INBOX
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I write this message on the heels of what was one of the most exciting annual general meetings the Association has ever held. In honour of our 75th anniversary, more than a thousand delegates, honoured guests, guest speakers, tellers, and staff travelled to Ottawa, the birthplace of the Association, and where the signing of the Letters Patent took place on September 8, 1944. There were many highlights over the course of the three-day meeting, which began with mass celebrated by Father Michael Lehman. Next up, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau honoured delegates by joining in for an armchair discussion. The event, which was equal parts celebration and business, culminated with the Minister of Education who attended as a guest speaker on March 11. If it was not already clear, Minister Thompson did her best to reinforce the ultra-right-wing philosophy of the Doug Ford Tories, and the direct attacks on education that we expect in the ensuing months, many of which are already in motion. By March 15, the government announced a series of sweeping changes that will have a significant impact on Ontario’s publicly funded education systems to the detriment of teachers and the students that we teach. Perhaps most concerning was the Minister’s announcement of changes to class size, which would drastically increase average class size requirements from 22 to 28 students at the secondary level. We estimate that this could mean some classes, like math, could exceed 40 students, while other specialized programs that necessitate smaller classes could cease to be offered. In the elementary panel, in Grade 4 to 8, the funded average class size will increase by one student resulting in larger class sizes. We estimate that up to 5,000 teaching positions in Ontario’s Catholic schools, and nearly 13,000 teaching positions across the province, will be lost over the next four years as a result of the government’s decision to increase class sizes. The government is trying to claim these losses will be absorbed through attrition, but right now there is a great deal of uncertainty from board to board about how the numbers will add up. At the same time, the Ford Tories are doing their best to waylay any notion that cuts of this size could have significant impact on student learningconditions, teacher working-conditions, and employment in the education sector. But this is not just about teaching positions. As classroom teachers, our students are at the heart of everything that we do. Increasing class sizes means a reduction in the number and variety of programs and supports for all students, and especially students at-risk. When funding is cut and teaching positions are lost, it is the students who truly suffer. High quality publicly funded public education is society’s great equalizer, and the Tories are trying to dismantle that, pushing more students – or at least those who can afford it – into private education. Every student, no matter the socioeconomics of their family, deserves equal access to high quality publicly funded public education, and the supports necessary to ensure success. This is about the future of our province, and as teachers, it is our responsibility to not only stand up for our rights as educators, but the rights of students that we teach. God bless,
Michelle Despault Editor Adam Lemieux Mark Tagliaferri Associate Editors Cynthia Bifolchi Writer/Researcher Fernanda Monteiro Production Anna Anezyris Advertising
EDITORIAL BOARD Liz Stuart President Warren Grafton First Vice-President Marshall Jarvis General Secretary David Church Deputy General Secretary Carley Desjardins Communications Specialist/ Writer Catholic Teacher is published five times during the school year. Opinions and ideas expressed in Catholic Teacher are not necessarily those of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. Catholic Teacher is a member of the Canadian Educational Press Association, and the Canadian Association of Labour Media. Return undelivered Canadian addresses to: Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, 65 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 400 Toronto, ON M4T 2Y8 PHONE 416-925-2493 TOLL-FREE 1-800-268-7230 FAX 416-925-7764 catholicteachers.ca Publication Mail Agreement No. 0040062510 Account No. 0001681016
4 CATHOLIC TEACHER | MAY 2019
Cover: Photo of the Rally for Education at Queen’s Park on April 6, 2019.