Smaller class sizes. More supports for students. Resources. That’s what would help make teaching more manageable, according to members who provided testimonials during teachers’ conventions.
At this year’s conventions, dozens of teachers recorded video testimonials answering the question, “What do you need in your classroom to make it manageable and why?” Some also shared what they wanted the public to know about the effects of Bill 2, the Back to School Act, and the notwithstanding clause on teachers.
With video testimonials shared on the social media pages of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, this project aimed to amplify teachers’ voices and increase understanding of the state of the teaching profession and public education in Alberta. Excerpts from a selection of testimonials are included below.
What would make classrooms more manageable?
Smaller class sizes
“I have one class of 26 and one class of 38, and the difference there, it’s huge. With 26, I feel like I’m able to provide way more to my students on an individual basis.”
“With 35 students in my French class, students do not have a chance to practice talking with me, so I can’t make corrections. It is not possible!”
“In kindergarten, it’s their first school experience, so allowing each child to come in and feel loved and accepted and excited to be there is really important, and it’s hard when you’ve got 30 five year olds in a classroom.”
Supports to address complexity
“I would like to have more targeted supports for my students with additional needs and also to eliminate multilevel classrooms.”
“[As a rural teacher], some of the things I’d like to address are the complexities that we face every day. We’re losing teachers yet we have kids who have a reading level of kindergarten in Grade 7 and kids who have a reading level of Grade 12 in Grade 7. How do you teach that whole range? We need the help for that. We need the understanding that we’re doing our best with the limited supplies we have.”
Resources
“I need more resources where I can grab and go, because I have 31 kids in my class and 300 students to teach—I don’t have a whole lot of time.”
What about Bill 2 and the notwithstanding clause?
Mental health and morale
“The notwithstanding clause affected teachers being stripped of their rights, which really impacted their mental health in being forced back into the classroom.”
“The effects of Bill 2 I think have been devastating to, I think, the majority of teachers. Being legislated back has demoralized teachers.”
Teachers’ rights
“I feel like I’ve lost all my rights. I had no choice [but to] go back to the classroom. Did I miss my kids? Absolutely. I’m not there for myself; I’m there for the kids. However, the removal of choice for teachers to go back to the classroom was wrong. The lack of negotiation was wrong.”
“The use of the notwithstanding clause was very hard for me. Yes, my rights were injured, but on a philosophical level, there is something that was broken in the cavalier use of the clause and subsequent uses of that clause. I do not know how that damage can be repaired. I hope, I pray that someone is able to.”
