if teachers want to be paid on par with Police Officers and Nurses then they should have to put in the same amount of hours annually to achieve that pay parody...especially with Police services, putting their lives on the line to protect the general public. Dealing with life threatening emergencies or dangerous diseases, is NOT part of a teachers job.Certainly a teacher who has been involved in a lockdown, who has been first on the scene at any number of playground accidents, who works in a school where gangs are actively recruiting, where a regular part of his/her day involves checking kids for lice and scabies may disagree with that last statement, as do I. Unfortunately life threatening emergencies and dangerous diseases are often part of our jobs. Everyone has the right to an education in Canada regardless of their race, religion, gender, health status etc. Our schools and teachers are working regularly with young offenders and also with students who suffer various illness including HIV. Just as health care professionals don't deny them service, we do not deny them education. In loco parentis means that we are responsible to care for our students as a responsible parent would, meaning that we will put our students' needs and safety before out own in any time of crisis.
When I worked in Prairie Valley School Division, we could earn days off for extra-curricular contributions. In order to earn 3 days off at that time, one needed to put in 325 hours of extra-curricular direct service with students (this did not include any administration time, only time spent with students). An astounding number of teachers earned these EDO's logging more than 325 hours. If one considers a work week to be 40 hours, this means that these teachers put in more than 8 weeks supervising and coaching. Many were far above the 325 mark. Also important to note that EDO's are locally negotiated and not part of the provincial contract. Many teachers in the province do not have the opportunity to earn EDO's yet they do put in the same or more time supervising and coaching the students that they teach beyond the school day in addition to planning, marking and preparing.
The teachers of Saskatchewan are not asking you to choose between police, nurses and teachers, for all three professions are essential to the well being of our community. We only ask that teachers also be recognized for the vital work they do with competitive salaries. One of the things that I thought about is that, while I feel safe knowing the Regina Police Service is there, my actual direct involvement with the police is quite limited. Similarly, and luckily, my direct involvement with nurses has also been limited. I think that the average person feels confident that the services are there if and when they need them but, the number of hours of direct involvement we have with police officers and nurses is significantly less than the number of hours of direct contact with teachers.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to leave you with this thought. Having a strong competent police force is essential for managing the crime that exists. Having a strong competent group of nurses is essential for managing the health problems and issues that exist. But, the single biggest factor in reducing both crime and health issues that plague our province such as diabetes and obesity is EDUCATION. And, having a strong competent group of teachers is the best way to provide this necessary service.
AWESOME blog...Thank you for writing it!!
ReplyDeleteWow great reply!
ReplyDeleteThis response may be over simplifying the issue. It also diminishes the contribution of both nurses and police officers. It is a fair assessment to say that nursing and police work often poses a more serious risk to the employee that teaching because their primary function is to deal with pressing safety and health issues. This does not mean that teachers do not deserve competitive wages--but teachers in other provinces may be a better measure than a comparison with other professions with their own set of challenges.
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