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
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