Assessing classroom priorities
As the provincial government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union held talks last week on averting a teachers’ strike and bridging differences on the Glaze report, some teachers were invited to engage in a frank discussion of the state of our classrooms.
Seven teachers made time for that discussion at the end of a school day on Thursday.
They included Mike Cosgrove, from Dartmouth High School; Ben Sichel, Prince Andrew High; Nancie de la Chevotière, Halifax West High School; Ron Nugent, a guidance counsellor at George P. Vanier; Shauna Dosman, Halifax West; Principal Jacqueline Levert at Ecole Beaubassin and Ciara Meisner, George P. Vanier.
Moderators Jim Vibert and Jen Taplin asked what they think is working or not working in schools, what they need to serve students and why the Glaze report has led to a vote for strike action.
Readers are invited to view their thoughtful, often passionate responses in the video on the Chronicle Herald website. They offer a human, caring view of challenges teachers face in educating a diverse generation of students who bring many health and social needs to school, as well as the need to be prepared for careers and citizenship.
We heard heartfelt concerns about a lack of supports — psychologists, speech therapists, behavioural specialists, resource teachers and personal assistants — to evaluate and address children’s needs and to maintain an environment in which teachers can effectively teach.
We also heard a great sense of professionalism and even a kind of optimism in the sense that these teachers all expressed a determination to provide students a safe and nurturing environment, regardless of any obstacles or policy conflicts.
“When they are with us, they are safe,” guidance councillor Ron Nugent wanted parents to know.
“They are learning morals, values and ethics.” Added Shauna Dosman: “We are taking care of kids. We are making it work.”
Yet schools could work much better if government and teachers were aligned on priorities. These teachers are focused on starting with support personnel who would make a “huge difference” in classrooms and in addressing special needs — “changes that students need,” as Principal LeVert emphasized. They’re concerned these needs will be lost in a haste to make governance changes that they also fear will undermine ways teachers and principals need to collaborate and support each other. They want government to wait for the findings of the inclusion report next month, which will have a major impact on support decisions, before making sweeping system changes.
These are not unreasonable requests. The Glaze report is sketchy on savings that will really be available for classrooms, on how school councils will matter, on responsibly supporting inclusion.
Government and teachers have very divergent views on the teacherprincipal dynamic that should be talked through in educational terms, not just as a management issue. Taking some time to work through these issues is worth doing. Good reform should be able to bear that kind of scrutiny.