The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Delegates examine issues at CTF’s 90th annual general meeting in July 2010. Photo by Yuet Chan

The following article is the second of a two-part article about the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. The first part appeared in the February 22 issue of the ATA News.

What is really on the line in education?

It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that because something is so obviously of value to us, it will endure. Many Albertans fell into this trap in the 1990s and when the Klein government decided to cut kindergarten; we had not foreseen that risk because we could not imagine that others did not see the value of kindergarten. It took a fight, but teachers were instrumental in saving early childhood education by showing that it was a shared value of many Albertans.

Public education as a whole is a shared value that is at risk. For teachers, public education is so valuable that we find it difficult to believe that others could possibly want to restrict it. But they do. Peter Cowley, education policy researcher with the Fraser Institute, speaks of education as a market commodity “like insurance.” His view is that government should provide a minimal, basic education, and access to education beyond that should be limited to what one can pay for. When the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results were announced, CBC used Cowley as the knowledgeable expert on education because it wanted “a balanced view.” People with radical views on education have more influence than we would like to believe. Universal access to equal public education is on the line.

Bill Gates was interviewed in the September 21, 2010, Maclean’s magazine as an expert on fixing education. Gates is committed to common standards, testing regimes, charter schools, weakened unions and rigid ongoing teacher evaluation. His quick-fix suggestion for education is to fire the bottom 10 per cent of teachers. Teacher jobs and teacher working conditions are on the line.

In late 2010 Ontario invited the OECD to evaluate its education system. (Who’s next?) A primary criticism was the reduction of class sizes across the board. The evaluators stressed that research does not support reduced class sizes and that the reductions were an ineffective way to spend education dollars. Class size is on the line.

Rights legislation has indelibly changed the face of classrooms. Students with differing needs and conditions are now in inclusive classrooms, and the ability of schools to address these diverse needs in diverse ways has been restricted due to budget pressures. Teachers bear the brunt of parent criticism when expectations do not match resources. Class ­composition is on the line.

CBC Radio’s program The ­Current, addressing the topic of youth employment in 2011, gave voice to an American businessman who stated that today’s education system does not meet the employment needs of youth and that there should be a completely different way to help young people prepare for the job market—entrepreneurship. Many conservative interests see education as being primarily preparation for work. The value of education and the nature of schooling are on the line.

Teachers do more than job training; they work diligently to meet diverse needs; they know that smaller classes mean better education for all; they want and deserve fair treatment in their employment; and they believe in universal public education. ­Teachers must be heard.

Teachers’ organizations like the ATA continue to be the voice of teachers in order to protect and advance their values. Nationally, the CTF supports its provincial member organizations through advocacy, promotion, networking, research, sharing resources and influencing decision makers nationally and internationally. The CTF serves as the national voice of teachers and speaks on your behalf at national and international meetings. The ATA is a strong voice within the CTF.

Bang for the Buck!

We all want to ensure that we are getting good value for our hard-earned dollars. Teachers often wonder about the spending of their association fees and the value received. Approximately $25 of your provincial association dues are forwarded annually on your behalf to the CTF. For about $2 per month, teachers realize significant returns on their ­investment in the CTF. In the same way the ATA is responsive to the needs of its members, the CTF is responsive to teacher leaders. The benefits include unity, shared development, a strong national profile and, of course, fiscal ­responsibility.

Unity helps teachers in at least two ways. When 200,000 teachers speak as one, people listen. And when teacher leaders come together regularly, they develop consistency in their statements and actions and therefore a ­stronger voice.

Not only is the CTF an effective voice for teachers but the strength of numbers enables teachers to create partnerships with other national groups who then gain understanding of teacher values, beliefs and positions. Those partnerships expand teacher voice. This unity is increasingly important as more and more unions (provincially, nationally and internationally) are coming under attack. The larger profile of teachers as a whole benefits all and can draw attention to what would otherwise be treated as local matters. National media and national groups want to hear from groups that represent members from across the country. Teachers do that through the CTF.

Consistency has been the cornerstone of the right-wing agenda. That agenda is supported by a surprisingly small number of research reports and position papers that refer to one another and carry more importance than deserved because they are touted by multiple groups. The effectiveness of their message is enhanced by their consistency. CTF provides that consistency for teachers. When the presidents and chief administrators of the provincial teachers’ ­organizations come together ­several times a year to share experiences, ideas, plans and projections, they develop a consistent message on behalf of teachers in an effective and cost-effective way.

The development of common understandings is enhanced by developing a common vocabulary. CTF continues to be active through work groups and committees (including representation from Alberta) in the development of common messaging and the national effort of teachers to recapture the education agenda and to stop the changed meanings being given to our own terminology by the neoliberal movement.

National unity has other benefits. Teachers across the country have access to physical, verbal and financial support when governments try to crush teacher strength (for example, financial assistance provided directly to striking teachers when the ­government tried to starve their organization into submission). Cross-country support has been powerful in assisting teachers. When Alberta teachers held a rally to demonstrate their solidarity in the face of government pressures, representation from other provincial teachers’ groups who came to support them gave the cause a national profile.

Other financial savings include shared costs on lobbying efforts on the issues that matter to teachers—such as protection from criminal charges when students become physical; copyright legislation that would otherwise drain resources at a time when Internet access is critical; and child poverty issues, which are affected by much federal legislation and have an impact on students’ ability to achieve their potential. The CTF is currently doing advocacy work with several government departments on more than 20 major issues.

Savings in time and other resources come from shared research and distribution of information to all members. For example, the CTF members-only site puts in instant reach 300 collective agreements and information about every key issue affecting working conditions. This service is so effective that the U.S. National Education Association and the Caribbean Union of Teachers have asked the CTF to assist them with similar programs.

And, of course, teachers across Canada get bang for their buck internationally by working together through CTF on international representation and funding the administration of international programs. Doing this at a national level increases the impact and makes dollars go further. Canadian teachers are proud of the tremendous work done through the CTF to share the knowledge and expertise of the world’s best teachers with teachers in developing countries with many needs.

Calvin Fraser, a former executive staff officer at the Alberta Teachers’ Association, is secretary general of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.