Ontario Teachers' Strikes

Teachers’ Strikes

If you look at the teachers’ strikes, from a parental perspective, through a short term lens, it is easy to be highly critical of teachers.  Typically parents, thinking short term, think of their own personal inconvenience for finding child care alternatives during the teachers’ strikes; then thoughts  quickly and unfairly leap to “those lazy-over- paid -under- worked- teachers with two months holidays”.  It is easy to be critical.

Some parents are often eager to have their children gone from home after the summer holidays because they lack the creativity, energy, or patience to actively engage their own children. Perhaps, these parents have to decide if teachers really have it easy, or teaching is actually more difficult than most people think. You can’t say teachers’ have it too easy and at the same time be over-whelmed while temporarily attending to your own children.  You can’t have it both ways.

Bottom line is teaching is tough.  Especially in the face of cut backs and lack of supports in the class room. More parents must see long term and opt for an education system that is rigorous and produces the type of people who are resilient, civil, kind, insightful, literate and useful.  Our Conservative government, by policy, cuts costs and corners to achieve their ideal of efficiency.  As parents, and in the wider society, we have to realize some corners just can’t be cut.  The teachers’ are not the problem here.

If we look to the United States for an example as to what cost cutting in public education can do, there is your model, that is your answer.  Support the strikes, even if they are inconvenient, support the teachers, for what they do is the foundation for everything as your children really are the future.

Marty Rempel

Teachers' Strikes Ontario

Teachers’ Strikes

If you look at the teachers’ strikes, from a parental perspective, through a short term lens, it is easy to be highly critical of teachers.  Typically parents, thinking short term, think of their own personal inconvenience for finding child care alternatives; then thoughts  quickly leap to those lazy-over- paid -under- worked- teachers with two months holidays.  Those teachers have it so easy.

Some parents are often eager to have their children gone from home after holidays because they lack the creativity, energy or resources to actively engage their own children. Perhaps, these parents have to decide if teachers really have it easy, or meaningful educational engagement with young people is actually challenging business. It can’t go both ways.

Bottom line is teaching is tough. More parents must see long term and opt for an education system that is rigorous and produces the type of people who are resilient, civil, kind, insightful and useful.  Our Conservative government, by policy cuts costs and corners to achieve their ideal of efficiency.  As parents, and in the wider society we have to realize some corners just can’t be cut.

If we look to the United States for an example as to what cost cutting in public education can do, there is your model, that is your answer.

Recently, I listened to President Donald Trump give a speech on wind generators.  I thought it might have been written by a 8 year old boy.  The man has no insights, understanding or expressive language.  He is handicapped.  He and conservatives like him represent the worst of values and like our own conservatives see education as a political tool to keep the masses ignorant.  We can't have this in Canada.

Support the strikes,  even if they are inconvenient.  Support the teachers because what they do is the foundation for everything we do.

End Game

End Game

Each morning when I get up and look to the eastern sky I feel my age.
The lack of sleep from the couch did not help my feeling old; then, of course, there was the fact that on that bleak morning, as most mornings, in my silent, ritualized existence I looked out and over at the retirement home.

I was on the sixth floor looking across the street each morning to an old man, like myself, who shared my morning schedule. And each morning I could see him sitting on the edge of his bed backlit by his dim bedside light. If he looked out his window, across the street, just waking with traffic and alive with bus noises and the first brave pedestrians, he could likely make a similar observation.  Another old man standing by the window putting his shirt on as the sun rose over the sharp edges of the high rise buildings. So began our morning.  We were joined by the sunrise.

Every morning I wondered about the old man.  Who was he? Did he have visitors?  Did he have children and if so did they ever call or visit?  Was he well? Sick? Lonely?  Was His wife dead?  Did he ever have one?  I direct those questions inward and see myself across the street not so many years from the present, in some such retirement home.   Is that where it all leads?  Is that the end game…hardly worth the effort.