This week I - along with thousands of other TDSB elementary school parents - received a letter from Donna Quan, Director of Education at the Toronto District School Board, informing parents that report cards will not be completed this year as part of a provincial-wide work-to-rule strike action.
To say I am upset is a massive understatement. If the teachers and their union think that pissing off parents is the way to get action, they are sadly mistaken. If teachers, the school board and their unions think that acting in this petulant manner will evoke empathy from hard-working taxpaying parents and caregivers, they're wrong on that account as well.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but educators are getting paid to do their job - yet refusing to finish the job they're getting paid for. Educators are getting paid BY PARENTS and are refusing to complete the job because they're angry and not getting the attention and answers they want from the government. The problem is with the government, but the kids and parents pay the price.
Teachers, our kids are watching you, and they're watching us. They are hearing the conversations happening around dining room tables and in minivans. They are disappointed and hurt and feel let down and SO ARE WE.
My daughter has worked so hard this year to earn a top notch report card. Her teachers have been fantastic. They've been inspirational, stern when necessary, fun, and full of leadership. It's been a great year for her; her last in elementary school. Next year she moves to middle school, but now instead of finishing her year with a document capturing all her hard work, she's being told by teachers, "Sorry, the union's demands are more important than all your hard work over the school year. Sorry kid. We've gotta do what's in our best interest."
Welcome to the school of hard knocks, kiddo.
As an entrepreneur who works hard to earn a living, not to mention never knowing when the next paycheck will come in, I have little sympathy for teachers who are well-paid to do a noble job they ostensibly love and then pull this stunt. Teachers in the public sector have health benefits, their union pays them generously with their pension investments, plus they get perks like an ample vacation time like not having to work all summer. Times are tough for many of us eking out a living, and frustration at unions is understandable: more and more of us (many of whom are also highly educated and trained for specific careers) are finding it hard to find decent jobs. I understand that not all teachers support their union's actions but are unable to say so - and that in itself is another huge problem. Because teachers? You are pissing off the very people who pay your salary - parents.
Those of us not employed in the public school system work hard all year round and hope we make enough money through to pay our bills. And we only get paid when we complete work to our bosses or clients' satisfaction. In other words, the job teachers agree to do includes having report cards completed for kids at the end of the school year. No report cards? Pay should be docked accordingly. Give that money to stay at home moms and dads who can use some extra cash and let them input the report cards. Can't do that, says the union. Privacy issues. I cry bullshit again. If you polled parents and ask if they choose privacy over getting a report card, I'm pretty sure you'd have an avalanche of support of outsourcing the data inputting, but instead the union is holding the information hostage.
You want to get results? Why not stop angering the very people who can help you make change? Why not start a full-on campaign inviting parents to HELP YOU make the changes you feel are necessary to improve our kids' education?
Yesterday, I sent out a series of tweets expressing my deep displeasure on the decision to punish families by refusing to complete report cards. Some random Twitter follower responded to me with "It's been nice following you. Unfollow." I'm sorry that my opinion offends you and anyone else in the school system, but you need to know that you are alienating parents and have lost support based on your actions. I love and appreciate how hard you work to educate our kids, but your union's decision to express displeasure with the government by punishing my daughter is reprehensible and infantile; and this is a union you voted for and support. When my local school board Trustee noted my frustration on Twitter, I was impressed that she took the time to send me an email to explain the situation. However, it just fueled my anger, reinforcing the political game of passing the buck.
Any parenting expert can tell you that tantrums don't work. Any parent will tell you that bullying is unacceptable. Any kid not receiving their report card will tell you they're very sad and confused that all their hard work has been for nothing.
Life is about choices. Teachers and educators just made a very bad one.
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