A Lasting Impact (From the General Secretary)

Teachers often talk about coming to our profession as one  comes to a calling. Under­ standing the  tremendous influence  educators have  on students’ lives while they are in  our classrooms,  and  the  lasting  impact  on  who they  become  as  adults,  educators  treat  our work as a tremendous and important respon­ sibility. After all, teachers  usher  generations forward, equipping them with the social, emo­tional,  and educational  tools to become  suc­cessful adults. We work hard to ensure that all our students learn,that all our students experi­ence “light bulb moments.”

Everyone has a list of people who have had a lasting impact on their lives. Most of us have at least one teacher on that list, someone who made  a difference, inspired  us, gave us confi­dence when we most needed it, or provided us with the tools to make a leap in our learning.  Teachers’ commitment  to the profession  is rooted in  our  desire to make a difference in students’ lives, to create an education  system that  supports learning   and  growth,  and  to equip  and  prepare  students  to be  successful after they leave our classrooms. This all starts with  a  solid  and  well-funded  public  educa­tion system. Accessible, high-quality education from  the early years all the way to post-sec­ondary is the only way to ensure the social and economic health of society.

In May, thousands  of ETFO members par­ticipated  in the  Respect Teachers, Respect Bar­gainingcampaign.  They  sent  postcards  that informed  the  premier, the minister  of educa­tion, and  their  local  MPP about  the impact the proposed  cuts would  have on them  per­sonally, and demanded  that  the minister  and MPPs respect free collective bargaining. They also  reminded  Premier  McGuinty  that  the demands the province is making on teachers will destroy a partnership that has been eight years in  the making.  Teachers spoke about how they would be affected by the proposed strips to their  contracts, and  demanded  that the  government  work  collaboratively in  any provincial  discussions  and  respect  the rules and conventions of fair negotiations.

Ultimately, teachers  told  the  government that  the  commitment we show to making  a difference in  students’  lives everyday, and to creating  an  education  system  that  supports learning and growth, needs to be reciprocated with respect.

At  May’s  Representative  Council,  Susan Lambert, president of the BC Teachers’ Federa­tion, gave an inspiring  speech, part of which I’d like to share with you as we prepare for the journey  ahead. She said, “We teach children their  democratic  rights  and  obligations. We teach them  to  analyze for  bias, motive,  and intent. We teach  them to respect  each other. We teach them  compassion  and discernment.  We teach them to critically appraise opinions  and  assertions  and  to question  authority.  In short, we see our work as encouraging  active, engaged citizenship. So we also act as engaged citizens. We act as if we have the  rights  of citizens in a democracy. We act with authority, voice and confidence.”