Not long ago I spent my lunch hour sobbing in a closet at school.
I can’t get into the specifics of my morning, but I can give you a composite view.
I can tell you that every single day, I welcome my students with a gigantic smile. I crouch down in the hallway as they peel off their snowsuits, look them in the eyes, and greet them one by one, by name. I am so happy to see their faces. I am so excited for all that the day will hold.
They come to me with their small creations and announcements, their jokes and their anxieties, their ideas and their passions. They are absorbed in the business of childhood, and it’s a delight.
Within a few minutes, they’re standing for the national anthem and I’m shooing the stragglers into the classroom. Signing agendas. Writing notes. Checking bellwork. Taking attendance. Normal things. Routine things. The busy, but comfortable rituals of school life.
Except that they’re not always comfortable. And the routine is not always routine. More often than not, there is someone who needs something that is beyond our capacity to address.
The small needs I can meet. Band-aids. Spills. Lost pencils. Broken toys. Hurt feelings. Tricky math problems. Misspelled words. Empty lunches.
But in some cases, the needs are so extreme that they cannot possibly be met by one person. We call on our colleagues to help us, and they come when they can. But we are a finite population of adults in this building bursting with children who depend on us for pretty much everything.
It comes to the point, eventually, that students are in danger. It comes to the point where the teams of experts brought in to help us are no longer available, because they have other needs to meet. It comes to the point where the children can’t learn because the teacher can’t teach because the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many, and we are doing evacuation drills and filing incident reports, and all the plans that seemed so promising in the conference room turn out to be futile in a reality where impulsive children don’t follow the pre-written script.
And so the teacher finds herself in the closet crying over lunch, because she is not enough. All she wants is to fill those little hearts and minds with the wonder of this incredible world, and instead she is trying to shield their ears from profanities and their bodies from one another. And she’s not enough. She can’t do it. No one can.
Every single adult in that building is there for those kids. Every single one of them wants to help. But we can’t. We can’t be everything to everyone. We can’t conjure extra people out of thin air to see to the safety of the students in our care. Our administrators can’t provide what the board has no finances to provide. And the board cannot provide what the government will not fund.
And this is why I find myself, for the first time in my long career, stepping outside of that classroom on a workday and walking down the sidewalk with a plea in my hand to save these children, to save this system, save the teachers who pour their lives into their students every single day.
We are not picketing to avoid our work. It has come to the point that protesting is our work. It’s time to take the grave needs in our schools and place them where the public can see them, if only in our signs and our press releases.
We love our students. We love them. We give them the best of ourselves, and then we give them whatever remains, and all we want is to have what we need to give them what they need. Those “on strike” signs are not marks of defiance or arrogance or greed. They are pleas for help. They are the cries of our students, who have no other voice but ours.
There are teachers all over this province today who are agonizing about the state of affairs in their schools. There are parents distraught at the thought of how their children are being affected by the impotence of an underfunded system. Many of these families have no idea what their children hear and witness in the course of a typical school day at the hands of their underserviced peers. If they did, they would be marching those picket lines with us, in the thousands, demanding a response.
But they don’t. They don’t see their children being crushed under the weight of their collective needs. We are in a state of silent crisis, pleading for the ear of politicians who have never set foot in our breaking schools. We are not asking for more than we already have; we are simply asking to maintain a grossly inadequate status quo. We are a province in turmoil, needlessly augmented by systemic deficiencies that our legislators refuse to address.
Please, just listen. Come into our classrooms for a day. For an hour. Put aside your paperwork and open your eyes to the realities in our schools. And then work with us, rather than against us, to give these children the support they need so desperately. We are not villains, callously manipulating a political situation for our own personal gain; we are distraught mortals, paddling a leaking lifeboat through an ever-widening, ever-deepening gulf, and pleading for your help.
March 8, 2020 at 22:37
Well written as always Natasha. I volunteer in Kawartha Heights PS and see this all first hand. Where are you and what grade are you teaching. I’m sure you’re happy to be back home again.
Sharon Brittain
March 8, 2020 at 23:03
So sad to hear that this is happening all over the province. I am in London, currently teaching Grade 1.
March 10, 2020 at 06:27
What a bunch of B.S..
Children are abused by teachers ten fold.
Teachers are inept and incompetent.. and lazy..more than ever.
They are overpaid and underworked.
March 10, 2020 at 12:17
When is the last time you volunteered, to back up your comment?
March 10, 2020 at 12:45
Wow! Have you ever stepped into a school to witness what these teachers have to deal with? I would like you to spend one day in a classroom. I have and it is an eye opener.
March 10, 2020 at 15:21
Sounds like you never attended any school. 🤪
March 10, 2020 at 15:24
Sounds like you ever attended any school ! 🤪
March 10, 2020 at 15:43
Please go to Teachers College and immerse yourself in the education system. Please change what you think is so wrong
March 10, 2020 at 16:39
Not worthy of a reply.
March 10, 2020 at 18:08
I guess you are a teacher, Dewey. Otherwise, how would you possibly know?
March 10, 2020 at 18:48
. The children are NOT abused by teachers, but do have students in their class that are abused by parents and school is their safe haven. If a teacher abused a student they would not be teaching for long. Fired they would be. “Teachers are not inept , incompetent or lazy. Remember, they are NOT dealing with two or three children, They are dealing with a classroom of students which could be anywhere from 15 or more students.. These SAME STUDENTS EACH HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAYS OF LEARNING that a teacher has figure out and provide for them. As for being over paid and under worked I would suggest that you walk in their shoes for just one day. You will then see the reality of what you are spouting about.
March 11, 2020 at 12:34
I have witnessed teacher abuse of students and those teachers were moved around the school much like priests who abuse are. Petitions were even signed to keep one teacher out of kindergarten but she was back the next year and the parents who signed the petition had their children moved to another class. Reality. But the concern here is lack of support in schools for our students. When I worked with the school board we had one to two support for students with special needs. Today that’s not the case. All kids are falling through the cracks. It is very sad. Unfortunately support staff are under a different contract than teachers. They have a different union. These two unions needs to get together to fight for the rights of our children if they think they will stop the insanity of this government.
March 12, 2020 at 05:44
Thats a lie. Teachers do abuse – i have proof. Not so much as a reprimand. Protected by their union. Some teachers care, many do not. I agree, story is just that, a story
March 12, 2020 at 21:57
My Grandson was bullied by his teacher and his family doctor removed him from the school, he has missed most of the school year. That don’t mean that all teachers are bad, many are wonderful caring educators. But on the other hand, not all teachers are always concerned about the well being of every child.
March 10, 2020 at 19:53
Dear Dewey,
You are obviously looking for a response, trying to get a rise out of teachers with your petty remarks probably because you have nothing better to do in your life. Manners are a part of what we teach and you obviously have none. Looks like your teachers failed you and you fell through the cracks. I’m really sorry that happened to you and sorry about your ignorance and pettiness as an adult. I really pity you. You are a product of our broken education system. But perhaps there is still time for you to learn. Go into a school and volunteer, see what problems children have today, watch their teachers try to give 100% to every student. Watch during recess and lunch hour and see teachers calling parents, marking papers, running school sports. Stay after school and see what time many teachers head home and it’s not 10 minutes after the kids leave. There is still time for you. Please use it wisely and learn. And if you can’t do that at least remember what your teachers and mother told you…if you can’t say something nice about someone don’t say anything at all. Be a part of the solution not a part of the problem.
March 11, 2020 at 03:41
Well said
March 13, 2020 at 18:39
Amen! I work as an EA and I have seen much abuse by children with special needs to other children in the classrooms and the staff. Some of these kids get out of their desks and start throwing chairs and hitting other students. As young as Grade 1 and kindergarten. The system is NOT providing the help and expertise they would like too based on cutbacks and political differences. Where else do you go to work to get physically assaulted on a daily basis without the that is so desperately needed.
March 14, 2020 at 22:55
I couldn’t have said it better!
March 10, 2020 at 21:49
Like to see you try to do better, whoever you are!
March 11, 2020 at 02:21
I am sorry you have had a bad experience with a teacher or maybe a few. Please don’t paint us all in that light. Most of us really, genuinely care for our students and wants what’s best for them.
March 11, 2020 at 12:41
A very eloquent response to his remark. Perhaps he WAS abused by a teacher. His response caused a rash of negative responses but very acknowledged that perhaps he was indeed abused. There are bad apples in all professions. I have seen my fair share of abusive, lazy and inept teachers in my day but they were few and far between the great ones who truly loved the kids and worked overtime making sure the students had extra curricular and even a morning meal or a couple uniforms to wear as their family couldn’t afford it. Most teachers are amazing and are there for the students.
March 11, 2020 at 18:51
I know better by proof of what I’ve seen over my 74 years … You sir are SO WRONG!!!
March 12, 2020 at 02:27
What a lovely example of the type of thing teachers are subjected to, on a daily basis, but they still show up, a smile on their faces, and ready to do their very best. Abusive responses like this aren’t the majority, but they are something teachers confront every day, whether at school, in the community, or on social media. While I know Dewey Cheatem is just trolling, it’s not “just” trolling – it’s an abusive act, lacking thought, empathy or humanity.
March 12, 2020 at 14:40
Have you ever observed a teacher at work? If not, zip it!!!
March 13, 2020 at 01:42
I want to thank you for your arguments here. Sincerely.
Your lack of evidence and wealth of opinions and schoolyard putdowns truly highlights that #cutshurtkids and in a way that educators couldn’t possibly demonstrate as effectively as you.
So, thank you again for supporting the educators’ and students’ fight! <3
March 13, 2020 at 23:43
You have obviously never set foot in a classroom.
March 9, 2020 at 15:39
I recently had the chance to join my daughters class for a few hours this year and I can honestly say that I found myself questioning what had school become….a glorified daycare for all ages. I’m only 35 but I vividly remember my school days and how on hands the teaching was, and how much help there was for those students with extra needs (not special needs, thats totally different) and now it’s like the teachers are the only ones there’s no help anymore and some actually need it.
March 9, 2020 at 17:15
Very well written. Keep up the fight for our children, for they are our future.
March 9, 2020 at 18:46
I feel so bad for the teacher’s and other adults in the school, for that matter. But why are these children not sent home. If others get in a fight at school, or break school property, they are expelled or sent home. Why can’t the same be done for disrupted children.
Why should the children who follow the rules and try to learn be punished because someone else can’t behave.
Why do we protect these children at the cost of all the others who are there to learn.
March 10, 2020 at 02:10
Some have special needs/Autism and it’s beyond the child’s control…so we just send all home that have special needs or other needs? Sad 😔 Teachers are educators and schools need to give them the support people to make that happen so ALL kids can learn no matter their needs
March 12, 2020 at 02:38
First comment I can agree with.
March 10, 2020 at 02:55
Because these children are children with exceptionalities whether it be a behavior, ODD, ADD, ADHD, gifted or any A-Typical child that are in the mainstream classroom.
Telling someone, especially a child that is not neuro-typical and has deficients in their executive functions to just follow the rules, sit down, concentrate, focus and behave is no different than telling a person that is blind to just open their eyes and look at something you are trying to show them or telling a person with a disability that is wheelchair bound to just get up and walk. Many of these children need to learn strategies and tools to do these things that children without these exceptionalities simply do naturally.
We cannot take their right to education away because they require a different way of learning.
Do they need to understand consequences? Absolutely.
Do they get sent home when their mitigating circumstances outweigh the disruptive behavior? Yes, they do.
But keeping these kids out of the classroom by suspending them or expelling isn’t the answer either.
These children need help. Which is why things need to change. Teachers, schools, support staff need help.
We protect “these” children because they are OUR children and they need to be protected as all children do.
March 12, 2020 at 02:40
Very educated and informed response
March 10, 2020 at 02:56
A child cannot be sent home to an empty house. The truth is, some parents stop taking calls from the school. This way, the child must be kept at school. Sometimes they even send a suspended child back to school and then are “unreachable” so child stays.
The system is broken
March 11, 2020 at 14:20
It’ the parents that need to take responsibility for their child……they shouldn’t push all responsibilities on the teachers……it’s not just our school system that’s broken ,it’s family….society
March 10, 2020 at 17:10
Every child deserves a right to an education. Apparently Nancy you don’t have a child who suffers daily with mental health. Is it his fault that he has behaviour issues. I THINK NOT. So before you think the child should be just sent home, try walking in their shoes on a daily basis. Try doing your best to avoid the triggers that are going to raise your anxiety. Have people call you a bully because after 3 tries of asking others to please stop and they don’t listen and then you are unable to control what happens. Be 10 years old and tell me that you understand feelings and emotions. When you have all the answers to the above, please let everyone know ! I would love to be able to implement them in a classroom. Everyone has a right to an education. Just because there are extra needs of some students doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn!
March 12, 2020 at 02:21
Thank you!!
March 10, 2020 at 18:43
Because; in our Canadian society the exception(s) make the rules! It seems society does what’s best for the minorities not the majorities!
March 14, 2020 at 23:04
I totally agree. This is a very bad experiment that has gone on way too long. And for what? Who comes out ahead? Not the special needs kids who are in an environment way over their heads (imagine how they feel never being able to reach the potential of the others). Not the “normal” kids either for they are in a turmoil of an environment. How can any child learn when they don’t feel safe and secure?
March 9, 2020 at 18:51
seems your union is your problem,,,, so do something about the Union,,,,
March 9, 2020 at 22:49
I am my union. Together we are advocating for the teaching and learning conditions in our schools. Can you please explain your comment further?
March 10, 2020 at 01:17
Crickets……..from Anonymous……typical, unfortunately.
Well written, Natasha. You and your colleagues have much more support than you know! As tough as it seems at times, please continue to educate the public so that politicians get the message.
March 9, 2020 at 21:49
Thank you for writing this. I’ve lived this too, as a kindergarten teacher, and wondered how to heal the broken, protect the innocent, and keep myself sane. It’s so, so hard. Bless you for helping the public see what classrooms are actually like, and for fighting the good fight for your students.
March 9, 2020 at 21:55
So incredibly well written, Natasha! You capture the love, the passion, the commitment and the heartbreak that is part of life for public school teachers in Ontario. Thank you. Your voice and others like you must be heard because this is the true reality.
March 9, 2020 at 23:28
This is so true. Parents don’t understand the challenges of these teachers. It’s hard to find the time and resources to help children with issues and to make sure the children that don’t have issues get equal learning time
March 10, 2020 at 13:30
I get it, but there are challenges in every profession.
March 9, 2020 at 23:49
This was me a few years ago. Crying as I drove into work each day. Never feeling like I was enough. Like no one could ever be enough. It’s soul crushing to feel the awesome responsibility of teaching someone’s child and not feeling like you are meeting their needs. I was fortunate to have an awesome P and VP as well as colleagues who supported me and pulled me through. They know who they are and I do not know what I would have done without them. I love my Penguin Family. To those of you who think we are in this profession for the money, you couldn’t be more wrong. #CutsHurtKids
March 10, 2020 at 00:21
Very well written.
100% truth coming from a teacher.
My children are grown, however now my grand children are in school.
I have volunteered with my children’s classes many times when they were young.
I cannot believe how sad our education system has become.
I’m so tired of reading comments and posts from people who either have no children, or have no clue what it is like for their children in school.
When I went to school in the 70-80’s……
DISCIPLINE & RESPECT were non negotiable.
There were no special needs students in the classroom, they were in a separate classroom receiving a special education plan, designed to meet their needs and requirements.
I realize everyone is in favour of inclusion….
However it’s not HEALTHY OR SAFE…. for any student or teacher without the support of EA’s or some type of support staff.
As a parent, grand parent, child care provider…..
THANK YOU to all the teachers that continue to give their hearts and continuous service to all of the students.
I APPRECIATE all you do.
March 10, 2020 at 15:07
The government should keep their nose out of all this, it’s bad enough they take away discipline from parents, but also schools and the kids have no guidance. They talk back to parents, abuse teachers and they are supposed to do nothing?
March 11, 2020 at 01:28
If they left their noses out of it, there would be nothing done about it
March 10, 2020 at 00:32
Oh Natasha. I always knew you had a gift of expression but this last piece is just so incredibly truthful and honest- this should be read by every Ontario citizen so they can better understand the truth of our schools today.
March 10, 2020 at 02:19
Thank you. You have so beautifully and eloquently written about this topic and I truly appreciate your voice. You could have been writing about my reality in my classroom this year and reading this brought me to tears. I don’t know you personally but am sending a virtual hug from one educator to another.
March 10, 2020 at 02:26
Thank you for saying so eloquently what has been a weight in my heart. I love teaching but find it almost impossible to do my job when I spend my day being an EA.
March 10, 2020 at 03:08
Anonymous
Natasha you have written this so eloquently and it is so true. I have sat at the dinner table and listened to my daughter- in – law who is a teacher and leader in daily planning for EA’s. Each day there are multiple situations. She has experienced bruising and bites from students as she tries to calm them down. Doing things teachers should never need to do. She is not teaching which she spent years studying for. Unfortunately this started many years ago and really needs to be rearranged and given a good look at. Some integration in the classroom is good other situations are not.
March 10, 2020 at 03:43
Has anyone actually considered that this kind of behaviour is learned at home , then eventually makes its way into the classroom . So who is really at fault ? The child? The teacher? The government ? Or is it the lack of parenting skills? This is the real question. Times have changed, and the laws have changed . Sad state of affairs.
March 10, 2020 at 03:58
I have 586 form letters from our MPs.and Ford’s office..and a few from our Board members…none of them are worth my time reading, but I do…and their voice mail well their full…
Educators are #1 on the WSIB for injuries and the majority of them are probably Educational Assistance. as any teacher knows.
I even had a School Board member tell me they knew what they were getting into when they signed up for the job……I wish people would educate themselves and stop think this is all about the wages and benefits..
March 10, 2020 at 04:14
Articles like this make me wonder if teachers think they are some how above others in the work force. There are good days and bad days in every job, nothing can be all roses. In my field there are an incredible amount of bad days. I think if the teacher that wrote this spent any time in my job, they would soon realize how fortunate they are, and maybe even a little ashamed of themselves for writing about how hard their job is.
March 10, 2020 at 05:03
Amen
March 10, 2020 at 05:29
It is sad that you think your hard job that you don’t mention makes it ok for her to go through what she describes, and for school realities to be what they are.
March 10, 2020 at 12:30
Teachers can suck up a bad day at work. That’s not what this is about. We are not producing “widgets” in schools. Our product is the education and well-being of children. When students are undersupported and policies don’t address the violence/disruption happening in schools, it doesn’t result in a bad day for us. It results in a bad day for a room full of children. When a classroom has a student with these behaviours/needs, it’s not just bad days for students and teachers… it’s often bad weeks, months, years. It’s classroom evacuations, modified programs/environment, witnessing/experiencing violence or profanity, and less time for learning experiences. Teachers are not complaining because our jobs are hard. There are a lot of hard jobs out there…many of us have worked those other jobs at some point in our lives. We are striking because when we are not given the tools, support, and policies that allow us to do our jobs effectively, all students suffer.
March 10, 2020 at 15:38
I think you may have missed the point. No one deserves to be the victim of violence in their workplace, this isn’t just about having a rough day. AND WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS? Are you okay with children spending their day in a situation where they are exposed to violence on a regular basis? What about when the violent acts are directed at them? What about when they are regularly evacuated from their classroom, then return to find it destroyed? Is it okay that the space where they are supposed to feel safe, where they can learn, explore, discover and grow has become a place of anger, violence and destruction? All kids deserve better than that, and that’s what this fight is about!!!
March 10, 2020 at 17:43
I agree with the above statement. If Natasha spent her lunch hour in the closet crying, plus the teacher who cried on her drive to work, have that much of a problem in the teaching profession, they should find another vocation. I find those statements very odd in that, if your job situation is affecting you in that manner, a person with their head screwed on right would get out of that work environment asap. No one who is that prone to emotional upset should be working in that environment. But you will counter by saying “I love the children”, In that case, try driving the school Bus or being a Crossing guard where you can still enjoy the presence of the children but at a much lower salary and no lucrative teachers Pension. I think the real problem in the teaching profession is a lack of understanding how much more stressful vocations there are in the real World, A teacher, like all of us, starts life outside of the home environment at age 4 in JK with the door shut and the windows closed. All year closeted in that closed environment of just one room the same as the rest of society. But the rest of society goes out to explore every facet of the real World with all it’s care’s and employments, whereas the school teacher, remains forever in that one room, with the door shut, and the windows closed. I will shortly visit my eye specialist to get a needle injected into each eye. Macro degeneration. My appointment is after lunch. I hope his morning patients have not upset him to the point were he had to eat his lunch in a closet.
March 10, 2020 at 17:50
You never mentioned what field of work you do? Are you working with young children? What if you went to work tomorrow and those same problem people you have to deal with everyday doubled and it’s only you that gets to deal with them, as well as doing what our government dictates you have too. Can’t imagine you’d be ok with that. Definitely not what you signed up for. And no one would blame you. Everyone has difficult days with there perspective careers but I would rather work with unruly adults then a class of up to 28 small children. So much has changed over the years. Classes were never this large when many became teachers. There was always respect for teachers and parents. This was something that was taught at home. We all know someone with a child you may not want your child to play with for many different reasons. Multiple that by 20 +. Many years ago children who required a different program had access to those programs as they should have. Not anymore, thanks to our government. Now all children are together in the same class. It’s so unfair to the children and the teachers to be able to give the proper attention to all children as they may need. Teachers are not asking for more money. There asking for a class size where they can give our children the education they deserve. Every needs someone to blame. Why not start with who made these changes in the first place. Our elected government.
Thank you to all teachers that go to work everyday to help educate our children. Not to mention who go beyond what’s called for. Thank you for all you do. It’s time we get behind them and stop being angry because you need to find accommodations for your children. You would never tolerate this if it were you facing the same struggles.
March 10, 2020 at 04:33
Where does the author teach?
March 10, 2020 at 15:31
In every school across this great Province!
March 10, 2020 at 05:01
Every work place has really bad situations just have to do the best we can with what we have. It’s not going to change so just do the best with what’s there that’s all we all can do. Unless you want to
Open up more private schools and make people pay., it’s not changing. We all need to figure out how to make things better the way it is. Look at health care. People sitting in hallways dying do you think the staff are feeling fulfilled. The get attached and punched out and name called all the time in hospitals. We just can only focus on one day at a time do the best we can and focus on helping people with what we have. No money anywhere to give to any place right now. That’s budget cuts everywhere. Let’s get back to teaching and doing what we can. GOD bless you all but there’s no money so all the picketing and striving is not going to get you anywhere ???? Fords cutting everything just have to accept it ?? And help those kids as much as u can 🤙
March 10, 2020 at 11:39
Get rid of the trouble maker,s and teach the ones that want to learn.
March 10, 2020 at 14:49
Thank you for voicing what nearly every educator and school employee is thinking. The needs in our schools have dramatically changed over the last couple of years. The mental illness And undiagnosed needs are overwhelming. If parents knew what the students have to see and hear on a daily basis, what has become the “norm” in our school system they would be in disbelief. The public needs to see what goes on in the classrooms, hallways and school yards. How can we make this happen?!
March 10, 2020 at 14:58
Bring the parents on to help.
March 10, 2020 at 16:25
You make a good case for why we need to change the system. No point in throwing good money into something that is broken! The education budget for 2020 is 24.66 billion! Some changes could include employing Early childhood education Teachers in JK and SK at half the cost, reduce teacher absenteeism which would result in a huge board savings, pay staff to engage in extracurricular activities, take a pay cut in order to employ extra support staff, etc!!
March 10, 2020 at 17:05
Under normal circumstances , teachers have good days and bad days and they deal with it!You are a person who is lacking in the facts, educate yourself, get into the classrooms of our public schools before you lash out at teachers…
March 10, 2020 at 19:41
Take your additional days off and raise’s off the negotiation agenda…and then I will believe it’s for the children!!!!
March 10, 2020 at 20:24
If it wasn’t for the teachers both my kids have they wouldn’t be were they are today. They would be left behind. Yes they struggle but not were they would be if they didn’t step up and help. Not all teacher are “lazy” and not all are quick to brush off kids needs.
Some teachers need a raise for the things they deal with day to day.
March 10, 2020 at 21:01
One of my friends or relatives tell me weekly that they or someone very close are depressed, teachers making $92,000 a year can get depressed as can teachers in the USA making $38,000 a year get depressed, teachers in poor countries making $5.00 a day get depressed and have the same issues, standing on the street for 6% increase in benefits or 2% increase in wages isn’t the solution, getting back in the classrooms and helping the kids with $92,000 incomes might do the trick. If there’s an effort? I read many reviews from teachers with many spelling errors? Asking for a job by seniority rather than qualifications doesn’t quite cut it either. So please stay out of the closet and earn your pay.
March 10, 2020 at 23:40
Well said!
March 11, 2020 at 00:24
William, let me correct you on a few details since you look for correctness in online reviews.
1. I have been working as a teacher for 6 years now after 5 years of university graduating with honours, and have yet to crack 70,000. The average teacher does not earn $92,000; supply teachers start around $20,000. If you want to factor in principals and administration that raises averages of course, but they are a different union which you can look up on your own time. Can you cite where you got your salary average information?
2. You claim teachers in the states earn $38,000. You seem to prefer looking at extremes and not averages. A quick google search informed me that teachers in the states earn an average of $60,000 (rounded down). Now let’s do some quick math here. US to CAD dollar is 1.37 at present, so roughly a third higher. A third of 60,000 is 20,000, so they earn around 80,000, which is comparable to Canada. Fact check please.
3. ‘One of my friends or relatives tell me weekly’ This is inaccurate grammar. Please consider ‘My friends and relatives tell me weekly,’ or, ‘I have friends or relatives tell me weekly.’ ‘Someone very close are’ needs to be ‘someone very close is’ and there should be a period after depressed. There is also a period needed after ‘issues.’ You also put question marks after sentences towards the end, but the sentences aren’t worded as questions, so please observe your punctuation from the grade 1 curriculum.
4. You say asking for a job by seniority rather than qualifications doesn’t cut it. Firstly, no one asks for a job, we apply and interview like anyone else. Secondly, while we do require the purchase of our own qualification courses to bump up on the pay grid, to be completed on our own time, comparing qualification with seniority is like comparing an experienced doctor with someone fresh out of university who spent more time learning concepts and theories. Seniority is synonymous with qualification in our field. But, having no understanding of the teaching world, I can forgive your ignorance.
Please let me know if my response is sufficient enough for your editorial needs.
March 12, 2020 at 02:29
So 70k per year for approx 10 month of work sounds pretty good. Yes teachers salaries are paid over 12 months because they can’t budget over the summer. Back in the day many blew through their pay over the 10 months and were left without cash over the summer break. This is why they are paid over 12 months now but work 10 month or 194 days. As for hiring – should a teacher with more seniority be hired over a fully qualified teacher for the subject? I keep hearing that the kids matter and there are a lot of special needs. If you had a high needs child who do you want in front of them? Someone with seniority or someone with all the AQ’s as well as more experience dealing with those kids. Remember seniority is not the same as experience. You might have 5 years teaching seniority in a straight gr1 class (with little experience with special needs kids) but I might have 3 full years experience with special high needs kids and all the AQ’s for that. If it is my kids I want the best qualified person to teach them not the one with most seniority based on the example I just gave. In case you are wondering I am a teacher. Many of my teaching friends feel the same. Sorry but I can’t go along with the union party line. As for taking AQ’s to bump you up on the grid many other professions do not have that option and yes they typically pay to take those courses too. Your Doctor example is utter nonsense. So you are saying that a Dr with 10 years seniority without working with infectious diseases cases is better than another Dr with 6 years seniority 5 of which was working with such cases. Many professions have high stress jobs like police and firefighters. They work 12 months and are paid over 12 months. It’s always easy to look at your own circumstance and believe that no one gets it because they don’t do you job but you need to remember that you don’t know their job either. Being a teacher is important for the kids but if the person is that stressed then they should consider another profession like maybe being a nurse at sick kids hospital. Wait that was wrong of me to say that. Don’t want to inflame this more but please consider everything and not just your limited view of your own circumstance.
March 10, 2020 at 22:42
These issues all preceded the current government. Why have teachers and their unions not raised warning bells so strongly during previous contract negotiations or even in between? If the situation has become so dire in classrooms, this is a direct failing of teachers for NOT addressing / bringing to the public’s attention with such ferocity until they have a convenient boogeyman to blame it on. Proposed cuts by the current government may exacerbate the issues but ultimately, if the status quo is so awful, they, their unions, and the previous government bear the brunt of the responsibility.
March 10, 2020 at 22:59
Whatever. Read the articles in the Globe – they outline the truth of what the strikes are about – they are about benefits for teachers like pension. Not even most teachers know this.
March 10, 2020 at 23:02
I have a child who is on the spectrum and we have reached out to private practices to help her with behavioural and social issues she has in school and in life in general. My daughter is turning 11 and has been dealing with these issues since she was 5 or 6. When myself and the practice reached out to the Durham Catholic school board and the school my children go to they refused to talk to the practice and told me it had to be with one that they recognize yet the public board recognizes them. So instead of taking 1hr out of their time to reach out to the dr and speak with her worker the school shut us down and instead would call myself or their mother to go and pick up our daughter everytime another child would instigate and pick on her and she would retaliate. Also she is on an IEP program and has been for the last 3 years but it was never fully put in place until this year. Also when we decided to let the school know that she is on certain medication to help her with her attention and focusing, if there is an issue where she shows even the slightest sign of being adjetated she is asked to her face if she has taken her meds today. Sorry I have lost faith in the school board and dont believe the saying “we are here for the kids”. Do I believe you deserve an EA to come and help students who need extra time or assistance? 100% but let’s be real at the end of the day this all comes down to money on both sides of the partys fighting here
March 10, 2020 at 23:15
Thank you for sharing, Natasha.
March 11, 2020 at 00:22
These are my sentiments exactly and you so sensitively and eloquently delivered my exact thoughts. I have dealt with a student that has tested me to the core. ( I have taught 19 years.) I come home most nights exhausted, tears in my eyes and feeling guilty for not reaching the quiet student in the back. I encourage you to share this with Mr. Ford and Mr. Lecce. Your voice is powerful and needs to be heard. I called my MPP today and asked him to come to my class and see for himself what is going on.
March 11, 2020 at 00:32
I read this article. It paints a vivid picture of the broken school system. I appreciate the insights because I haven’t been in a school for almost forty years. All I know is what I read about. All I know is teachers are often on strike. All I know is kids can’t read. All I know is kids can’t write. All I know is kids can’t do math. All I know is I pay a huge amount of my limited income to support a broken system.
What I don’t know is what is stopping our society from fixing this mess. What I don’t know is why professional educators have no clue what to do. What I don’t know is why I never hear from teachers what they would do to fix what’s broken.
The current strike may be our silver lining. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll start to focus on real fixes not on bandaids (AKA $).
If we don’t, then our society will crumble into dust.
Phew. Have a good day.
March 11, 2020 at 01:14
There is more than Teachers involved here. ECEs and EAs who do not get paid salaries or for March break or summer months but work hard and are affected by the same issues as the teachers. They do not get the big wage as they have different education levels and do not expect to but are teaching and helping in the classrooms. most of all the teachers and staff care about the children. I think special needs should have a separate class.
March 11, 2020 at 14:10
I understand that being a teach must be extremely challenging today because of how the kids are behaving. There is such a lack of respect from children (mostly teens) towards adults in general. I can guarantee if we had spoken to our teachers/adults, the way kids speak to them today, we would have had our ass wooped. I see how teens behave in our area, swearing at adults, vandalism, spitting at kids at the park, no respect. Teachers are there to educate kids, NOT RAISE THEM. That responsibility falls on the parents. But I also see the other side, my daughter had ADD (she is now an adult) and we received very little to no support from our school, we had a teacher tell my daughter “if you don’t understand, that’s your problem”. My daughter was humiliated in school by a teacher, by a principal. There are good and bad teachers out there and well as good and bad students. So parents, raise your children to respect their peers and remember and make children responsible for their actions.
March 11, 2020 at 18:28
I know many teachers, both in the public and catholic systems. A teacher, when discussing bullying, told me that she was informed by administration and board officials, if she encountered bullying to ignore and walk away! So much for board and school policy of zero tolerance!
March 12, 2020 at 17:51
Thank you. As a school bus driver we get very little support from the pricipals. Now I know why
March 12, 2020 at 02:22
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
March 12, 2020 at 04:12
Great message Natasha. I think I actually know Dewey Cheatem from a small town. Pretty sure he is currently incarcerated.