... not the best situation for everyone, but in the end it resulted in the teachers and government finally agreeing. A "NO" vote to this contract will mean hardship for teachers, definitely, it will also raise child care issues for everyone in the province, and as much as we want to sit on our high horse and proclaim how important educational reform is, public school, for many people, is still seen simply free child care. A "NO" vote will tell the government that we will not be pushed around. A "NO" vote will show that Teachers as a group are strong and united in the effort to educate the children of Nova Scotia. I am a teacher, not a statistician, not a data collector, not a data entry clerk, not a website designer and moderator, not a grant writing expert, not a fundraiser, not a computer and software tech, not a reporter, not a policy reviewer, not a lobbyist for funding my programs, not the fiscal backer of program materials and supplies, not piloter of new initiatives and programs, not not not. My job is to educate, please just let me do that instead of all these other roles I have to take on. I want to finish this with an analogy a colleague said yesterday. I sports team hires a coach to coach. That coach has people to take stats, record video, breakdown video, manage a website, do the marketing, handle to finances, book the buses and hotels.... but a teacher has to manage all of these other tasks alone often with little support, feedback on performance and ways to improve, opportunities to learn from other teachers and training to handle these extra roles. On Tuesday please support all Nova Scotia teachers in their effort to improve education in an informed and professional way. links: Bill 148 http://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/62nd_2nd/3rd_read/b148.htm Grant Frost's Education Blog https://frostededucation.com/2016/09/29/first-they-came-for-the-service-award/
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives |