Doesn’t she deserve the best education we can give her?
That’s the question that ETFO asked in an ad in 38 newspapers across the province on December 18th. It’s a great question to which I believe both the teachers and the province would answer a resounding, “YES!” Ironically, I’m not so sure about ETFO.
As a teacher, it is with grave concern that I have watched the progress of negotiations. While we help our students discover the value of honesty, our union seeks to camouflage its efforts to protect teachers’ rights behind the language of what’s best for students. While we help our students to discover that fair doesn’t always mean equal, our union fights to “Close The Gap.” While we seek to empower our students to make wise decisions, our union does not give us that opportunity.
In the face of current economic times, I also believe that it is important for us to remember that we are a part of the public education system. In tough economic times like this, financial decisions for private businesses are dictated by the bottom line. As a publically funded institution, we have no such accountability. It is up to us to recognize that there is a time to push forward on new initiatives and a time to hold back out of acknowledgement and respect for the financial challenges of our family, friends and neighbours whose livelihoods fund what we do. I believe that the economic climate, both provincially and globally, leaves us with a moral obligation to show restraint at this time.
For these reason, a lack of confidence in ETFO to represent our wishes as its members and a firm belief that our economy demands that now is not the time to push forward, when given the opportunity, I will vote not to strike. It is time that all who share these concerns speak up and contact their ETFO representatives and express our true concern that students get OUR best.
