Don’t be a bystander

Government proposals will harm education system

Bullying is deliberate intimidation. It is using terror to control and manipulate. Bullies terrorize in order to gain their will, money, possessions or social capital. Bullies typically surround themselves with cronies willing to do their will in exchange for protection from the acts inflicted upon others. Cronies, in essence, give up freedom of thought and action in exchange for personal security. It is an exchange of kindnesses. Bullying is only successful due to the bystander phenomenon, in which those not directly affected by the bully, and their frightened cronies (unhappy allies who cooperate out of fear), watch others being victimized. Bystanders only act or speak out when the impact directly affects them.

When the Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government vilified nurses, voters rallied behind him. Voters, many of whom already live near or below the poverty line, thought it unfair that public sector workers expected something that they lacked – adequate income. Bear in mind that one of the first actions of the current government was to give themselves a raise and reduce the tenure qualification for pensions. This is not an accident. This is politicking at its best. Cutting public service costs, more than their raises increase the budget, allows them to dismiss their increases as negligible. Our premier currently makes more than $200,000 annually and two years in qualified for a public pension. As Montgomery Burns says, “I’d give it all up for a little more.”

Public sector workers were bullied by McNeil. Non-unionized citizens were the silent bystanders. Today the health care sector is in crisis. Now, citizens are speaking out because their personal health care is in jeopardy. Nurses have already left the province. Doctors are hesitant to come. Others have left. And recently a doctor allowed his license to lapse and chose to retire, assigning blame entirely on this government and its treatment of the health care sector. Inaction, when it was required, has led to our current conundrum.

The latest attempt by the Nova Scotia Liberals to discourage, discredit and disassemble the field of education in this province is disheartening to say the least. They are dismantling school boards in favour of political appointees. The Department of Education will be less accountable to the public. Local “representation” becomes partisan cronyism. School board trustees have already been told they are expected to do whatever the government tells them, pending their upcoming (paid until 2020) dismissal, or they will suffer the consequences.

In Ontario, the College of Teachers publishes public records of any and all teacher discipline, right down to stepping outside of a classroom, including the names and professional numbers of those educators. It is a practice of fear and humiliation in a field devoted to openness and empowerment. And McNeil wants to bring that kind of system to Nova Scotia. It’s important to note here that British Columbia was the only other province with a College of Teachers. And it was dismantled for being dysfunctional.

Perfection is demanded from educators. But paranoia and humiliation do not drive excellence. Teachers are expected to teach without partisanship. We offer education to students from all backgrounds. If McNeil’s new vision of education in Nova Scotia is allowed to take hold the sub shortage will change from a trickle to a hemorrhage. And since school boards will change from elected members to appointees, the people responsible for hiring new teachers will owe someone a favour. Your children will be taught by people who owe people who owe people. Teachers are expected to leave personal politics outside of the classroom. It is, perhaps, naïve to believe that this will continue.

McNeil has politicized education. When the Dexter (NDP) government cut education, many teachers conceded that a little belt tightening was okay. When the NDP cut again, it hurt. Education assistants were lost. Students with learning disabilities lose. Overall, students lose one-on-one time with overextended teachers. Students are worried about their futures. Many already plan to leave Nova Scotia. We’re bleeding tradespeople already. Now we’re feeling the impacts of lost doctors, nurses, and experienced teachers. The economy can’t run on call centres.

When McNeil got into office it was riding a promise of renewed focus and funding in education. But it did not take long to recognize the apathy of Nova Scotians toward cuts to public education. Most voters have already graduated. So he cut the budget. And then he cut it again. He attacked the stability of the entire public sector in a single year.

Early public response supported McNeil’s education cuts. McNeil was emboldened. Negotiation was abandoned. A contract was forced upon teachers. A service award (in lieu of a raise that was negotiated decades ago, so that interest essentially covered the payment) was cut entirely. Not only do teachers now make less money, retroactive earning was taken away. Hearing about classroom experiences from their children, parents were beginning to see the impact of what McNeil proposed.

His bolstered bullying – a practice that teachers are trained to counteract and discourage – grew when he didn’t get his way. He attempted to turn the province against teachers. And when that failed, he brought in a “consultant.” Avis Glaze brings credentials, but her recommendations mirror what has taken place in Ontario; recommendations which haven’t been in practice long enough to determine the overall impact.

The recommendations, by and large, mirror what Premier McNeil has sought since beginning his cuts. And now they are taking collective bargaining away from administrators. There is no word on what this means for the many vice principals and principals who continue to teach every day. It accomplishes nothing more than driving a wedge between community leaders and community builders.

The more that public education is dismantled, the more danger arises that standards and passion are thrown by the wayside.

“I’d give it all up for a little more.”

If public resources lose funding, eventually the outcome is privatisation. Privatization doesn’t work. It has driven up utility costs in the province. It has created an elitist health care tier while “legitimizing” cutbacks to public serv

Do we want a two-tier education system?

If public resources lose funding, eventually the outcome is privatisation. Privatization doesn’t work. It has driven up utility costs in the province. It has created an elitist health care tier while “legitimizing” cutbacks to public services.

Austerity practices look good on paper but typically lead to long-term consequences. Taxes are not reduced in the long term and personal spending increases. Private costs are passed directly to the consumer – Nova Scotian voters. The proposals the government has adopted will weaken the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union and change the culture of schools. These changes will not benefit students. They will hurt teachers. And when teachers lose their enthusiasm they lose their drive to excel. This must be resisted with every resource and every ounce of energy that citizens have. Don’t be a bystander.