Addressing the Rhetoric

I wanted to write an uplifting message for teachers today. But I’m going to be honest. I’m sad. I’m disheartened. I’m angry.

I listen to the words coming out of the mouths of our premier and education minister (intentionally lower case here) and I am embarrassed and appalled to be an Albertan. I dared to read through social media platforms the other day. Alberta is being painted with the same brush as our current leaders. And sadly, there are those who believe the rhetoric.

Alberta teachers are fighting for better conditions and adequate support for student learning. Class sizes have been ballooning again in recent years. The needs of students in these classrooms is increasingly complex. Teaching is hard. Teaching a large number of students with diverse needs and inadequate support is impossibly hard. Just like teachers around the world, our teachers give it their all–day in and day out. Supporting students with emotional, social, physical, and yes, academic needs. Working countless hours beyond the school day. Carrying the weight of their students’ needs–hunger, poverty, abuse, inequity–with them home to their own families, trying to find solutions, trying to be the strength and hope their students require.

In my current role, I speak to educators across the country. I am now embarrassed to say where I’m from. Alberta was once a leader in education. The lack of funding and the lack of regard for teachers by our government is abhorrent.

Last November, I sat in the Jubilee Auditorium with 2500 other Edmontonians listening to Margaret Atwood speak about freedom of expression. I said it then and I’ll say it again, she is one of the smartest Canadians I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. And now, thanks to our current government–and not because of the teachers of this province–we find ourselves facing book bans, including of course those of Margaret Atwood.

Our children deserve funding adequate to meet their needs. Our children deserve to be accepted as themselves in our classrooms. Our children deserve to read the books that will help them navigate this crazy world we live in. Our children deserve to have teachers and peers who have been vaccinated. And yes, our children deserve to have teachers who are paid fairly to do the work they do.

To Alberta teachers, stand strong. Know that what you do makes a difference every damn day.

To concerned Albertans, support teachers as best you can and contact your MLA. My MLA–and a few others are receiving this blog post.

To those outside of Alberta, know that the rhetoric you’re hearing is not the voice of Alberta teachers, and in fact, not the voice of the majority.

To students, I defer to Stephen King, “…run, don’t walk, to the nearest nonschool library or to the local bookstore and get whatever it was that they banned. Read whatever they’re trying to keep out of your eyes and your brain, because that’s exactly what you need to know.”