Saskatchewan teachers one day walk out

Tomorrow will be the Saskatchewan teachers' one day walk out.  After reading the many comments posted on the Leader Post website it is very interesting to me that the public is so concerned with the current teachers rather than the teachers of the future.  Many comments referred to teachers as "greedy" and suggested that if teaching is, in fact, a calling, one would be inclined to become a teacher regardless of the pay.  While I agree that it takes a certain kind of person to enter and to stay in this profession that demands patience, work ethic, intelligence and heart; it also demands the type of person who wants to excel in his or her chosen profession, a life long learner who seeks acknowledgement and recognition for his or her contribution.  I believe, the further our salaries move away from other professions which require similar education, training and skills, the less likely youth are to enter the profession at all.  Currently we see some of the brightest and best education grads accepting positions in other provinces which allow them to earn more money and, perhaps, have a better standard of living.  Yes, I am a teacher.  I consider myself to be a hard worker; I have spent much of my career pursuing further education through my Master Degree, courses, conventions and professional reading.  I have done my best to put the needs of my students first and, in addition, have spent many hours coaching and organizing sports and events for students in the schools I have worked all above and beyond the work day.  The working conditions in our profession have changed dramatically in the 15 years that I have been a teacher.  Teachers are working with students who suffer from physical and mental disabilities, who have suffered abuse, who live in poverty, who have just arrived in Canada and speak no English and on and on.  In the past, many of these students would not have been in school at all, and, those who were would not have been able to participate in their neighbourhood school with their peers. The expectation that all students can and will learn allows us to educate all children, but, at the same time, is a daunting proposition.  the fact that, in 2011, a teacher could, at one time, have a classroom with students who suffer from autism, fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, are visually or hearing impaired, are of above average intelligence, have just arrived in the country from a refugee camp and speak no English and your children and my children...it sounds pretty difficult, and it is!  As a mother, I want the people with the greatest capacity to nurture and educate all these children, especially my own, and give them the best possible opportunity to be successful in life.  If my children feel the calling to become teachers, I want it to be because it is a noble and honourable profession with one of the greatest responsibilities attached to it.  I want Saskatchewan School Boards to be able to hire the best possible teachers to educate my children in a competitive market, not to have to accept the ones that they can afford.  I am not asking this for myself, I want it for my children and for our future.  What is it that you want for yours?