Page Content
Political smoke and mirrors: Five issues the Task Force for Teacher Excellence ignores
A few years ago, I attended a “parent party” for my daughter’s sports team. It was a social gathering of a disparate group of people whose only real connection was the fact that they all had 12-year-old daughters.
It just so happened, however, that several of those 12-year-olds attended the same school, and had the same teacher. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conversation turned toward the teacher, and parents were loudly and vociferously complaining about the woman.
I felt extremely awkward. I didn’t know this teacher, but I did know this group of girls (I had helped coach them) and I knew they weren’t a breeze; additionally, the parent community in which I live can be a critical one. And the teacher was a pretty easy target, especially given the fact she wasn’t there to defend herself. The parents knew I was a teacher, but since my daughter didn’t go to that school, I wasn’t included in the conversation. In the end, I just said, “Hm. I wonder if there is a group of parents, right now, all sitting around in a room talking about ME.”
Silence.
The thing is, teachers are easy targets. We’ve all been to school and we’ve all known teachers who are more or less capable. We have seen teachers at work, daily, for years, and so we assume that we know exactly what they do. Unfortunately, there are few jobs people can claim to know so intimately, even if they have never done it; sadly, it is this lack of knowledge and understanding, in large part, that has led us to the Task Force for Teaching Excellence debacle with which we are now faced.
The really troubling part is that the TF really is a game of political smoke and mirrors for the government. By creating problems where none exist, such as demanding five-year recertification or allowing tradespeople to teach without teaching certificates (anyone else see the inherent contradictions in that?), we are distracted from the real issues that impede true teacher excellence in this province, real issues that the government seems unwilling to tackle creatively and thoughtfully.
Minister Jeff Johnson has said that he is willing to have “tough conversations” about “thorny issues.” Here are five “thorny issues” that, in my opinion, ACTUALLY impact teacher excellence:
- Child poverty
According to a report by Human Services, 17 per cent of students in this province are living in poverty. Seventeen per cent!!! This is reprehensible, given that we are one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the world.
I have seen some truly excellent teachers do amazing work with students, but not even the cream-of-the-crop teachers can do their very best work when students are coming to school hungry.
- Inclusive education
We need to expand our understanding of inclusion. Inclusion should mean that every student is a valued and contributing member of the school community, not that every student is in every class, no matter what. At its best, inclusive education fosters a culture that allows for and accepts difference. It means ensuring the most appropriate learning environment for each child, sometimes within a “regular” classroom and sometimes not.
- Infrastructure issues
The government loves to be able to say that local boards have the decision-making power to determine which schools open and which schools close, which is really just a way of passing the proverbial buck. School boards are being placed in an untenable position. With limited and unpredictable funding, we are faced with schools and neighbourhoods being pitted against one another for improved facilities.
- Support for mental health
When Jeff Johnson says he wants to do “what is right for kids,” he needs to do what is right for families and kids and lobby for increased support for mental health care in this province, which is woefully underfunded and sadly lacking. Schools attempt to provide wraparound services, understanding that students cannot learn when they are mentally unwell.
- Class Size and Composition
Jeff Johnson has repeatedly stated that class size does not have a measurable impact on student learning. Maybe he is right, in some instances. I have taught students from junior high to postsecondary, from classes of 6 to classes of 150; in my experience, the number of students is far less important than the context in which I was teaching. What matters MAY NOT be class size. It is, perhaps, the composition of the class that matters more.
Jeff Johnson said that he needs to be able to look in the mirror and know that he has done the right thing for kids. Well, every day teachers teach, we look in the mirror and wonder if we have done all that we can for the kids in front of us, given the constraints that bind our teaching. We are doing the very best we can. I have to wonder, however, if this government can say the same. ❚
Nicole Lafreniere is a teacher and administrator with the Edmonton Catholic School District who is currently seconded to the University of Alberta. Her blog can be found at teacherstuffthatkeepsmeawake.blogspot.ca.
