Teacher Magazine Sept/Oct 2018

Teacher BC Teachers’ Federation

Sept | Oct 2018

Everyone

welcome in our schools Special feature on inclusion page 6

Cleaning up shores and waterways page 16 Vote October 20th page 18

Joshua Berson photo

IN THIS ISSUE

olume 31, Number 1 V Sept | Oct 2018 5 And Tango Makes Three: The power of love

This is your MAGAZINE Do you enjoy writing? Have a story to tell?

Know of a project at your school or in your local you want to share with colleagues?

Then consider writing for Teacher, the flagship publication of the BCTF! Submission guidelines can be downloaded from bctf.ca/publications/TeacherNewsmag.aspx.

10 12

Deadline: November/December issue October 5, 2018

perspectives 7 These 64,000 students need extra support 8 Teachers revise inclusion policy 8 Special education funding 9 A brief history of inclusion 10 Get to know TIE-BC:

We also welcome letters to the editor. Send your letter to teachermag@bctf.ca.

Teacher reserves the right to edit or condense any contribution considered for publication.

We are unable to publish all letters we receive.

6 Inclusion: Three

A specialist association 12 Past president imprisoned for pipeline protest 13 Kindergarten teacher inspired

13

by expedition 18 Municipal elections: Some candidates worth knowing 20 Proportional representation: Why should you care?

Teacher

22 Teaching with teachers in Ghana

BC Teachers’ Federation Toll free 1-800-663-9163 Email teachermag@bctf.ca Web bctf.ca/newsmag Editor Susan Croll, scroll@bctf.ca Assistant editor/design Karen Steel Copy editor Sarah Young ISSN 0841-9574

24 New Indigenous resource for every grade

14

REGULAR FEATURES 3 President’s message Bargaining year ahead!

3 Message du président Bon retour chers et chères collègues!

Teacher Advisory Board Haymen Leong Catherine Quanstrom

4 Readers write 5 Teachers speak 11 Know your rights

BCTF Executive Committee Marjorie Dumont Clint Johnston Rae Figursky Teri Mooring Jody Polukoshko Lizanne Foster Robin Tosczak Carole Gordon Kip Wood Shawn Gough Glen Hansman

School-based team 14 Local profile Cranbrook District Teachers’ Association 16 Making a difference Taking on plastic and pollution

Articles reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily express official policy of the BCTF. The BCTF does not endorse or promote any products or services advertised in the magazine.

Advertisements reviewed and approved by the BCTF must reflect BCTF policy and be politically, environmentally, and professionally appropriate.

26 Solidarity matters Womxn (not a typo) organizing across borders 27 Solidarity matters The Janus decision challenges US workers 28 The last word Don’t forget the joy!

29 Classified ads

2 TEACHER September 2018

16

Indicates resources

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

MESSAGE DU PRÉSIDENT

Welcome back colleagues!

Bon retour!

The 2018–19 school year is already under way, and I hope all of you had many opportunities to relax and enjoy the summer.

L’année scolaire 2018-19 est déjà en cours et j’espère que vous avez tous et toutes eu plusieurs occasions de vous relaxer et de profiter de l’été.

AND FOR THOSE dealing with the ramifications of another record year of wildfires, evacuations alerts, and orders, I hope you have received the support you need. The BCTF was active throughout the summer supporting our locals in affected communities.

Pour ceux et celles qui doivent vivre avec les impacts d’une autre année record de feux de forêts, d’alertes et d’ordres d’évacuation, j’espère que vous avez reçu le soutien dont vous aviez besoin. La FECB a été active tout au long de l’été en soutenant les syndicats locaux dans les communautés affectées.

Looking ahead to bargaining

En route vers les négociations

Preparations are well under way for our upcoming round of bargaining. Locals have conducted member surveys and your recommendations were sent to the organizers of our October bargaining conference. At that conference, delegates will set priorities for this round of negotiations. We know it will be tough to make up for 16 years of the confrontational and concessionsfocused BC Liberal government, but we are optimistic the new government will bring a respectful and collaborative tone to the table.

Les préparatifs vont bon train pour notre prochaine ronde de négociations. Les syndicats locaux ont procédé à des sondages auprès des membres et vos recommandations ont été envoyées aux organisateurs de notre conférence de négociations prévue en octobre. Nous savons qu’il sera difficile de rattraper les 16 années du gouvernement libéral de la C.-B., basées sur les confrontations et les concessions, mais nous sommes optimistes que le nouveau gouvernement apportera une note respectueuse et collaborative à la table de négociations.

We want to start negotiations as early as possible and expect to be at the bargaining table by December 2018, if not before.

Nous voulons débuter les négociations aussitôt que possible et prévoyons être à la table des négociations d’ici décembre 2018, ou plus tôt.

Over the summer, the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) ratified a new collective agreement. Specifically, the BCGEU negotiated gains in recruiting and retaining government workers. With the ongoing teacher shortage, government must come to the table with solutions in mind.

This school year, each edition of Teacher will feature articles, interviews, and information about special education and inclusion.

Please contact the editor, Susan Croll, at scroll@bctf.ca if you have a topic or idea that you’d like to write about or see covered.

It’s time to vote!

This fall British Columbians will vote in two important elections.

First, on October 20, we will vote for city councillors and school trustees. With bargaining in mind, it’s more important than ever to elect progressive school trustees who will push the employer and government to improve working and learning conditions in our schools. Read on pages 18 and 19 about how some candidates decided to run for office after participating in a BCTF public education conference, Advocacy Works.

The second vote is the mail-in referendum on whether to keep BC’s current first-past-the-post system or to adopt proportional representation (PR). The BCTF is in favour of proportional representation. We believe it’s not right, or fair, that a government with only 40% of the vote should get 100% of the power. Articles on pages 20 and 21 explain PR in greater depth.

Have a great start to a new school year and remember to vote on October 20 and to mail in your ballot on electoral reform.

Durant l’été, le BCGEU a ratifié une nouvelle convention collective.

Spécifiquement, le syndicat a négocié des gains en matière de recrutement et de rétention du personnel employé au sein du gouvernement. Avec la pénurie actuelle d’enseignant(e)s, le gouvernement doit se présenter à la table de négociations avec des solutions en tête.

Cette année scolaire, chaque édition du Teacher Magazine présentera des articles, entrevues et informations concernant l’éducation spécialisée et l’inclusion. S’il vous plaît, contacter l’éditrice à scroll@bctf.ca si vous avez une idée d’un sujet sur lequel vous aimeriez écrire ou que vous aimeriez voir abordé.

C’est le temps de voter!

Cet automne, les britanno-colombien(ne)s voteront lors de deux élections importantes. Premièrement, le 20 octobre, nous voterons pour les conseillers municipaux et les commissaires scolaires. Avec les négociations en tête, il est plus important que jamais d’élire des commissaires scolaires progressistes qui pousseront l’employeur et le gouvernement à améliorer les conditions de travail et d’apprentissage dans nos établissements scolaires. Je vous invite à lire les pages 18 et 19 qui racontent comment certains candidats ont décidé de se lancer dans la course après avoir assisté à une conférence de la FECB sur l’éducation publique.

Le second vote est le référendum postal sur l’option de conserver le système actuel de scrutin uninominal majoritaire à un tour ou d’adopter la représentation proportionnelle. La FECB est en faveur de la représentation proportionnelle. Nous croyons qu’il est injuste qu’un gouvernement avec seulement 40% des voix obtienne 100% du pouvoir. Les articles des pages 20 et 21 expliquent plus en détails ce qu’est la représentation proportionnelle.

Bon début d’année scolaire et n’oubliez pas de voter le 20 octobre prochain et de poster votre bulletin de vote sur la réforme électorale.

September 2018 TEACHER 3

New climate change science resource MY REVISED sixth edition on climate change science is updated and loaded with illustrations (graphs and photos) for you and your students. Research from climate scientists cite some 300 credible references. This resource focuses on the physical science, mitigation with climate projections from the Arctic to the Antarctic and in between, with frequent reference to Canada. The combined effects of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity are putting our health and well-being at risk.

This edition is available on TeachBC at www.teachbc.bctf.ca.

New sections include extreme weather, ocean circulation, carbon and hydrologic cycles. A 2016 Science journal noted that “only about half of US adults believe that human activity is the predominant cause of climate change…whereas most US teachers include climate science in their courses, their insufficient grasp of the science hinders effective teaching.”

Chapters 1 and 2 cover the physical science in the climate system on natural variability and anthropogenic influences on the cryosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and oceans. Chapter 3 (95 pages) entitled “The Bumpy Road Ahead,” covers Canada’s petroleum industry, our contribution, or lack of, from Kyoto to Paris, environmental sustainability, and climate impacts globally and in Canada. Chapter 4 (63 pages) provides the reader with the “Way Forward in Reducing Emissions,” citing numerous success stories in advancing renewable sources of energy and ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

I encourage teachers to share this revised edition with your students as it is meant to empower them with the tools necessary to make wise decisions about their future.

—Harold Gopaul, retired Coquitlam biology and earth science teacher 4 TEACHER September 2018

Like a wizard: Teaching is magical

Project of Heart at École Lac des Bois

AS I READ about the concerns, worries, and excitement of the brand-new and returning teachers (“An exciting time to be a teacher,” Teacher, May/June 2018, p. 12–13), I could totally relate to them. I have been there.

And am back.

LAST YEAR, all of the students and staff at École Lac des Bois in Prince George participated in the Project of Heart. Each child decorated a heart-shaped tile to symbolically offer a gift of restitution to the children who attended Lejac Residential School. Children drew teddy bears, food, clothing, nature scenes, peace symbols, hearts and hugs, to name a few. We had parents and staff assist us with the installation. Chris Williams, a parent and teacher from Prince George Secondary School, cut and crafted our beautiful tree so that we could suspend our heart-shaped leaves. Manon Desjarlais and her Grade 6/7 students painted the tree. I designed the tree and the tile mosaic. The glass tiles below the tree create the land and a river with sockeye salmon swimming to their spawning grounds.

The salmon are important to the First Nations.

Here they serve as a symbol for the life cycles, ecological balance, and cultural revival. Collette Beaulieu wanted to create a background that young children would appreciate and so made a blue cloth sky with white puffy clouds.

New teachers are like Harry Potter at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. They live in the educational cupboard under the stairs of their career and then are sent to a magical school to learn to be a wizard. Because that’s what teachers are. Wizards.

Teaching is a magical mix of a young person’s training and personality combined with the kids’ educational needs and personal wants, all framed by the pedagogic imperatives of the curriculum and the environment each teacher creates with his or her students in the classroom. Oh yeah, and what admin wants.... When teaching works, it is like hitting the perfect golf shot or singing a song in tune right to the end.

It is a rush. And you can’t wait to make it happen again.

Old teachers like me are like Harry Potter sending his kids off to Hogwarts at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. All the angst and turmoil are gone, the battles have been fought and won and you are happy to wave the next generation off on their own magical mystery tour.

But being a wizard is a hard gig to give up.

Some don’t. Not quite anyway. Like me. I retired in 2013, but I still dabble as a retired teacher TTOC. Not every day, just once a week—enough to keep the magic going a little.

Like teaching a rambunctious Grade 3 boy to play chess, and having him chase me down the hall on my next visit to tell me how good he is now and how he loves it.

Or having the parent of a former student take a selfie of me with her youngest son in the Grade 2 class I was teaching, so she could send it to her daughter at university.

Or replacing a secondary FSL teacher and finding myself working alongside a former student doing her teaching practicum there.

Or teaching Ks to do anything. Now that is magic.

—Patricia Maher, retired teacher TTOC

Through this project, all the students learned about the experiences of children who attended residential school and why it is so important for schools to be safe and respectful places for all. The tree was blessed

by Elder Henry Joseph, in connection with our school’s Aboriginal Day celebrations. This was particularly meaningful as Mr. Joseph was a student of Lejac Residential School.

He expressed his appreciation for this act of reconciliation from our students and we appreciated his blessing and his presence at our Aboriginal Day. —Jennifer Pighin, Prince George teacher

Photo submitted by author

iStock.com/ Mooneydriver

READERS WRITE

TEACHERS SPEAK

BCTF photo

BCTF building, Vancouver. Supporters of efforts to make schools more LGBTQ-inclusive rallied in dual demonstrations outside the BCTF office and on the lawns of the BC Legislature on April 23, 2018.

Primary students moved by penguins’ love

By Leigh Pharis, Victoria teacher Last spring, I attended the counter-rally to the anti-SOGI protest at the BC Legislature, and thought it was the perfect chance to share with my Grade 2/3 students why I’d be away from school that day.

BUT FIRST I needed a hook. I found it in And Tango Makes Three, a picture book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. I displayed the front cover on a screen and told my students the book was banned in some places and that there were people who wanted the book banned in BC schools. The cover shows a family of penguins all huddled lovingly together, two parents and a baby. My students were instantly curious and wanted to hear the story. I challenged them to listen carefully to find out why some people wanted the book banned.

After a few pages they had figured it out.

The authors tell the true story of two male penguins at the New York Zoo who adopted an egg that they raised as their own child.

One student said, “I think some people want it banned because they think it’s not okay for two boys to love each other.”

That led my students to connect how their own families were unique. “My family has two moms,” “My family is just me and my mom,” and so on. Feeling inspired by how insightful and accepting these young minds were, and remembering that discrimination is a learned behaviour, I told my class that this group of protesters could learn a lot from them. I asked them what they wanted to teach these people. They had many great ideas, and one seven-year-old mused, “Everyone should be different in their own way.”

The next day a transgender student in my class approached me and asked, “So, who won the protest?” It was at that point

I realized these “real-life” lessons are impactful and resonate deeply with our students, especially our LGBTQ2 students.

I also had attended school as a student in Victoria, but before the days of gaystraight alliances. For me school was never a place where I felt I could be “different in my own way.” I know I certainly would have appreciated and remembered even a single adult at school saying it’s okay to be who you are.

Please check out the SOGI 123 website for lesson ideas: www.sogieducation.org.

One seven-year-old mused, “Everyone should be different in their own way.”

September 2018 TEACHER 5

Everyone

welcome

What is inclusion?

A specialist teacher’s perspective Inclusion came about because citizens, including parents and educators, believed neighbourhood schools were the best places to educate all students, regardless of ability or need. Inclusion is simple in theory but complex in practice.

CLASSROOM TEACHERS work with inclusion specialist teachers (also known as special education specialists, support teachers, learning resource teachers, and so forth, depending on the school district), education assistants, other specialist teachers and professionals, as well as administrators to meet the differing needs of learners. How teachers do this makes our schools special places.

INCLUSION

Two teachers’ experiences INCLUSION IN MY DISTRICT is working the best it can with the resources that are available. With the decrease in rural funding, our district, like many others, has witnessed a lot of cuts over the past few years. Subsequently, our inclusive education programs have taken a hit. Five educational assistants (EAs) were laid off, leaving our school with only four support staff to assist with the educational, behavioural and emotional needs of our students.

With one EA assigned full-time to a student with cerebral palsy, we only had three EAs to support the rest of the school. Although we are stretched thin, I also see the positives.

Last year, we had a new student. Their parents were supportive, worked closely with staff, and, as all parents do, wanted the best for their child. The student began the year calmly and engaged. After some unforeseen transitions, however, this child became disruptive, affecting the whole school. With the help of the parents, many meetings, doctors’ visits, assessments, and changes to the learning environment, we began to understand the educational needs of our student, who is once again calm, engaged, and loving school.

Inclusion means looking carefully at each child’s educational needs.

It means analyzing the supports necessary for a student to achieve their full potential. Inclusion does not mean the same program for each child. It demands attention to how we teach. It also means we need to have ample resources, including technological, physical, and human resources in place that teachers can access easily.

Inclusion is not always pretty. Sometimes it is a messy process that just needs some fine-tuning. It takes team effort, perseverance, grit, and ample resources.

We need to ask beginning teachers and teachers at other stages in their careers what they need to successfully educate all learners in their classrooms.

WOULDN’T IT BE WONDERFUL to go from classroom to classroom and find all students learning, fully engaged, part of the class, and happy with their surroundings?

Managing the emotional dynamics within classes, student diversity, and changes to the curriculum and reporting place a lot of demands on classroom and subject teachers. Collaborating with colleagues to provide support for all students is a growing part of our professional responsibilities. Helping classroom and subject teachers to manage the complexity of teaching is part of an inclusion specialist’s job. Given the speed of changes in the education system, it is vital that we respect and listen to classroom and subject teachers.

I believe it is important to remain flexible and not to assume that one way is the only way to deliver support. Some students may benefit from small group or individual instruction. Reading Recovery for Grade 1 students is an example of this type of support. There are other programs that provide individual or small group support that students may need to fully participate and progress. Keeping an open mind about how to meet students’ diverse needs allows us to create learning environments that will work for students.

—Debra Swain has taught in the Greater Victoria School District for 30 years. She began teaching in a self-contained class of identified students with behavioural and learning needs. Since then Debra has been a school-based learning support teacher, ELL and reading recovery teacher, as well as a classroom teacher.

6 TEACHER September 2018

—Sarah Brooks, learning assistance resource teacher in Vancouver Island North.

As an inclusion teacher, I’ve seen it happen—especially when we work together as a team. We generate new ideas that really help all children to learn better.

We aim to create environments where all students work together, where nobody is left out and where a child with a “special” need is not expected to leave the room several times during the day to get their “special” learning.

Children bring different talents and challenges to the classroom, but they are also more resilient and capable than we give them credit for. Sometimes, we underestimate the ability of children to teach and learn from each other.

More support must happen to make inclusion widespread. While we see more education and professional development on the subject, I feel that administrators should show leadership to make their schools inclusive. Teachers need more collaboration time and resources to assist in this transition.

We need to look at the big picture and realize that we cannot keep certain students in a bubble. Let’s get all our students ready for life outside of school by helping them realize that everyone, regardless of ability, can learn and live together.

—Laurie Robinson, inclusion teacher in Vernon and speakers co-ordinator for TIE-BC.

Everyone

welcome

Our students with special needs Source: Ministry of Education (2017).

Learning Disability

18,697

Intellectual Disability Moderate to profound

Intensive Behaviour Interventions/Severe Mental Illness Persistent antisocial, extremely disruptive behaviour

7,976

1,512

Moderate Behaviour Support/Mental Illness Anxiety, depression, Aggression, hyperactivity, behaviours related to abuse and neglect

iStock.com sources

6,325

Total number of BC public school students

557,630

Visual Impairment

287

Chronic Health

8,602

Physically Dependent

Mild Intellectual Disability

2,191

497

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Gifted

5,204

9,462 Deaf/hard of hearing Deafblind

69

1,086

September 2018  TEACHER 7

Everyone

welcome

Teachers confirm commitment to inclusion 9.W.01—That the BCTF confirm its commitment to inclusion of all students in a fully funded universal public education system, and express the following principles with regard to the inclusion of students with special needs:

1.

2.

3.

Every student can learn, and every student is entitled to an appropriate education and full range of education services in their community.

The Ministry of Education must provide appropriate funding to school districts to ensure proper supports are in place for all students with special needs and their teachers.

4.

5.

Some students require differentiated or adapted programs, placements, and/or supports; full-time placement in a regular classroom may not best meet the needs of some students.

Special education services must be made available regardless of the age of the student, including children, youth, and adult learners.

Assessment by the appropriate professional of a student’s special needs must be made available in a timely manner by school districts, and be done at the earliest age possible.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Appropriate supports (including release time and inservice) must be made available for the teachers involved.

Inclusion: The principle that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement, and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education. The practice of inclusion is not necessarily synonymous with full integration in regular classrooms and goes beyond placement to include meaningful participation and the promotion of interaction with others. Inclusion is different from integration; please see definition below.

Integration: A strategy used to achieve inclusion, whereby students with special needs are included in education settings with peers who do not have special needs. The principle of “placement in the most enabling learning environment” helps to decide whether a student is placed in a regular classroom or alternate placement.

Mainstreaming: A term used previously in the movement toward integration of students with special needs. “Integration” replaced this term.

Special education funding The current funding system, introduced in 2002, moved a significant portion of special education funding to basic funding. Funds moved included services for: • learning assistance • special health services

Appropriate levels of assisting personnel must be provided for feeding, toileting, changing clothes, and supervising students with special needs, where applicable.

• hospital/homebound

Learning specialist teachers, not the classroom teacher, will be responsible for developing individualized education programs for students.

The school district must ensure that appropriate numbers of learning specialist teachers are available in each school.

14.

The terms below are from Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines, 2016 (Ministry of Education). Please note that most terms have been abbreviated.

Appropriate facilities, equipment, and assisting personnel must be provided by the school district.

In-service related to inclusion of students with special needs should be accessible to all teachers in all school districts, including TTOCs.

13.

The price of words: special education funding

The school’s administrative officer must establish and clearly communicate to all school personnel emergency response procedures that specifically address the safety of students with special needs.

The Ministry of Education, in consultation with the education partners, must regularly review Ministry policies and procedures regarding the inclusion of students with special needs in regular classrooms in order to provide greater support for these students and their teachers.

Special education services must not be treated like dispensable luxuries by school districts facing financial pressures or staffing shortages.

Adopted by delegates at the 2018 BCTF AGM. 8 TEACHER September 2018

• assessment/planning and identification • students with severe learning disabilities • students with mild intellectual disabilities • students requiring moderate behaviour support • students who are gifted.

Special needs categories Define the students who have special needs and the essential elements that should be included in their programs. Also describe the criteria that must be met for supplemental funding.

Supplemental funding is provided to school boards for the special education of students who meet criteria as Level 1, 2, or 3 unique needs.

Level 1: Includes students with multiple needs who are physically dependent or deafblind.

Level 2: Includes students with moderate/profound intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities or chronic health impairments, visual impairments, autism spectrum disorder, or students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Level 3: Includes students requiring intensive behaviour interventions or students with serious mental illness.

The BCTF has consistently called on the provincial government to increase funding for all aspects of special education.

Everyone

welcome From institution to inclusion A history of special education in BC schools Research compiled by Emily O’Neill, BCTF librarian 1800s: Following medical diagnosis, children considered “handicapped” are routinely institutionalized. [A] 1890: First recorded legislation provides for the education of “handicapped children” in British Columbia. Deaf children are sent to the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [B]

1900–1970s Segregated schooling is the norm. [A] 1915: Vancouver School Board establishes classes for deaf and blind children.

Originally known as the Provincial Oral School, it later becomes Jericho Hill School. [D] 1925: The Putnam-Weir Survey of the School System recommends modifying of curriculum for the “mentally handicapped,” to establish “opportunity classes” and special schools and facilities. [B] Early 1950s: Government takes no responsibility for the education of children with developmental disabilities. Medical and education experts advise families to send children with special needs to residential institutions. [C] Circa 1955: Unwilling to institutionalize their children, parents begin organizing non-profit societies in their communities, providing classes in homes and church basements. They create local associations and form a provincial network that eventually grows into the BC Association for Community Living, now Inclusion BC. [C] 1955: The provincial government introduces funding for programs for “handicapped” children as part of the basic grant to school districts. [B] Circa 1956: BC government legislates funding for local associations to run schools for students with special needs.

iStock.com/SolStock

1956: UBC holds the first special education teacher training [C] and in 1959 becomes the first Canadian university to appoint a Professor of Special Education. [C]

1988–1994: Many BCTF locals negotiate class composition language and specialist ratios— which guarantee minimum service levels in classrooms and schools.

Late 1950s: Public Schools Act is amended to permit school boards to operate classes for “moderately handicapped children.”

Further changes to the School Act allow separate classes in regular schools. [C]

1995: The special educational manual outlining policies, procedures, and guidelines is published.

1950s and 1960s: Students categorized as low incidence still taught separately.

Students categorized as high incidence taught in separate classes but not separate schools. [A]

1970s–1980s Integration and mainstreaming emerge [A] March 1970: Ministry of Education (MOE) creates Special Education Division to assist school districts to develop programs. [B] 1970s–1980s: The push to close large institutions gains momentum. Government focuses on providing supports to children, youth, and families in local communities, as well as developing supports in public schools for students with special needs. [C] 1980s: MOE develops policy and procedure for including children and youth with special needs in regular classrooms. [A] March 1987: BC government establishes the Royal Commission on Education that recommends the rights of special needs learners and their parents be clarified in the School Act. [B]

1999–Now The move to inclusion 1989–1990: School Act revised in response to Royal Commission on Education, entitling all school-aged children to a full educational program, not separated from other students, and in their neighbourhood schools. [B]

2002: The BC government strips teachers’ collective agreements, resulting in larger class sizes, fewer specialist teachers, and the dramatic reduction of supports for students with special needs.

November 2012: Supreme Court of Canada rules in Moore v. British Columbia, declaring that students with disabilities are entitled to receive the accommodation measures they need for learning. The court also declared that adequate special education is not “a dispensable luxury.”

2016: MOE begins revising its Special Education Services: Manual of Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines.

November 2016: Supreme Court of Canada renders final decision in BCTF’s 16-year court battle restoring class-size and composition language and consequently, more support for students.

The BCTF has consistently and unwaveringly advocated for improved services and supports for students with disabilities—through media campaigns, presentations to government and trustees, collective bargaining, court proceedings, and strikes.

Sources include: [A] Inclusion in British Columbia’s public schools: Always a journey, never a destination? https://is.gd/suuG0g.

[B] A review of special education in British Columbia. https://is.gd/YTbe2L. [C] Inclusive education—how it started https://is.gd/jToKVA. [D] The Homeroom (British Columbia’s History of Education website) https://is.gd/XqU2Su.

September 2018 TEACHER 9

Everyone

welcome

Get to know TIE-BC

A specialist association for teachers of inclusive education

By Debra Swain, teacher, Victoria, President, TIE Who we are Teachers of Inclusive Education (TIE-BC), previously known as the Special Education Association (SEA), was formed to support teachers working in special education.

We changed our name in 2016 to better reflect the progression of inclusion in our schools and profession, but we’re continuing SEA’s tradition of sharing research and raising awareness about special education and inclusion.

What we do We’re a highly active PSA that provides professional development, conducts research, and advises the BCTF and Ministry of Education. Here’s a sample of our work: Organize our annual flagship Crosscurrents conference.

Lead online book studies. We’ve read Zones of Regulation, Mindset in the Classroom, The Mindset Coach, and Teaching for Resilience. Local specialist association chapters can get grants when they participate in the book study.

Host a local specialist association chapter president’s day. Last year we invited Greg Loo, supervisor for Child and Youth Mental Health in Richmond, to speak on trauma-informed practice. Chapter presidents also discussed the impact of the new curriculum on their practice in schools.

Participate in Ministry of Education committees as BCTF reps. Last year Sarah Brooks and I sat on the Ministry of Education policy and resource 10 TEACHER September 2018

iStock.com/simonkr

committees. We attended many meetings with government’s inclusive education staff, teachers, and administrators from around the province. We updated language and discussed changes in inclusive education. We are waiting to see how our work gets reflected in the final documents.

TIE-BC holds our annual Crosscurrents Conference each spring. Join in this wonderful opportunity for educators dedicated to inclusion to come together. We share ideas, host many workshops, and always feature a dynamic keynote expert.

Email members regularly about TIE-BC affairs.

I value my involvement in TIE-BC but my highlight is the people I meet. TIE-BC executive members bring their commitment to the profession and their creativity to our meetings.

We share resources and ideas for teaching the students in our schools. I recommend involvement on the executive of any PSA as a profound professional experience.

Ross Greene, renowned child psychologist and author of The Explosive Child and Lost at Conduct inquiry research in conjunction School is our keynote guest for Crosscurrents with BCTF Research Department. Last 2019. His topic, Collaborative and Proactive year, we worked with BCTF research staff Solutions: Moving From Power and Control to to find out what kind of professional Collaboration and Problem-Solving, is sure to development new and beginning inclusive interest everyone. Besides Dr. Greene, we have teachers want. We organized focus groups organized workshops on anxiety, mindset in in four different areas of BC, interviewed the classroom, technology practices, strategies members by phone, and will have a survey to include all learners, and much more. out this fall.

LSA chapter presidents also support the Participate in BCTF Provincial Specialist Crosscurrents conference by hosting sessions.

Association Council meetings.

Tie-BC provides complementary conference Attend the BCTF Summer Conference. registration, shared accommodation, and a Produce our newsletter three times travel grant to the chosen chapter delegates. a year.

Respond to requests through the BCTF to provide representatives to outside agencies (e.g., Canadian Museum of Human Rights design committee) Maintain an informative website.

Award scholarships for members and students.

Come to CROSSCURRENTS: TIE-BC’s flagship conference February 21–22, 2019

Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel

Please visit the TIE-BC website at tiebc.com and consider joining our PSA. Learn how to form a local chapter. We will soon have more information about Crosscurrents, including how to register.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Use the power of your school-based team

Everyone

welcome

to help yourself and your students

By Kelly Shields, BCTF staff

Now that school-based team (SBT) language is back in our collective agreements, teachers have some clout in getting more and better support for themselves as classroom teachers and for their students.

IN 2002, the Liberal government stripped from our collective agreements all provisions that would have supported students with special needs—and the teachers trying to support them. This included the removal of school-based team language. When the BCTF won its court case in 2016, the school-based team language was returned to teachers, through the March 2017 Memorandum of Agreement, on the first day of school in 2017.

Now, we have to learn and relearn how to implement SBT language. I say this because, although our guarantees regarding SBTs were removed in 2002, many school staffs across the province continued to hold SBT meetings. However, SBTs typically operated under the rules that the school principal wanted. Furthermore, many new and beginning teachers are unfamiliar with any kind of SBT and how they work.

Here is an example of powerful SBT language from the Surrey Teachers’ Association’s collective agreement.

“When the integration of the students with special needs is planned the teacher in whose class the student is to be integrated and the school-based team shall be consulted and involved in the placement decisions.”

If the student with the special need was to be integrated into a Grade 2 class, then all the Grade 2 teachers in the school would attend the SBT meeting and they would decide in which class to place the student.

The Grade 2 teachers would discuss other factors, like the composition of the rest of the classes, required resources, teacher experience, education assistant time, physical space, etc. Once they decided which teacher would enrol the student, other provisions kicked in.

If the student had a low-incidence designation, then the number of students with special needs placed in this class gets

capped and the class size reduced. Further, the classroom teacher is provided with integration support, including release time to visit the classroom/preschool setting that the child is coming from, release time for the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) development/meetings, as well as in-service both prior to integration and afterward.

The BCTF is comprised of 69 locals. Not all local unions have class-composition guarantees like the example above. Other locals do have class-composition language, but their language may be weak and teachers may be unable to secure supports for students and teachers in the same way. Not to be deterred, check your SBT language—it may be more powerful than you think.

School-based teams should be what their name implies: a team of teachers and other professionals (e.g., counsellors, psychologists, speech and language psychologists, and so forth) who come together to discuss and problem solve how to support specific students and hence, the classroom teacher.

Referring a student to your school-based team is not a sign of weakness on the classroom teacher’s part. Instead, it’s an act of strength that signals a student is under supported.

Have a look at your restored SBT collective agreement language and become familiar with it. Talk to the inclusion teachers, staff reps, and staff committee at your school and discuss how you can collectively implement the language to work best for teachers and students at your school. If language is not enforced, talk to your staff rep and consider filing a grievance.

The BCTF Professional and Social Issues Division offers a workshop about schoolbased teams. The workshop is available at no cost to members and can be booked for a non-instructional day. Contact Jenny Garrels at jgarrels@bctf.ca.

September 2018 TEACHER 11

A matter of conscience

Former BCTF president jailed for pipeline protest Teresa McGee photo

By Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF staff Susan Lambert is no stranger to the courtroom. As president of the BCTF back in 2010 when the Federation’s historic constitutional challenge was heard, she gave days of meticulously detailed testimony before Madam Justice Susan Griffin about the impact of the BC Liberal government’s contract stripping on teachers’ rights.

Justice Kenneth Affleck had already heard the cases of more than 200 other citizens who had also breached the injunction, and he had begun stiffening their sentences from community service, to fines ranging between $500 and $1,500, and finally to imprisonment.

Among the defendants were Jean Swanson, recipient of the Order of Canada and candidate for Vancouver city council, and Charlotte Sachiko Gyoba, also a retired Burnaby teacher and BCTF activist. As Canadians of Japanese ancestry, Charlotte’s parents and three siblings were among the 22,000 people uprooted and interned during the Second World War. Her family was forced to inhabit tarpaper shacks in the internment camp at New Denver, where she came into the world. “I was born into injustice,” Charlotte told the court.

In keeping with the principles of non-violent civil disobedience, Susan and the other defendants, most of them grandmothers, 12 TEACHER September 2018

pled guilty as charged and all made eloquent statements about why they believe so strongly that the pipeline expansion and other fossil fuel development must be stopped. It’s for the survival of our planet, the health of future generations, and out of respect for First Nations.

The Burnaby Teachers’ Association has also expressed concerns about the planned expansion of the oil tank farm because schools are situated on top of the pipeline route or are within the explosion radius of the Kinder Morgan facility. Forest Grove Elementary School, for example, is only 300 metres from the tank farm in North Burnaby, according to Andrew Larigakis of 350Vancouver.org.

“The crime named ‘criminal contempt’ by this court doesn’t describe my or our actions at all.

In fact, I think I feel a bit more like a political prisoner. We are people of conscience.”

After being sentenced to serve seven days in jail, Susan, Charlotte, Jean and the other female defendants were led from the court room, shackled, caged in a paddy wagon, and transported to a correctional facility in the Fraser Valley. They were released after four days.

We were undeterred by the prison sentence. In fact we all felt our resolution harden. Our planet is at stake and our children and their children depend on our actions to reverse the centuries of reckless greed In her statement to the court, Susan expressed her respect for the rule of law in a democratic that has led us to this point.” society. She said, however, “The rule of law is not necessarily just, or even lawful.” Child labour, the slave trade, and residential schools were all legal, but certainly not just. Similarly, the 2002 contract-stripping legislation was ultimately found to be illegal by Canada’s Supreme Court, but over 15 years that unjust law robbed a generation of students of their right to quality public education.

“So, I am here today ready to face the consequences of my actions,” Susan told the judge.

“I pled guilty, but I feel better today than I did before this action. I feel less guilty. I, and my generation, are responsible for the mess we are in. Yet there’s no definitive action to stop this recklessness. Instead we

Nancy Knickerbocker photo

EIGHT YEARS LATER, Susan was back in BC Supreme Court not as a witness, but as a defendant. On August 15 2018, she was one of eight people facing charges of criminal contempt of court for having violated an injunction against blocking access to the site of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion project on Burnaby Mountain. More than 100 supporters filled the visitors’ gallery in Courtroom 20, where half a dozen sheriffs were on hand ready to eject anyone who didn’t stand when the judge entered.

expect our children and their children to face the consequences of our ruinous culture of consumption.

Charlotte Sachiko Gyoba and Susan Lambert

Expedition excites teacher

Nick Tan photo

Like time stood still

By Jennifer Kimbley, BCTF staff

“It was raining so intensely but we just didn’t notice it.

We just became part of the rain’s energy in that quiet place.”

AS THE RAIN FELL, dampening the trees and mossy undergrowth lining the banks of the stream, a group of spirit bears watched humans approaching. “It was like time stood still,” said Surrey Kindergarten teacher, Vanessa Tan, recalling the majestic bears she saw on British Columbia’s North Coast last year.

Vanessa was chosen to join Canada’s C3 (coast-to-coast-to-coast) expedition, a 150-day sailing from Toronto down the Saint Lawrence River, through the Maritime provinces and Northwest Passage, then down the British Columbia coast to Victoria.

Canada C3 was part of Confederation’s 150th anniversary celebration. Expedition members came from different sectors of Canadian society—teachers, artists, politicians, scientists—and all sailed for one portion of the voyage. Four key themes defined the voyage: Diversity and Inclusion, Reconciliation, Youth Engagement, and the Environment. Vanessa’s passions embrace all four themes, and her part of the journey included Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest.

“We had a long Zodiac ride from the ship to this remote area where we disembarked.

The landing was wet, and we had to have our rubber boots on. Since we were going to be out for six hours we thought we’d be hiking for hours to see spirit bears, but we saw them in ten minutes! The moment we saw the bears—and we saw many of them—we knew we were in the most amazing, natural environment. Nothing compares to this!

“At first the expedition was intended to be celebratory, but the organizers quickly realized the voyage was not something to celebrate, but something to observe, to witness, to internalize, and for it to become transformative,” explains Vanessa.

She advocates avidly for reconciliation and incorporates First Nations wisdom and curriculum in her teaching. She developed a module called “Peace Dancer: Reconciliation and First Peoples Principles of Learning” for the Canada C3 Digital Learning Classroom.

This year she and her students created a reconciliation-themed mural made from bottle caps and unveiled it at her school’s celebration of learning assembly on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Vanessa Tan, Surrey Kindergarten teacher

Vanessa praises the provincial government’s recent announcement of $50 million dollars to protect Indigenous languages.

British Columbia is home to 30 unique Indigenous languages, and 22 of these are nearly extinct.

“I’m excited for the future for all disciplines, particularly the life sciences. We will gain much knowledge as we explore Indigenous languages. The knowledge that is held in repository will be returned, relearned, and unpacked. I feel like the next 25 years, for Canada 175, it’s possible with all of us putting in efforts to realize the four themes that Canada C3 stands for, it could be something to celebrate! I’ve crossed my fingers,” she says smiling.

To learn more about Canada C3, visit www.canadac3.ca.

To access Vanessa Tan’s teaching module, visit https://is.gd/M86gG5.

Photo (c) Stephen Underhay/SOI Foundation

LOCAL PROFILE

Cranbrook District Teachers’ Association

By Susan Croll, Teacher editor

Life in local #2 SURROUNDED BY the majestic Rocky and Purcell mountain ranges and dotted with many lakes and rivers, the Kootenay Valley is a place of sheer beauty. When the sun glints off the slopes of Fisher Peak and the Steeples mountains, the small city of Cranbrook shines and sparkles.

But natural beauty isn’t the only impressive thing about Cranbrook. People are the heart of every community and members of the Cranbrook District Teachers’ Association (CDTA) play a critical role in keeping Cranbrook vibrant. They organize and participate in community events, volunteer as coaches, fundraise for good causes, and work for positive social change.

As local Rotary Club member Allan Davis, says, “Cranbrook teachers are out in the community doing things quietly. They have a great understanding of youth and work hard—27 hours a day.”

Within the BCTF, the CDTA is known as a strong and active local, defending and extending their members’ and all teachers’ rights. Past presidents like Chris Johns and Wendy Turner served on BCTF Working and Learning Conditions and Executive Committees. Carol Johns, an outspoken and veteran Kindergarten teacher, led the Primary Teachers’ Association in BC for many years, advocating for a play-based and childcentred primary program.

Day by day, Cranbrook teachers contribute to the community by educating students to become the people they wish to be.

And they do it well. Over the last 10 years, not one, but four local teachers have won the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

All photos pages 14–15

by Susan Croll.

14 TEACHER September 2018

Jo-Anna Le Grandeur, an English, psychology, student services and transitions teacher at Mount Baker Secondary, is the latest recipient.

She developed the psychology program at Mount Baker, spearheaded the school’s campaign to end violence against women, and established a school district forum to discuss LGBTQ issues.

Evan Bueckert, another teacher at Mount Baker also won the Prime Minister’s award for his innovative music program.

The recording arts studio at the school is so well-equipped that professional musicians use it to record albums.

In the tradition of play-based learning, primary teacher Leah Draper initiated Wilderness Wednesdays.

Every Wednesday, regardless of the weather—unless it’s colder than 18 degrees below Celsius—she and her students spend the day learning in the forest at Jim Smith Lake.

Alexander Gilmour, a guitar-wielding secondary Spanish teacher, was the driving force behind the union and district’s successful mentorship program.

After 40 years, he’s retiring this school year.

Meet Shelley Balfour “ACTIVISM IS the rent I pay for living on this planet,” is Shelley Balfour’s email signature.

The quote by author Alice Walker sums up how Shelley lives her life.

She participates in early morning Rotary Club meetings every Tuesday, is secretary of the East Kootenay District Labour Council, and attends BC Federation of Labour and Canadian Labour Congress events representing the Southern Interior Labour Council.

Shelley knows every single one of her 300 members. She visits schools twice each week, listening to their concerns.

While the CDTA and the district enjoy a good relationship, Shelley worries about the increasing pressure her members face. “The district hired 23 new teachers after the court case victory, but more and more members are crumbling. The workload is high. Students have multiple needs. We’re still short of special education and French immersion teachers.

Alberta pays $20,000 more a year for classroom teachers. There’s lots of homegrown talent in Cranbrook, but the salary difference between BC and Alberta is glaring, and our district touches the Alberta border.”

She also explains the unique situation in School District 5. In 1996, the provincial government amalgamated the Cranbrook and Fernie school districts to save money. The locals, per BCTF bylaws, remain autonomous. Shelley and Chris Kielpinski, the Fernie Local President, attend district meetings together as co-chairs.

“It’s about respecting the collective agreement, problem solving, and finding common ground,” Shelley says. “The CDTA is pleased to have school trustees who support public education and want to fix problems. We invite them to attend our executive meetings, so they can hear from teachers what’s working and what’s not. All 14 of our staff reps, along with 10 committee chairs, sit on our local executive so we have many voices.”

The CDTA is already gearing up for the municipal elections. They will endorse school trustees who are teacher friendly and recommend the district labour council endorse them too. Once that process is complete, they will make sure every teacher knows who the CDTA-endorsed candidates are. Shelley emphasizes, “Many trustees are well-known in teacher circles because they are active in both schools and the community.”

The communities of ?aq’am and Tobacco Plains Indian Band, the Elk Valley and Rocky Mountain Métis Associations, School District 5, the College of the Rockies, and the Ktunaxa Nation Council signed their third Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement last year. The agreement has many goals, yet it’s clear that supporting the sense of place and belonging for all Aboriginal learners is key.

Ktunaxa Nation transforms residential school CRANBROOK IS in the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, and its members have lived here for more than 10,000 years.

European settlers arrived in the valley in the mid–1800s, looking for gold. In 1910, the federal government built the St. Eugene Mission School. Children from Ktunaxa Nation and 5,000 other children from the Okanagan, Shuswap, and Blackfoot Nations were separated from their families and forced to attend the school.

School trustees listen to teachers Chris Johns and Trina Ayling are two of the nine passionate school trustees who believe in the power of public education.

Both were elected to the Southeast Kootenay School Board 10 years ago after opposing the proposed closure of an elementary school and distance learning program. Along with other board members, they’ve re-established district committees and regularly meet with parents and students, as well as teachers. “I want to hear what teachers are saying and I want to hear it unfiltered,” Chris says. “That’s why I go to CDTA Executive meetings.” He also worked with Grade 12 students and queer allies last year to get a rainbow crosswalk painted in front of the school district building. “We need to show support for SOGI 123 and we’re working on getting a second crosswalk.” But that’s not all that’s on Chris and Trina’s agenda. “We need to replace Mount Baker, and we need to get teachers support and resources for the revised curriculum.”

The residential school was finally shut in 1970 and for 10 years after the ?aq’am people, led by Chief Sophie Pierre, debated the future of the building that had seen so much suffering. They wrestled with tearing it down or transforming it into something that could benefit the nation. Ultimately, the five bands that share the reserve land voted to turn the school into a resort and casino. With funds from the federal government and other organizations, the resort opened its doors in 2000.

Schools display signs in Aboriginal languages.

Elders have space in some schools. Traditional rock circles exist in many school playgrounds.

First Nations’ language programs are growing.

On June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, young students sat in a tipi, mesmerized by Chief Joe Pierre, an animated storyteller who works for the school district.

Two local activists conducted a bargaining survey and 90% of members participated. Top issues include paying TTOCs bi-weekly, readjusting prep time for secondary teachers, and improving leaves, professional development funding, and post-and-fill procedures. “Teachers need and want a better balance in their lives, whether it’s between work and home, or physical and mental health.”

Larry Dureski is an experienced music teacher who’s taught elementary school children to sing and play instruments for 31 years. He says that if the district ever tried to cut the music programs, “there’d be a civil war in Cranbrook.” He also serves as CDTA Vice-President and is known for his health and safety advocacy. His mother, Jean Dureski (Stayura), was a member of Mount Baker’s first graduating class in 1951.

She is also calling for a new secondary school. “After 67 years, a new building is long overdue.”

Connie Merz, English and social studies teacher, has taught at Mount Baker for 23 years.

As a CDTA local rep, she decided to run for local bargaining chair and won. She

Cranbrook at a glance Population: 19,560 (1,000 visible minority; 1,710 Aboriginal, Métis, Inuit; 16,850 European-Canadian)* Public education: seven elementary schools, two middle schools, one secondary school (including French immersion programs) Post-secondary: College of the Rockies Employment: forestry, mining, education, health, other public services, secondary industries, small business Tourism: hiking, cycling, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, wildlife viewing Attractions: St Eugene Golf Resort and Casino, Fort Steele Heritage Town, Kootenay Trout Hatchery *Canada 2016 Census

September 2018 TEACHER 15

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Turn the tide against plastic Teachers and kids clean up the shore

By Danika Strecko, manager of curriculum programs, Ocean Wise® Twice a year for the past 17 years, Vancouver teacher Judith MacPherson and her students at False Creek Elementary put on their gumboots, don their rubber gloves, and head to the shoreline gracing their school community. Their mission? To collect the enormous number of cans, bottles, plastic, and other garbage that litters this urban shoreline by their school.

CLEANING UP the shoreline isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, it serves an environmental purpose too. But this year was especially bittersweet for Judith’s students— and the marine life that inhabit the inlet.

Judith is retiring.

She explains, “Way back in 2004, for Grade 7s, we knew the environment was going to be the most important issue. Whether it’s climate change, rising ocean temperatures or the big garbage patch, you can do a lot of math, science, and environmental studies with During her teaching career, Judith has worked shoreline clean ups.” with students of all ages to organize cleanups through the Great Canadian Shoreline She says getting kids involved in their Cleanup, a conservation partnership of shorelines is also an opportunity for Ocean Wise® and WWF-Canada, presented hands-on learning. “Students get to do

by Loblaw Companies Limited. The activity, experiments with litter to learn what she says, serves as a valuable conduit for decomposes in nature and what doesn’t, classroom teaching. Through math, science, what will be dangerous over time, and how social studies, and reading—a shoreline clean that all connects back to the ocean.” up connects them all.

16 TEACHER September 2018

Even her younger students have learned how to count, read, measure and weigh as they pick up litter. “The kids work in teams, taking turns to yell out what kind of litter they’re finding, while learning to use score cards to record the type and amount of trash they collect.”

Judith also says they create community through cleaning local shorelines. “The parents all come out to our class clean ups, and especially love them in September, because they don’t like leaving their kids at the end of summer.”

Students get to do experiments with litter to learn what decomposes in nature and what doesn’t.”

In that sense, gathering together for a cleaner shoreline provides good feelings and leaves the planet better off. And then, back in the classroom, Judith and her students feel the same sense of accomplishment when they find that even for a day, everyone’s used other products instead of single-use plastics. It’s as much about the goal of a healthier ocean as it is about the collective journey to get there.

Claire Robertson photo

Ocean Wise photo

Connect with Ocean Wise® A revolutionary invention when first unveiled, single-use plastic waste is now the driving force behind one of the greatest environmental issues of our time. Scientists estimate that the amount of plastic entering our oceans is equivalent to one dump truck load per minute around the globe. To compound the issue, plastic in the ocean doesn’t break down, it breaks up—into increasingly smaller fragments ingested by marine life. These minuscule pieces wreak havoc on our marine ecosystems and find their way into the food chain.

At Ocean Wise, the non-profit conservation organization that includes the Vancouver Aquarium, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and Ocean Wise Education, the conversation about disposable plastic waste is front and centre. And students of all ages are eager for that conversation.

Conversations start with familiar objects that are part of everyday school life in the early school years— the water bottles, the sandwich bags, the single-use plastic containers.

What other throwaway plastics might you use and how often?

What alternatives can we look for? Reusable water bottles and metal tiffin containers might be feasible options.

In the aquarium’s Wet Lab, older students get hands-on with sea critters like anemones, sea stars and crabs. For those animals, one must look more closely to see the plastic problem; in the wild their food sources could be ingesting microplastics—tiny pieces of plastics smaller than 8mm that result when plastic breaks up in the marine environment.

Ocean Wise photos

Students in secondary school gain understanding of the buying power they have when it comes to potential solutions.

If the young voices and next generation of consumers say they want less singleuse plastic, then companies may just have to listen.

Outside the aquarium’s classrooms, the dialogue turns to direct action. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup has run since 1994. Engaging thousands of volunteers, the program helps people, including teachers and students, to clean litter from local shorelines—wherever water meets land.

Teachers and students can register a clean up at shorelinecleanup.ca. Receive tips, organizational support, litter data cards, and other resources. Shoreline clean ups are easy to organize and take place in parks and schoolyards, near storm drains, beaches, creeks, and streams.

For resources on ocean plastic pollution, visit ocean.org/pledge. Sign up to take the #BePlasticWise pledge. You will receive monthly challenges to reduce your use of single-use plastic items, along with weekly tips, how-to videos, and inspiring ocean stories.

Plastic facts AN ESTIMATED one million water bottles are sold every minute world-wide.

500 BILLION plastic bags are consumed on this planet every year.

AN ESTIMATED 86% of plastic packaging is used only once then thrown out.

LAST YEAR, Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup volunteers cleaned more than 50,000 plastic water bottles from Canadian shorelines.

AROUND THE WORLD, one dump truck full of plastic enters our ocean every minute.

Plastic impacts PLASTIC MARINE DEBRIS kills hundreds of marine species every year—including sea turtles, sea lions, seabirds, and whales.

IN THE OCEAN, plastic breaks up into increasingly tinier pieces called microplastics. These have been found in the most remote areas of our ocean and in the seafood we eat.

OCEAN WISE science shows that microplastics are eaten by tiny zooplankton, posing threats to the ocean food chain.

September 2018 TEACHER 17

From conference to candidate

Across BC, participants from the BCTF’s public education conferences are running for office

By Rich Overgaard, BCTF staff iStock.com/wildpixel

For the last two years, the BCTF has hosted Advocacy Works—a conference that brings parents and teachers together from all over the province to network with each other, learn about the challenges facing public education, and gain skills to advocate effectively.

SEVERAL OF these parents are putting their new skills and knowledge to good use by running for office in the upcoming municipal election.

“It’s exciting to see these folks go from concerned parent, to outspoken advocate, to political candidate,” said BCTF President Glen Hansman. “Our goal with the public education conferences has always been to give parents the information and skills they need to advocate for our students, schools, and communities. It’s great to see that these conferences inspire people.”

With the municipal election set for October 20, 2018, we asked each of these Advocacy Works participants to describe their key takeaway from the conference, why they decided to run, and what has been the best part about campaigning so far.

I am running because I see gaps at the district level that need addressing. Surrey has overcrowding issues that will not go away without effective communication channels and growth plans. As a communications professional, I know that communication is key to good governance.

As a long-standing advocate, I have established relationships with all levels of government, families, educators, and support staff. It’s time to listen to the true stakeholders to ensure all students get what they need.

Working together with like-minded candidates, Charlene Dobie and Mary-Em Waddington (Surrey Students NOW) helps keep us focused and grounded. We bring different experiences to the table and we collaborate and learn from each other. The best part of campaigning is being out in the community and engaging with many people across the district. After all, they are the reason we want to be elected—to work for them!

SUZANNE PERREAULT, school trustee candidate in Langley

Cindy Dalglish, on left.

CINDY DALGLISH, school trustee candidate in Surrey

The key takeaway from the Advocacy Works conference was hearing educators share about inclusion and diversity. They spoke about how the lack of supports leaves them vulnerable in their profession, and how it impacts classrooms.

The Advocacy Works conference really reinforced the importance of getting involved and speaking up. The support from educators propelled me to seek a school trustee position in Surrey. It’s not just our students that need quality support.

If educators aren’t supported, how can we expect them to support our students?

18 TEACHER September 2018

I would like to raise the standards and conversation in student safety, emergency preparedness, inclusion, and diversity.

My most enjoyable experiences campaigning involve meeting with community members and partner groups, and hearing about our children’s educational needs.

Relationship building at its best!

Kelly Greene, in red.

KELLY GREENE, city council candidate in Richmond At Advocacy Works, I learned we are stronger together. Not only can we directly work together, but we can also amplify each other’s messages, which leads to success.

I’m running because I believe we can do better in a number of areas: housing, farmland protection, and environmental leadership. I have three small children and I think about where Richmond will be in 20–30 years. The status quo is not sustainable.

I met a young girl while I was out doorknocking, and she wanted to know what I was doing and what my flyers looked like.

After I explained, she proudly declared that when she was bigger, she was going to do the same thing. I just about burst with hope for the future.

Suzanne Perreault

Carrie Bercic, in white.

CARRIE BERCIC, incumbent school trustee candidate in Vancouver I have attended both Advocacy Works conferences—first as a public education advocate, and secondly as a trustee. What hits home most for me is the intersections of our shared advocacy as parents, teachers, and trustees. Our true power lies in these intersections.

I am a long-time public education advocate and for many years I felt like I was always opposing a government that aimed to destroy public education and vilify teachers.

With a new government in place, I feel I can use my voice more effectively, working with our government as a partner, helping to repair our system. The Advocacy Works conferences solidify that sense of team and gave me that extra boost to run for re-election.

community members, and elected officials need to co-operate better as a team to ensure students’ needs are met. At the conference, the BC Representative for Children and Youth made seven recommendations to support kids in care, and I endorse all of his recommendations.

healthy economy and a healthy community are not mutually exclusive. Business is what we do, let’s not lose focus on why we do it. My campaign is focused on increasing support of the arts and culture community, sustainable development, and protecting our rural landscape.

I am the person for the job of school trustee with Vision Vancouver. I have worked as a social worker, am a BCGEU member, served as a PAC and DPAC executive member, and have completed graduate work in complex trauma needs for children and youth.

The best part of campaigning has to be the dialogue I have with residents. One of my priorities is listening to residents. Each and every voice matters, and if we are going to see positive change happen, we need to listen.

I love meeting new people, engaging with community leaders, participating in city-wide festivals, and spending time with parents and their children. Listening to parents, caregivers and children talk about their experiences empowers me to be a part of a team to build a stronger more inclusive education system.

Jen Mezei, second from left.

JEN MEZEI, school trustee candidate in Burnaby

Campaigning is incredibly rewarding work. The best part is getting out into the community with my two OneCity running mates and connecting with people and teachers directly.

Stacey Wakelin

STACEY WAKELIN, council candidate for the Township of Langley

Erin Arnold, middle.

ERIN ARNOLD, school trustee candidate in Vancouver The Advocacy Works conference had a profound impact on me as a parent, advocate, and school board candidate. It helped motivate, prepare and network with like-minded leaders. We as parents,

My key takeaway from the Advocacy Works conference was the impact people becoming organized can have in our communities. It is easy to feel defeated because of the immense injustice in the world, but change occurs when people collaborate.

I believe it is time to start a new conversation in the Township of Langley.

We need more voices that put the people who live in the township first. I will focus on making this community the best it can be. A

The Advocacy Works conference highlighted the common concerns shared by parents, teachers, and students. We need to work together to address issues at the local and provincial levels. Every student deserves the opportunity and supports to thrive.

As a parent of children with complex learning needs, I understand the struggles many parents face navigating the education system. I understand the challenges many educators face supporting students with minimal resources. As the past president of BCCPAC and a Burnaby DPAC executive member for over a decade, I am well positioned to continue advocating for inclusion and equitable access to education.

I am honoured to meet so many people committed to public education, inclusion, and who value diversity.

Photos submitted by candidates.

On October 20, 2018, vote for strong, progressive trustees and councillors.

September 2018 TEACHER 19

ksteel photo

Getting from “us and them” to we Proportional representation offers a solution

By Derek Cockram, Burnaby teacher and BCTF Local Representative This fall British Columbian voters will make one of the most important decisions in our history. From October 22 to November 30, we will vote in a referendum to keep our current electoral system or to adopt some form of proportional representation (PR).

WE CAN KEEP the status quo, known as first-past-the-post—a system that routinely allows parties who capture 40% of the popular vote to form majority government.

First-past-the-post forces us to vote for parties we don’t like to avoid parties we detest. The majority of votes cast (all those votes for losing candidates in ridings) are wasted.

Or, we could adopt proportional representation (PR), restore real majority rule, and ensure that every vote counts. PR

gives voters more choices, resulting in a legislature that reflects our desires instead of our fears. By adopting some form of proportional representation we can put an end to our polarized and hostile political climate, which encourages cynicism, empowers extremists, and divides us from each other.

So what’s the harm of a two-party system?

First-past-the-post supporters tell us that political parties must create broad policies and build a big tent in order to appeal to

voters. They argue that switching to some form of proportional representation might lead to the splintering of political interests and to the rise of extremist groups.

This line of reasoning overlooks extremists already within existing parties, and exaggerates moderates’ abilities to tame extremist beliefs. Exacerbated by the rise of social media, we have watched extremists take over the Republican Party south of the border. We see it happening here too, but we can stop it.

How to mend our fractured political system Fair Vote Canada, an organization campaigning for PR, reports that countries with PR systems outscore first-past-the-post countries on many measures. Countries with some form of PR have, on average: less income inequality. better environmental performance. higher voter turnout. higher satisfaction with democracy. more women elected.

In Canada, Medicare, environmental regulations, and other progressive legislation that benefit all sectors of society were passed during minority governments. Furthermore, if parties must collaborate and co-operate with one another, institutional checks on the abuse of power and corruption will become the norm. Under PR, smaller parties will have an incentive to adopt moderate policies and work co-operatively with other parties to increase their influence. When parties cooperate with each other, they pass policies usually supported by parties representing a genuine majority of voters, meaning better decision-making.

The mail-in ballot to change our current voting system will include three different PR models. To learn more about PR and the three systems, visit these websites: voteprbc.ca www.fairvote.ca thetyee.ca/News/2018/07/03/BCOptions-Proportional-RepresentationExplained/ www.straight.com/news/1109066/sethklein-how-electoral-reform-enhanceslocal-representation

In January 2018, the BCTF Representative Assembly voted to advocate—along with many other unions and groups— for a change to BC’s first-past-the-post electoral system.

Chocolate or vanilla?

A sweet parable that gives you more choices

iStock.com/an_chippendale

By Jack MacDermot, BCTF staff

Let’s imagine your community has two ice cream parlours. First we will visit Ye Olde First-Past-the-Post Ice Cream Parlour.

“We have eight flavours. What can I get you?”

“Hello. What flavours do you have?”

“Of course. Would you like that with other flavours? I can do two, three, or even more flavours in a dish or cone.”

“We have eight flavours. What can I get you?”

“I’d like a cone of strawberry, please.”

“I’m sorry, we can let you look at strawberry and once every four years you can have a tiny sample spoon.”

“That’s ridiculous! Why do you even offer strawberry?”

“Our customers must have the freedom to choose the flavour they want. We’re a democratic ice-cream shop.”

“Then why can’t I choose strawberry?”

“We asked seven groups of people to pick a flavour. Three groups picked vanilla, two picked chocolate, one picked strawberry, and one picked orange sherbet. So vanilla it is for the next four years, though chocolate did get more total votes.”

“More total votes? Then why didn’t chocolate win?”

“Because you have to win the most groups to win. It’s been that way since Whig Chocolate and Tory Vanilla.”

Frustrated and confused, you leave the shop and head down the street to Proportional Representation Ice Cream Shop, to ask what flavours they have.

“I’d like strawberry?”

“I’d like Neapolitan, then. How do you decide on your flavours?”

“We ask people what flavours they want, and try to honour almost everyone’s choice, though we don’t offer fringe flavours like Green Tea Party or 1% Crème de la Crème since those turn many people off ice cream altogether.”

Customer reviews The Proportional Representation Ice Cream Shop is great. Staff encourage people to pick what they want, and to experiment with different combinations. It can take a bit more time and effort to make a decision here, but the wait is worth it.

4½ out of 5 stars Ye Olde First-Past-the-Post Ice Cream Parlour only offers one flavour every four years, using a selection system that doesn’t even require the winning choice to get the most votes! Worse still, that one flavour is always watered down, and rarely satisfying.

When you ask the owners about their very strange business model, they get offended, lecture you that they’ve always done it this way, and that you’re not smart enough to figure out any other models.

0 out of 5 stars.

September 2018 TEACHER 21

An OBRUNI shares and learns in Ghana

By Hilary Spicer, retired teacher

The true journey of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.—Marcel Proust

Classes in Ghana often exceed 50 students.

Hilary Spicer in red dress, back row.

And I am feeling privileged to be experiencing both in Ghana. Teacher training is my passion. I jumped at the chance when I could move to one teacher training college—St. Ambrose College in Dormaa Akwamu in the Brong Ahafo Region—instead of shifting around two regions in Ghana, where I worked with the organization, Transforming Teacher Education and Learning. I’m still volunteering with World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and now work with many partner schools that train teachers.

counselling psychologist, he teaches a minicourse called Psychology for Life. He leads the community of over 500 students, with 160 students on practicums in village schools.

I AM FAR from the bustle and modernity of the Accra Malls where I can find Mocha Java coffee, yoghurt, baguettes, cheeses and French wines! Here, I walk for 45 minutes to a small shop that may have fresh bread.

Small stalls along the way sometimes sell some oranges, green peppers and onions.

Other stalls carry an assortment of tins of sardines, tuna flakes, tomato paste, and packages of pasta.

22 TEACHER September 2018

I rent a room at the gates of the college and walk down a red dusty road each morning.

Small children run along beside me, calling out “Obruni!” (white person).

St. Ambrose College was constructed and run by the Roman Catholic Church. It’s now a public institution yet retains its foundational principles. Along with 45 other colleges throughout Ghana, they are changing from a three-year diploma program to a four-year degree program. Quantum leaps must be made, but it’s a great time to be working with colleagues here as they begin the transition.

“What inspires me is the desire to help others. I learned years ago that the difference between a teacher and a student is that the teacher was lucky to have been a student first! My challenge is that students sometimes do not understand the purpose of being here.

My advice: remember that we are teaching students, not subjects.”

Nanice Fosu teaches food and nutrition, I asked several of my colleagues what inspires health and wellness, and challenges them about teaching and and is one of three what advice they’d give to new teachers. women tutors at the Here are their responses: College. “I am inspired when I look at my Principal Father students and think of George Kyeremeh, their future and that is a wonderful we shall one day be colleagues. The lack leader—compassionate of resources for my courses is a challenge. yet strict—who is I advise new teachers to be innovative, to concerned about continue to research, and read to deepen students’ commitments their knowledge.” to learning. A

Bertha Azare Akuta (right in photo) is head of the Education Department and teaches special needs education. “I am inspired when I see students taking responsibility for their own learning. I encourage students to stretch, to be motivated to do their best.

New teachers should allow themselves to be mentored as ‘to teach is to learn twice.’ Seek clarity in your methodology.”

Lambert Bayor is a tutor in the computer technology department, and involved on many college committees.

“I want to have a personal and professional impact on each student. An ongoing challenge is the lack of resources. Computer technology is an examinable course taught in all schools with little or no access to computers. My advice to new teachers: put students first, then you will create an impact.”

should play a musical instrument…this soothes the emotions and will make you a better teacher.”

Justice wrote the college song and was acknowledged at the recent graduation ceremony for his contributions to St. Ambrose.

I am inspired to see some tutors integrating strategies like “think, pair, share.”

Each of these colleagues embraces the transition to a four-year program as they believe it will enhance the quality of teachers in schools, give teaching a higher profile, develop reflective practice, and empower the institutions to better prepare teachers for their assignments.

Many teachers use the traditional teacherdirected approach which they call “chew, pour, pass, and forget” but I am inspired to see some tutors integrating strategies like “think, pair, share.” Others invite students to form discussion groups, then present their conclusions to the class.

As I grew more confident in my abilities and as my colleagues came to know me, they invited me to teach in different course areas. I have a background in French language and literature but taught special needs education, and child and adolescent development. In a science unit on conservation and erosion, I introduced the work of Rachel Carson and David Suzuki.

Hilary and students.

We initiated a compost project on campus to decrease the piles of garbage around the college and to observe organic fertilizer in action. I was thrilled when students wrote their final exam—set by the University of Cape Coast for all students in Ghana—to see 30 marks dedicated to our work on the project.

I also taught English including a grammar course. In another course, I introduced a provocative modern Ghanaian novel describing changing roles of men and women and the ensuing challenges.

I enjoyed teaching this course and invited the young women and men to reflect on their attitudes about gender. People here are focusing more on gender equity and inclusivity, so I organized Ted Talk evenings for all students on campus.

We began watching author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her popular talk, “We Should All Be Feminists; as well as Joyce Ngumba’s talk “Take Gender Equality Personally.” We also viewed Meghan Markle’s presentation to the United Nations and Kakenya Ntaiya’s personal story, “A Girl Who Demanded School.”

My time to leave is nearing. I shall be sad to say goodbye to St. Ambrose and my colleagues.

I am determined to return to see how many of “my” student teachers are transforming the education system. It’s been my privilege to work with such a team of dedicated and inspiring colleagues.

Hilary Spicer has taught in Campbell River, developed French Immersion programs for the Ministry of Education, co-ordinated the Modern Languages program for the VSB, and worked as a faculty advisor at UBC and SFU. She now volunteers for WUSC, training teachers at St. Ambrose College in Ghana.

Photos supplied by author

John Samuel Poupiel Boamah Win-Mmal is a tutor in the English department.

“I am inspired by the desire of students to develop a greater understanding of language, specifically English. I am concerned about the potential loss of traditional values among young people. I advise them to be key agents of transformation and to maintain cultural values.”

Justice OwusuAnsah is the college music teacher. He is inspired by music, and began singing in secondary school, joining the school and church choirs. He left the study of science ultimately for music. “I learned there was something hidden in me, and it was a love for music. Everyone needs music in their life. It refreshes your mind. For me, a challenge here in Africa is a lack of resources, of instruments, and few students take music as an elective.

They do not understand how essential it is in life, in their education. Advice I would give to a new teacher: study music; everyone September 2018 TEACHER 23

New K–12 resource:

Their Voices Will Guide Us

Create safe and respectful communities for all Indigenous women and girls

By Gail Stromquist, BCTF staff

It is essential that teachers be supported in acquiring and developing the necessary resources, knowledge, and skills as they teach students how to take action for transformative social justice and societal change that will allow Indigenous women and girls to thrive.

For many teachers the experience of teaching about Indigenous women and girls, much like the teaching about residential schools, will require new learning, often only one step ahead of your students.

AND SO READ opening paragraphs of this new and timely education guide, Their Voices Will Guide Us, created especially for educators, by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women and Girls. The guide’s authors hope to engage teachers and students in meaningful learning about the important roles of Indigenous women and girls in their families, communities, and nations.

They want to highlight the strength, agency, and traditional responsibilities of women and girls and show how violence has undermined these strengths and inherent treaty, constitutional, and human rights. In the context of reconciliation and decolonization, the authors urge everyone to fulfill their roles and responsibilities ensuring that Indigenous women and girls are respected, valued, loved, and protected.

How the guide works This informative and easy-to-follow guide is organized into sections by grade levels: Early learners—Grade 4, Grades 5–8, and Grades 9–12 and beyond. You will find background information and terminology integral to understanding the oppression of Indigenous women and girls. The authors remind us some of our students may have experienced traumatic or challenging situations. They suggest ways to prepare learning environments and ethical spaces for learning difficult truths.

Each section includes: • themes to explore • foundational information • resources 24 TEACHER September 2018

• activities based on inquiry and critical thinking • ideas for inspiring change and sharing the message.

The goal of Their Voices Will Guide Us is to gather diverse, heartfelt, and committed voices of children, youth, and community members across Canada. These voices, which can be expressed through language, art exhibits, drama, music, and other creative formats will make up the final report of the National Inquiry.

After completing a guide activity, Langley teachers Bronwen Kelley, Stef Brasnett, and their students presented the art on the facing page to BCTF staff.

Free workshops: The BCTF offers many workshops about Aboriginal education including: Deconstructing Myths Decolonizing Indigenous Perspectives The BC Blanket Exercise Infusing Aboriginal Content Project of Heart Sixties Scoop The Secret Path The Life of a Child in a BC Indian Residential school.

Go to www.bctf.ca/pd/workshops.aspx?id=233054 for detailed information about the workshops, including how to book a workshop at your school or worksite.

Contact the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women and Girls at www.mmiwg-ffada.ca.

Marilou Strait photos

Students created this art after completing a teacher-led guide activity.

September 2018  TEACHER 25

SOLIDARITY MATTERS

The resister hood Union sisters come together to learn and organize

By Jen McDonald, Victoria teacher

The BCTF provides amazing opportunities for members.

This summer, another BCTF member, Alex Adhikary, and I were fortunate to attend the 2018 Western Regional Summer Institute on Union Women in California (SIUW).

SIUW is an international conference organized annually for womxn to collaborate, organize and create collective power. Yes, womxn is spelt with an x, to include anyone who identifies as a woman or is gender nonconforming. The conference aims to create solid and inclusive communities, learn new skills, develop leaders, and empower labour womxn to take action on working womxn’s issues.

WE WERE WELCOMED and blessed by Indigenous people who performed a beautiful Aztec dance in the opening plenary. Next, a panel of six union womxn shared their stories. I was struck by the story about Ms. Curly, one panelist’s Grade 3 teacher. After graduation, the panelist was accepted into university and shortly

after received a letter of congratulations from Ms. Curly. Ms. Curly also paid for all her textbooks as she completed her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree. The panelist said that all it took was one person, her Grade 3 teacher, to believe in her!

When the panel of womxn were asked, “how can you support one another,” they answered “show up,” “we are all on the same side of the fence so let’s push it down” and “no matter how you identify, we must work together. We are already divided enough.”

We were enrolled in a core course called Politics Matters: Women Taking Control of Their Future. Only 26% of women hold legislature seats in Canada. We learned about running campaigns and how to effectively talk to union members about politics. Here are some pointers: • Talk about the issues related to your union.

• Provide information but do not tell someone how to vote.

• Make sure your information is correct and credible.

• Hold politicians accountable to their word.

• Communicate in modern ways with your members.

We also attended other workshops. The first workshop called The Strength of Social Justice Unionism, was a case study completed

by City College of San Francisco in 2017, which won the right to provide free education to residents. We learned in another workshop, Young Workers and Intergenerational Solidarity, that 76% of American union members are under 35 years old, and how important mentorship is for developing young activists.

At evening plenaries, we discussed #MeToo, #TimesUp, and harassment in and out of the workplace. In another session, BC Federation of Labour president, Irene Lanzinger, spoke about the BCTF’s Supreme Court victory, which had the audience gasping and then cheering! Afterward, we all piled onto a bus to support hotel workers in a solidarity action.

I highly recommend you apply to attend this conference. Next summer the SIUW will be held in BC—the rumour is in Victoria. The 13-hour days were long, informational, and engaging. We didn’t dare miss any of the events!

Left (L to R): Jen McDonald, Allison Pratt, Alex Adhikary.

Below right, (L to R): Allison Pratt (Federation of Post Secondary Educators), Alex Adhikary, Rebecca Nelson (Federation of Post Secondary Educators), Jen McDonald.

Photos submitted by Jen McDonald

26 TEACHER September 2018

SOLIDARITY MATTERS

THE JANUS DECISION

Could the same thing happen in BC? In Canada?

Can US unions survive the blow?

YES, IT COULD. Whether it’s provincial or federal, we are always only one election away from voting in a union-hating, rightwing government. Not that long ago, BC workers saw their collective agreements ripped up. The federal government tried to limit unions’ internal operations with complicated financial regulations.

Fortunately, the Senate stopped this from happening.

By Susan Croll, Teacher editor

Under the guise of freedom of speech and First Amendment rights, the US Supreme Court ruled in June that unionized public sector workers no longer must pay any union dues. But here’s the rub: non-member workers who don’t pay union dues will still receive the benefits of a union contract, including wages, pensions, and healthcare. And the union is still legally obligated to represent non-dues-paying members.

And of course, right after the court delivered the decision, President Trump tweeted how great the ruling was for American workers. Fair-minded people see it as union busting, free-riding, and the race to the bottom of the wage ladder.

Skeptics only need to look at Wisconsin. In 2015, the Republicans passed legislation limiting unions’ abilities to organize and bargain. By 2016, union membership was down by nearly 40 percent.

Conservative forces like the Koch brothers are also jubilant. They’ve backed so-called right-to-work (RTW) organizations in the US for decades aiming to disable unions.

Their plan: render unions ineffective by hobbling them financially so members will feel that the union is not representing them.

Consequently, they hope more members will opt out, leaving the union a shell.

Republican Governor Bruce Rauner initially filed the Janus lawsuit, but a lower court found he had no standing because he wasn’t a union member. With the help of conservative legal groups, Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, initiated a subsequent lawsuit. According to his lawyer, Janus did not support his union because the union’s salary and benefit demands

for workers like himself “would impose an unreasonable financial burden on the state.”

Some American union leaders, trying to put a good face on a bad situation, are paraphrasing Mark Twain, saying that reports of “our death have been greatly exaggerated.” Regardless, leaders also acknowledge that unions must fight hard for their members and working people if unions are to once again become a relevant force in American life.

BY THE NUMBERS The

With the election of a conservative government in Ontario, we hope our colleagues there do not face similar legislation. Come election day, whether provincial or federal, we must remember that it’s up to us to vote in our own interests.

US public sector, including teachers

Nationally, about five million workers could be affected by this decision. More than half of American states already had “right-to-work” (RTW) laws banning automatic dues check off and mandatory membership.

7 million

21 million

state and local government workers are represented by a union

public-sector workers in the US

7.1%

of public sectors workers are unionized in South Carolina (lowest rate in the US)

33%

of public-sector workers are African-American, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and Latino

iStock.com images

PREVIOUSLY, WORKERS could opt out of paying the portion of their dues used for political purposes. Instead, they had to pay their “fair share” of what it cost their union to do the day-to-day work of collective bargaining, grievance filing, health and safety, and so forth. Now workers don’t have to pay any union dues or what the court termed, “agency or shop” fees.

Instead of opting out, workers will have to now opt in to join their union.

Recently, a BC teacher applied to the BC Labour Relations Board (LRB) because he felt the actions of his local contradicted his religious views. The LRB ruled against him, finding that his religious views were actually political views.

58% of public-sector workers are women

67.4% of public sector workers are unionized in New York State (highest rate in the US)

4.7 million teachers taught in 2017

47%

of teachers belonged to a union in 2017

Real differences exist for workers in RTW and non-RTW states • According to research conducted by the • Workers in non-RTW states are more than Economic Policy Institute in 2015, average twice as likely to be protected by a union hourly wages were 15.8 percent higher in contract, and they are more likely to receive non-RTW states. better healthcare and pension benefits.

The Janus decision means all states are now right-to-work for public sector workers.

Sources: CBC News; HuffPost US; The 74; Wisconsin State Journal; and www.edweek.org.

September 2018 TEACHER 27

THE LAST WORD

Teach for joy, but justice too

By Valdine Ciwko, Teacher Advisory Board It’s odd to be writing this in late spring when I would usually be in the early stages of planning my next year. What could I have done better? What big beginning year project will I start with to greet my new students and set the tone for the year?

What fun thing did I want to do that I ran out of time to do?

I began teaching in Ottawa in 1998, right after Mike Harris’s Conservative government had, among other things, removed principals from the teachers’ union. Many of my new colleagues were principals returning to the classroom. They did not want to end their careers differently than they had started—first and foremost as teachers, collectively united to make public education as good as it could be. This stuck with me. Administrators have often asked me why I didn’t consider administration. Like those Ottawa colleagues, I have always known which side of a picket line I want to be on.

Teaching, leadership, union activism—they all go hand in hand.

As a new teacher it is hard to even know where to begin. Yet how exciting for those of you starting this year.

Photo submitted by author

BUT THIS YEAR is different. I am retiring. So instead of planning, I offer up some advice for those new to our profession.

A delighted Valdine Ciwko brandishes her teaching degree.

Begin knowing you are not alone. You are now part of a powerful and strong group of people, your local union and the BCTF. Yes, teaching is all about what we do for our students. But never forget it is also about what we do collectively for our profession.

It’s an important balance.

Some of you will go on to be presidents of your locals and even the BCTF itself! Some of you will be your school staff rep. Some of you will become active in myriad issues, locally or provincially.

Like we tell our students, you get out of it what you put into it.

Teacher magazine. Offer to help your staff rep. Even distributing Teacher takes a little off their load.

Jump in whole heartedly.

Talk to each other. In spite of the new school buildings with pod offices and tiny staff rooms designed to isolate and divide us, gather with your colleagues. Share great teaching plans, ask questions, celebrate successes, and if you have a problem, I guarantee that a 15-minute recess discussion will offer you fresh and new possible solutions. You have years of expertise at your side.

Get involved with your union. Attend local meetings. Join committees at your school, local and provincial levels around things you care about. You will meet like-minded folks who will become life-long friends. Sign up to be local school contacts to help spread important information among your colleagues. Read

Read tons about teaching. Learn your history. Know what has been won (or lost) through bargaining. Teach for joy, but justice too.

Like we tell our students, you get out of it what you put into it.”

I loved my career. I know I had an impact on my students. But equally I am proud of the impact I had on my colleagues through my union activism.

Vow to attend at least one BCTF AGM in your career. You will see just how democratic and thoughtful our decision-making is.

Welcome, and enjoy!

28 TEACHER September 2018

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September 2018 TEACHER 29

Salary Indemnity Fund

Teach your curriculum, captivate your classroom.

Are you 65 or eligible for an unreduced pension?

Power Smart for Schools is an online hub of free

You may be able to save approximately 1.2% of your salary.

energy-focused activities and lessons for teachers looking to inspire their students in new ways.

Why? Because you are no longer entitled to long-term benefits under the Salary Indemnity Plan (SIP) when you attain any of the following milestones: • 35 years of contributory service, with a minimum age of 55 • age 61, if you reach “Factor 90” before age 61 • “Factor 90” if you are between 61 and 65 years old • age 65.

It is up to you to apply to withdraw from longterm disability.

Ensure that in the event of serious illness or accident you have sufficient accumulated sick leave, which, when combined with 120 days of benefits from SIP short-term will protect your salary to the end of the month in which you reach one of the milestones mentioned above.

To obtain an application, go to https://is.gd/eaemQ6 or call the BCTF Income Security Division at 604-871-1921.

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It is 35 years since the Solidarity Movement of 1983.

Join us as we remember the largest political protest in BC’s history.

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, 7pm, Anvil Centre, New Westminster ”It Seemed Anything Was Possible” Screening of Common Cause (1984 video) followed by a panel discussion focussed on community group involvement in Solidarity.

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, 7pm, Anvil Centre, New Westminster “A Time to Act” presentation and panel discussion on Operation Solidarity’s strike action plan.

info@labourheritagecentre.ca

LEAH KUYPERS, otr / l September 2018 TEACHER 31

PROVINCIAL SPECIALIST ASSOCIATION O C T O B E R

C O N F E R E N C E S

Every teacher needs a PSA bctf.ca/PSAs #PSAday October 19, 2018

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