Unpublished Op-Ed submitted to the Toronto Star

Stephen Lecce’s robotic and predictable adversarial rhetoric about the ongoing teacher contract negotiations are the same tired old story lines that have been dragged out by governments of all political stripes – teachers are only concerned about wages, they are holding students and parents hostage, and their demands are unreasonable. He has also added in a new and sinister Conservative twist – privatization.  The attitude and demeanour of the Education Minister demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the teaching profession and the people who dedicate their lives to it. Teachers are viewed as low-level employees who should be grateful they have a job.

Teachers also must change their strategy also. They should not be shy about asking for wages – they should be rewarded for the abuse they take, the patronizing attitudes towards them and the demanding hard work, training and qualifications that they possess. They should not be asked to repeatedly subsidize the government’s budget plans over twenty-five years when no one else in the private or the public sector are. In the best economy in decades corporate taxes remain extremely low. And yes, teachers work with unmotivated,  often sullen students and obnoxious parents. If this service is so critical then Lecce should be ready to pay for it just like the government does with healthcare, transit, legal fees or the private sector where services in need or provided by professionals are priced higher. What teachers really need is an image makeover much like the CPAs are currently doing turning the dowdy accountant profession into a mega-tech leader.

We also live in a modern tech savvy world and the image of dutiful students pouring over their books in class and at home is ancient mythology.  Homework has also dropped off the radar screen. Students are more interested in family commitments, extra curricular activities and work which are all fun and eats up all of students’ waking hours. No time for homework or school for that matter other than as another social site to meet their friends.  Because of cellphones and access to vehicles students have active social lives that are far more interesting than schoolwork. Ironically, they still want the marks when they are being handed out. Most parents have also changed dramatically into politically aggressive individuals who will attack teachers and principals in a moment with fabrications and defend their child if their work is questioned. Most parents enable their children by providing cellphones and cars at a very young age because they don’t want to put up with the parental pressure. Bad parental examples abound – some severe. Children are experts at extorting their parents. Parents are stressed out, often single-parents who have no time for the antics that teens can play at home or outside. So let’s stop canonizing students or parents.

Research shows that teachers are driven by altruistic values of giving back to their communities and helping others – not by wages. Teaching is one of the few porfessions left that truly has dedicated people in it and all they seem to get is abuse. They are highly trained and skilled professionals with a mountain of patience who deal with 30 clients a day for 5 hours over ten months unlike any other profession.. Going on day trips doesn’t even begin to get it done. The relief on parents faces and in their voices when school goes back is recognizable and speaks to how difficult teaching is. At the same time teachers are also simultaneously providing secure custodial care as well that allows the economy to run efficiently and effectively. Mr. Lecce seems to have forgotten this.

No one can teach  kids the diversity of skills and knowledge that teachers can. They cannot run the sports activities, music programs, outdoor education events, trips or provide critically needed support for special needs students. They also cannot provide the diversified and inclusive social environment that school provides which is immeasurable. This goes on intensely for ten months each year and yes teachers and students do need a break from this experience. There is research that demonstrates that breaks consolidate and increase learning. For teachers they spend a week closing down and they are generally in two weeks ahead leaving them with about five weeks holidays (about normal for anyone working in the private sector). During that time many teachers go to school to upgrade their qualifications. In addition, teachers spend hours each night marking and preparing. It’s the only profession where you work two full time jobs with no thanks and plenty of abuse. There is no other profession that deals with thirty diverse clients simultaneously for five hours a day for ten months of the year. Other professions that deal with single clients are handsomely compensated for it. Teachers are no different and are the lowest paid professionals.

But despite these double-barrelled professional competencies Lecce and many parents talk down to teachers and disrespect them like hired governesses who should be seen and not heard. This is because eighty percent of teachers in elementary schools are still women which is why bargaining is so difficult. Old patriarchal traditions that plague society are at work here. It is time that teachers began to be treated like real professionals – not just with kind catchphrases once they dutifully fall into line. Lecce needs to stop brow beating teachers and come to the table with a mature, adult mindset that recognizes teachers as professionals.

Teachers are not destroying education, quite the contrary. Stephen Lecce is with his misguided hidden neoconservative privatization agenda.