The last few years and months have been challenging, for all of us, both personally and professionally. We all know it was difficult for many reasons, from Covid to curriculum to the teachers’ vote on the mediator’s recommendations. I think we can all agree that we do not want a repeat of those experiences.
As we begin another school year, and the excitement of another year fills our classrooms, I cannot help but wonder how we can use the lessons learned from the last few months and years to reimagine a better future for everyone involved in public education. How can we take what we have learned, be focused forward on the future, and then work together to create the best schools for ourselves and our students?
Together, we have the opportunity build a new future, one that sees equity for our students and our colleagues — a future for education that respects those who work in schools, honours the professionalism of teachers and school leaders, and respects the modern diversity of Alberta with a curriculum that reflects the future and is not rooted in the past.
Colleagues, we are the leaders that public education needs. Each of you is the voice and face of education that people in your schools and communities have come to trust. Collectively, we will use our expertise to provide long-term solutions to the systemic issues that have plagued our schools for too long — issues such as poverty, class size, funding, resources, supports for learning needs and mental health.
Our students and colleagues have needs that have only been amplified in the the last several years, and the inadequate funding and planning of the government has contributed to greater inequalities and struggles.
Unfortunately, there is a leadership void at the government level, not only in education but also in other sectors. That will also be a focus of the ATA through the next year and beyond. We cannot let others fill in this space and dictate to the profession whichever bad idea they think will “fix” education.
Our classrooms do not need more Band-Aid approaches, which is why on Wednesday, Aug. 10, the ATA hosted a panel for the UCP leadership candidates who are vying to be the next premier of our province. It was our chance to see and hear if, in fact, these candidates have serious solutions for the real concerns teachers have for their students. Candidates detailed their vision for education around funding, curriculum, the relationship with the ATA and pensions.
The 2023 election is a very significant event, as is the leadership race that is happening now, but education should be a top priority every year for people who are elected to sit in the legislature.
The panel was informative, but I reminded the candidates that their policies in the past two years have failed students, parents and teachers. As we remain focused on the future of public education, I noted that we will be watching to see if they put their words into action, and we will hold them accountable if they do not.
At our 2022 Annual Representative Assembly, we passed a resolution that directed the ATA to “initiate a broadly based, outward-facing program of research, expert consultation, public dialogue and member outreach to examine the academic, social and emotional challenges facing students in the post-pandemic period with the objective of identifying potential education policy responses to improve student well-being and success.”
The work to address this forward-focused resolution has already begun and will continue into the fall with a rally to support public education leading up to the provincial election and beyond. We have the expertise, the dedication and the desire. I believe that teachers and the ATA can and should lead improvements in education by working with others, such as parents and a variety of other stakeholders, who believe in strong public education for all students.
It will not be easy or perfect, and there are still many challenges we face as a profession, but dealing with challenges comes with the territory when you are fighting for something you believe in. Throughout all this, we must also maintain an element of hope and unity. Hope is very powerful, and people will seek to undermine it, yet hope still happens when we work together toward something brighter and better.
I am equally as confident and hopeful that teachers, who are leaders of this profession, will bring new ideas to support each other and the students across this province. Finally, I am confident and hopeful that we will build a better future for our students, together, in strength and solidarity, as one profession united.
ATA President