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Building on Barnett’s legacy
John Walker Barnett crisscrossed Alberta many times and for many years in his bid to unify the profession. His vision was to bring together the teachers in the province so their collective voice could be heard. Barnett’s hard work led to the creation of today’s Alberta Teachers’ Association—the unified voice of Alberta’s teaching profession.
As Barnett did, though under entirely different conditions, I have been travelling around the province too. It’s only three months into the school year and already I’ve put more than 20,000 kilometres on my vehicle. My travels have taken me far north to High Prairie and Grande Prairie and south, to Medicine Hat and Cardston. I have had the privilege of meeting teachers in Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton. I’ve had the opportunity to visit with teachers of First Nations descent and to meet our francophone members. Diversity is such an amazingly rich aspect of the Association.
No doubt Barnett, when he set out on his yearly quest to encourage teachers to join a professional organization, understood that a diverse membership would enrich the then Alberta Teachers’ Alliance. Today, the Alberta Teachers’ Association exemplifies an active, energetic and modern-day organization that looks to the future as it advances the benefits and strengths public education.
You’ll have read in this issue of the ATA Magazine that Barnett travelled extensively to the far-flung corners of Alberta to meet with teachers and bring them together under one organization. His determination, stamina and courage are awe inspiring, especially when you think about how much more difficult travelling was in Barnett’s day than it is now. Back then roads were sometimes no more than impassable wagon tracks. During a recent trek back to Edmonton from Cardston, I thought about Barnett’s adventures. In contrast to his Gray Dort, my truck is comfortable, heated, has a powerful engine and satellite radio.
Despite vastly different vehicles and road conditions, I, like the past presidents of the Association, share much with our first general-secretary, John Barnett—we all follow the same light, which is to listen to our members and provide them with a high level of service.
Members often ask me what I do and why. I tell them that I represent them and their colleagues, and I describe the role of ATA president as both a responsibility and a privilege.
Engaging in face-to-face meetings, acknowledging members’ important contributions to the ATA and listening to each and every voice are all vital to the Association’s growth. The power of the voice from the classroom is the voice we, as elected officials, carry with us when outlining our goals and messages of the profession, to government, to education stakeholders and to the public. Barnett knew how potent a unified voice could be and he worked diligently to ensure that the members of a fledgling organization were heard and had confidence in being part of that collective.
This holds true today. At a time when provincial politics and public education clash, at a time when our members face increasingly heavier workloads and larger classes and at a time when public education is under relentless attack from the right-wing, it is the resolve of each teacher and the collective voice of all teachers that keeps us strong. I’m reminded of this as I participate across the province in inducting our new members.
Barnett’s shoes are too big to fill, but many of us have had the privilege to follow in his footsteps and continue his legacy to build, teacher by teacher, a strong and vital professional organization.
