Back to square one

Earlier this year I said: "I believe the government's second goal of these, ummm, let's call them talks, was a standardized collective agreement for teachers and educational staff." Sadly what the provincial government couldn't impose on teachers, it is now trying to impose on school boards.  Boards have been told that it's not good enough to simply implement the terms of new collective agreements.  Rather according to Ministry of Education Memorandum B9, school boards are to incorporate verbatim the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) into signed agreements: 

"In particular, the following items are to be appended to, and form part of, the existing local collective agreement without amendment: 

• Job Security for Support Staff 
• Maternity Benefits 
• Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program for All Bargaining Units 
• Unpaid Days and Offsetting Measures for Teacher Bargaining Units
• Reconciliation for Teacher Bargaining Units
• Attendance Recognition 
• Sick Leave/Short-Term Sick-Leave Disability Plan 
• Long-Term Disability 
• Non-vested Retirement Gratuity for Employees 
• Specialized Job Classes" 

Let's look back.  Last year as a matter of principle, a number of school boards and trustees took a stand against Bill 115, which had imposed agreements on parties not participating in negotiations, specifically on public school teachers and teacher unions. From an earlier post:

"It's about freely entering into a contract. ... So the concept of an imposed contract, an agreement imposed by a third party, is a bit of an oxymoron.  I'm no lawyer, not even close, but to impose an agreement is generally outside the law except in the case of a designated essential service.  In other cases, employees have a right to negotiate."

As employers under the Education Act, school boards also have an obligation and a right to negotiate.  As well, school boards are a separate level of government.  Boards were not at the negotiations table and now we are told that we must incorporate the MOU, incorporate its exact wording, into our collective agreements.

School boards are the oldest form of democratic government in Canada and we take our duties seriously.  We are required by law to take responsibility for "student achievement and well-being."  Yet many of us have serious concerns about the content of a document we did not negotiate and as the Memorandum implies, we must sign off on it.  But I can't help but feel that if I were to do so, I would be acting in bad faith toward my constituents and the students I represent.

It's a 'catch-22' situation.  If school boards don't incorporate the MOU, they don't receive the money to implement the terms of the agreements.  With declining student enrollment and the roll-out of full-day kindergarten, many school boards are in a financial bind and without this additional money, may not be able to implement the terms of the agreements.  
Trustees are reputable politicians and are paid next to nothing, sometimes as little as $5000 annually, for long hours of work.  At the end of the day, we often hang our hats on genuine concern for children and education.

There's an old joke sometimes ascribed to W.C. Fields with the punchline, "We have established what you are -- we are simply haggling about the price."  The Liberals don't appear to have learnt much from their loss to Trustee Catherine Fife in the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election last September.  Perhaps a figurative slap from Trustee Peggy Sattler in the upcoming London West by-election will bring the message home.


The views expressed in this blog are personal opinions only.

The butterfly at the front of the bus

Rosa Parks, the famous American civil rights activist, is best known for refusing to sit at the back of the bus. She was arrested for her action and subsequently lost her job as a seamstress.  Here is the picture taken of Parks at the time of her arrest in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955.

The arrest served as a catalyst for the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, which came into effect from the day of Park's arrest and lasted for over a year. The majority of bus riders in Montgomery were Black and the revenues of the bus company declined sharply.  Let's take a moment to think about all that walking, determination and sacrifice of those who supported the boycott for so long.  This successful boycott is often credited with ushering in the American civil rights movement.

At the time, Rosa Parks was portrayed as a private citizen who was "simply tired of giving-in" but this isn't the whole story.  In fact, Parks was the latest of a long list of Black women who had protested Montgomery's racist laws.  These included Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and the members of the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) who were arrested in Montgomery just months before Parks. 

Here's another picture of Rosa Parks also taken in 1955 with Dr. Martin Luther King clearly visible in the background.  Parks was the secretary of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chapter in Montgomery at the time. Why did Parks' actions serve as a catalyst for the bus boycott while others doing the same thing in the same place at almost the same time did not?


Let's go back to the topic of complexity raised in the February 21st post.  The attributes of complex systems are very different from simple or complicated systems.  Still complex systems do follow some rules.  Rosa Parks and the history of that time illustrate a phenomenon of complex systems commonly called "the butterfly effect."

Allow me to explain some of the differences between types of systems. Relatively few factors influence a simple system.  Regardless of the recipe, there are a limited number of ingredients involved in baking a cake. Complex systems are produced by many factors.  The economy, the weather, an ecosystem or a society each have many and various players that influence the system. Each of these has a differing role and each is likely to act on the system in a different manner.

A school board is also complex.  The people influencing it include a multitude of students with differing needs, teachers, parents with varying interests, school and management staff, unions, politicians at the local and provincial level, administrators locally and provincially, and of course citizens acting in both the local and provincial spheres.  There is the condition of buildings to take into account, availability of resources such as libraries, textbooks and gyms, and the wealth or lack thereof of the neighbourhoods and children it serves.  Very complex indeed.

In popular thinking, the butterfly effect attributes a change in weather to the beating of the wings of a fictional butterfly; a small action producing a large effect. But this isn't quite right.  The reality is that a complex system has to be primed for change or at a tipping point before the actions of the 'butterfly' can actually have an effect.

For the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks was the butterfly.  In 1944, a full decade before Parks, the famous Black athlete Jackie Robinson, was also arrested for his refusal to go to the back of the bus.  The civil rights movement organized during the intervening decade without obvious effect, that is, until Parks. It must have been very frustrating for those involved to see such great injustice remain in place all those years.

Leaders of the civil rights movement would not have known that they were about to make a breakthrough with Parks' arrest but there may have been indications of impending change as activists had repeatedly tried this tactic earlier in the year.  Likely due to the similar actions of others and similar responses by authorities, there was a well-formulated strategy, an organizing committee, and a legal defense team who knew what to expect when Parks was arrested and who were prepared to act.  The successful Montgomery Bus Boycott did not happen in a vacuum! Still at that time, there wasn't much theory to give civil rights activists an understanding of how systems change. Rather the many people who supported the civil rights movement often relied on deeply held faith to give them the strength to persevere.

Complex systems resist change and generally change only when measures aimed at preserving the existing system have been tried and exhausted.  The question is -- Are there indications that our educational system is on the cusp of fundamental change and why is this important?

-------

Allow me to take a moment and honour a special person who recently passed away.  Bob Barlow was a 47-year-old trustee with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. Bob was selfless as few others are.  Once Bob jumped into his car, drove six hours to Ottawa, spoke to a small group here interested in running for office, and then hopped back into his car to drive back to Hamilton.  That's the kind of person he was.  Bob cared.

There are many such examples.  Bob took on the challenge of the baseball league in Hamilton.  Over time he worked to improve the league and it went from one team to 44. Bob believed that through organized sport, children would have a sense of belonging and could learn about team work.  No child for lack of means was turned away from taking part in a Hamilton baseball team during Bob's watch.

Bob understood as few others do that politics is not about power but about influence and he influenced many.  Trustee Barlow was the shining example of a caring politician in a time when more are needed.  Bob, we all miss you very much.


The views expressed in this blog are personal opinions only.

The children of the revolution

The stillness awoke me this morning.  Where are the sounds of the roosters, the noisy engines, the crashing surf, the animated conversations, and that ubiquitous Latin beat -- the rhythms of Cuba that fill one's consciousness and then take over until quiet becomes strange?

I have spent almost three weeks in Cuba, not as a tourist but as a member of the 21st Ernesto Che Guevara work brigade, and the experience was altogether different.  Our 35 or so members ranged in age from 15 to 82, came from all walks of life and from as far away as Labrador and Vancouver Island.  Here is Yvonne from Vancouver perched atop a light standard for better viewing of Havana's May Day parade (with her permission).  We should all be so vigourous and full of life at 82!

As an international brigade, we worked and lived away from the usual tourist traps and were very privileged to see a side of Cuban life few others see.  Dripping with sweat and caked in red dirt, most mornings we worked in farm fields or urban gardens.  In the afternoons, we met with Cubans from every walk of life.  We were given tours of hospitals, schools and factories.  We heard from teachers, members of the Cuban National Assembly, doctors, social workers, cooperative farm owners and women activists to name but a few.

With the help of a couple of excellent interpreters and our own informal translators, we spoke to many ordinary Cubans unaccustomed to meeting others from abroad.  In the next few posts, I would like to explore some themes around Cuban life and education, dissimilar yet somehow familiar to our own.  While I feel my observations are mostly valid, they lack the detail a Spanish-speaking person might acquire.  By my next visit to Cuba, I will speak Spanish!

***

"Without meaning, learning has no purpose." says Neil Postman in "The End of Education".  A present from a good friend and colleague, this book strangely mirrors my recent Cuban experiences and echoes my thoughts over some years.  It was my prop to find privacy in crowded waiting rooms and a screen against unwanted attention.  Now dusty and dog-eared, it came with me everywhere. 

Postman's book raises fundamental questions about the nature of society and education. Does tool-making really make us human or is it language and the use of the narrative?  If it's the former, chimpanzees, crows and even a type of fish, the green wrasse, are now human.  As an aside, a wonderful video demonstrating the intelligence of crows can be found on CBC's "The Nature of Things".  But I agree with Postman that what sets humans apart from other animals is our use of the narrative -- the stories we say to ourselves and tell to each other. Through our tales in history, science or religion, we create overlays of a world that gradually reveal a multifaceted map of our reality.

The Cuban narrative is compelling.  It's the classic story of David and Goliath told with a modern twist.  It is represented in every town square and appears to give motivation and purpose to Cuban lives and a surprising unity to Cuban society.  At a time when so many of our youth seem to be searching for purpose and floundering, there is something to be learnt here.

I'm never sure where these posts will lead but I do know the questions raised in Postman's book are worthy of further exploration as is the interesting experiment that is Cuba. To paraphrase Neil Postman, in the beginning was the word and in the end too.

And what is that word for Cubans?  Self-determination.

The views expressed in this blog are personal opinions only.

With a little help from my friends

Oh, the delicious irony -- a 28-year old grad student from a state college, Thomas Herndon, takes down two Harvard professors, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, whose influential research has been used by politicians to justify austerity measures.  Good on Herndon for having the courage of his convictions.

Sometimes life has a way of grabbing your attention, particularly when you face death. I've lived long enough to have been there.  Sometimes we cheat it for a short while but let me tell you about my close brush with death.

It would have been a rather embarrassing way to go.  I was closing up the cottage for the winter, trying to get everything done before the shorter days of October put an end to my work.  I grabbed a quick bite on the run from the few remains left in the fridge and before I knew it, I was unable to breathe.

This hadn't happened before so I wasn't quite sure how to respond.  Perhaps my mind works in rather strange ways, which is entirely possible, but the first thing I thought was that I didn't want to leave a mess for the kids.  Then I looked out the window and while this wasn't quite the scene I saw that day, it's similar enough.  I said to myself if this is the last thing I see, well, it's beautiful.



Perception is a funny thing.  Sometimes time seems to crawl by at a snail's pace like a child's last school day before summer holidays.  Other times it seems to pass in the blink of an eye; your child's childhood.  That day, my entire life did not so much pass before my eyes.  Rather what seemed to happen is that images flashed by; a slide show of the important emotional moments of my life.  In my mind's eye, there were my sweet sons as babies and the faces of good friends.  There were special moments and even the good acquaintances I had met along the way.  As time stood still, I thought what an amazing, fortunate life I've had.

I managed to perform the Heimlich Maneuver and so here I am for another day. I am pretty sure that my perception of time was warped because of the effects of adrenaline but still that moment lingers with me. For what came to me then were the people in my life, the loving relationships, and a serenity from having tried to make the world a better place.  I mean how many people have the privilege of working to improve the lives of children?

Once something like this happens, priorities may change.  I care even less about niceties, money and status and care far more about people.  While I was somewhat fearless before, now I've become incorrigible.  Not in the sense of taking stupid physical risks rather it's that I simply don't care what polite society thinks of me.  I more frequently speak my mind and make far too many bad puns!

Speaking truth to power is a Quaker expression that captures an alternative response to violence.  I like its sentiment except that in my experience, I believe it should be used sparingly and to defend others.  I'm not about to speak truth to an insignificant slight nor to use it as an excuse to pass judgement on Justin's undershirt, no matter how tempting that might be.

Speaking truth is powerful when it is expressed from the heart with courage and conviction.  I think of Elijah Harper who stopped the Meech Lake Accord with the power of an eagle feather and his simple refusal to vote yes.  Without a doubt, there were powerful figures trying to convince Harper to vote otherwise and it took courage to stand up as he did.  Or I think of the speech of Dr. Martin Luther King "I have a Dream".  This video still gives me goosebumps even after many viewings.

Forgive this small contribution of speaking truth to power.  To my political colleagues in various levels of government, some of you have largely overblown the fiscal crisis here in Canada.  You have misled people by repeatedly overstating the depth of the crisis, in using scare tactics and intimidation, by falsely blaming others, or in using the results a particular study that is now discredited.  You have championed measures that trampled democratic rights and scapegoated welfare recipients and teachers.  You have overlooked those who avoided taxes by moving their money offshore.  You have left many pensioners in the lurch by ignoring the destruction of Canadian enterprises such as Nortel.  And you have created a "Shock Doctrine" crisis to alter Canada's political landscape.  Canada is such an amazing country in large measure because of it's sense of justice and democracy.  Shame on you!

In the last couple of weeks, teachers and education workers have been torn on how to vote but let me say this particularly because few have.  You have been courageous in your stand for democratic rights.  Yes, it has been painful at times for everyone involved but the alternatives were either 12 years of labour unrest as in B.C. or the loss of labour rights as in Wisconsin.  You have dodged both these bullets and achieved an important victory for future teachers, for other workers in the public sector, and for many Canadians.  Thank you.

The struggle for freedom is ongoing.  Sometimes it's waged internally against preconceived notions and sometimes it's against external forces.  We are fortunate to live in Canada and usually the worst that happens here for speaking up is that you embarrass yourself.  As I would tell my teenage sons -- believe me, I have done this repeatedly and yet miraculously here I am to tell the tale.

The good news is that you too can help save the life of a child.  Sometimes it's a simple matter of having a little courage and trusting yourself.  By speaking up for those who can't, you become your own best self.  Perhaps this can be best summed up in a broader sense through the powerful words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last."


The views expressed in this blog are my personal views only.  I'm taking a vacation for a few weeks and won't be posting during this time.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog.  I have always appreciated your comments and learned so much in the process.

There is one question I would like to take a moment to answer.  I have never been a teacher nor have I ever worked for a school.  There are no teachers in my family.  Rather I have been touched by the humanity of many educators and school staff.  This doesn't mean that I don't get angry with the machinations of the system.  For the most part the individual teachers and education workers I've met, and they have been many over 18 years, have been caring and kind.  The next time you're tempted to give a teacher a piece of your mind, remember that she is likely also caught by the institutional rules.

I would also like to thank teachers and the Ottawa Carleton Elementary Teachers' Federation for your support.  I was very touched to receive your Honourary Life Membership award and I cherish it.

Scapegoating teachers and bank profits

Last night I sat listening to The National and heard in disbelief Gord Nixon, CEO of the Royal Bank, explain the nuanced difference between outsourcing jobs and hiring foreign workers.  Is this attempt at befuddlement why they pay you the big bucks, Mr. Nixon, for according to the Financial Post, your take-home pay last year was $12.6 million? http://business.financialpost.com/2013/02/04/rbc-boosts-ceos-pay-25-to-12-6-million/  Or are you truly befuddled yet somehow still running a major institution?  In case it's the latter, let me be clear.  Many Canadians do not give a rat's ass what you call it but they do care that they or their neighbours are losing jobs at a time when the RBC is making record profits, $7.5 billion in 2012 alone. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/11/29/rbc-profit-earnings.html  To dress up your bank's shamelessly greedy practices in legalities is like putting lipstick on a pig.  And for the people who made RBC great, your Canadian depositors, it is nothing short of a slap in the face.  Perhaps I'll close my RBC account.  Perhaps we all should.

Last year, all Canadian banks made billions as did many corporations.  But if  "Government contracts have fallen out of step with the workplace norm." as Barrie McKenna of the Globe and Mail claims in his piece "In fight over banked sick days, a widening fairness gap is exposed", is it because government contracts have inflated or because workplace norms have become impoverished? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/in-fight-over-banked-sick-days-a-widening-fairness-gap-is-exposed/article10837039/ 

Even with record profits, business practices similar to RBC's are not unusual and they often enough include a curtailment of sick leave or pensions at the time when western populations are aging and most in need of these benefits.  And as some Canadian business reporters note, profits are not even reinvested in infrastructure to modernize the Canadian workplace.    

Canadians should be decrying their loss of sick leave or pension benefits.  Instead we see lots of finger-pointing and scapegoating particularly of teachers on the part of conservative pundits.  A lie repeated often enough is perceived as truth.  There are provincial and federal government deficits to point to too but what conservative pundits don't say is that these deficits were often created not by an economic downturn but by the actions of government.  By the late 1990s, Mike Harris's government had reduced both corporate and personal taxes.  Many of these taxes have not been reinstated and the revenue they generated for the Ontario government has not been found elsewhere.  

As well with little infrastructure replacement, our manufacturing economy has suffered and Ontario has gone from being a have to a have-not province.  Still Ontario continues to pay equalization payments as if it were a have province to the tune of $11 billion annually, all the while dealing with a $12 billion deficit.  Even if Ontario did not receive equalization payments but simply stopped paying into the Equalization Program, its deficit would instantly shrink to a far more manageable $1 billion.

Should we just continue our race to the bottom and perhaps ask the Royal Bank to outsource our kids' education too?  The point is that at the very least, our children are going to need a good education if the next generation is going to cope with the sorry state of this world.  Much of the research on education in Canada and abroad indicates that this is best accomplished with having teachers in the classroom who are decently treated and respected.  But let's not kid ourselves.  The scapegoating is unlikely to stop anytime soon for unlike other jurisdictions, Ontario's teachers have successfully withstood an attempt to undermine their rights.  Conservative pundits will not let this pass.

Which brings me back to last night's news.  The architect of modern austerity programs, Margaret Thatcher, has passed away.  According to some British commentators, she left in her wake the destruction of the British middle class.  Some have even said that her deregulation measures, which served as the template for Ronald Reagan's sweeping reforms, caused America's banking crisis.  Ultimately Mrs. Thatcher's policies and their short-term gains may be judged even more harshly by future historians.

Sure, so go ahead and keep on blaming the teachers.  Maybe then you'll miss that the financial world is going down the drain due to irresponsible corporate practices, bloated CEO compensation packages, and the ridiculous profits of banks like RBC.

The views expressed in this blog are my personal views only.

Meaningful work and love make the world go round

I love the internet, not all aspects mind you, but there are some that show real promise. One is Wikipedia.  For me, Wikipedia represents humanity's liberation from ignorance. It's a guarantee that the Royal Library of Alexandria will never again be destroyed and books will never again be burnt.

I'm sitting here with a box of Kleenex and a late winter cold feeling ever so slightly sorry for myself but then I think, well I have this wonderful blog.  Even if it can't clear my nose, it helps clarify my thoughts.

After a conversation with a friend this week, I've started to think about what gets me out of bed in the morning.  There was a time when it was hard to get out of bed. Perhaps I had depression; I was younger then.  But I do know that over the years something has changed in me and the watershed moment came when I had surgery for cancer.

This is going to sound so strange but having cancer was good for me.  I'm not saying it wasn't very painful and I'm not saying that cancer isn't devastating for many people but for me, it was a real wake-up call.

When I was sick, people I hadn't seen for years visited me, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles to visit.  It was just great to see them!  And my sons were wonderful too.  The eldest took over all the day-to-day arrangements and my youngest sat by my bedside to get whatever I needed.  I felt so fortunate to not only see everyone but particularly to witness my sons blossom into good men.  Of course, when I was better, there was a bit of regression but still.

I can picture the boys by my bed when I awoke from the surgery.  These two hulking giants, one is 6'5" and the other is 6'3", standing over me looking down.  It was comical, like we had switched places.  Do you know the Robert Munsch book, "Love you Forever"? Like that.  And they said in unison, "Mom, it's so good to see you."

There is something truly magical about knowing that you're loved but sometimes we don't really know until there's a crisis.  Love gave me an incentive to get out of bed after the surgery because I didn't want to worry the people who love me. I think this helped me heal faster and I only missed one school board meeting, on the actual day of the surgery.

It was interesting that my sense of time also changed.  Sure, I had realized that time is limited and that I should try to make the most of it.  But I also came to appreciate that I generally do whatever I can in a situation and usually find a solution.  This realization allowed me to trust enough to know that I can undo most mistakes and this gives me permission to live in the moment.  

To go back to an earlier question about motivation, http://pamfitzgeraldottawa.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-value-of-volunteering.html, if I were to have a conversation with Daniel Pink today, I might say yes, you have it right in most ways but it's not quite complete.   By the way, here's a great RSA Animate video to help explain Pink's ideas, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc. 

So let's peel back Pink's onion a little more.  As sufficient income gives creative workers the ability to forget about money and concentrate on work, so love coupled with meaningful work gives the inspiration to be present in the moment and truly observe what's going on around us. Through this presence of mind, we can become more creative.

Living in the moment has been a great gift.  And if I can give a gift back, I hope you enjoy this video of children singing "What a Wonderful World", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLd0QRf7Vg.  Cancer may have taken away a part of me but it also allowed me to live in the present and gave me a better sense of love.  It was more than a fair trade ... and I laugh a lot more.

The views expressed in this blog are my personal views only.

Secrecy and negotiations

Like the rest of you, I know nothing about negotiations going on between the government and union representatives.  But for this one time, that's alright by me ... with a couple caveats.

During this past year, Dalton McGuinty wrote the textbook on how *not* to engage in negotiations.  This included a YouTube video where the premier tried to do an end run around teacher representatives to speak directly to teachers. I managed to find this video today but now it has *interesting* subtitles added.  Here it is for your enjoyment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgCYhxmhx3A.

A year ago too, the government brought lawyers into the talks who tabled a take-it-or-leave-it offer.  Some negotiations.  Bill 115 was then passed shortly before the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election and it was used by the government to try and win both the by-election and a majority government.  And many of us wonder too if there wasn't some subtle messaging conveyed to representatives of the English Catholic union, OECTA, to get the agreement that set the groundwork for Bill 115?

There is a reason why real collective bargaining is held behind closed doors.  This gives each side some time for sober second thought and an opportunity to back away from a position without losing face.  When talks are in public, negotiators can become caught having to defend a position they might want to move away from later.  In public, there can be little give-and-take.

Negotiating experience, both inside and outside the education sector, tells me there has to be some honest dialogue between sides to reach an agreement and this can only happen in private.  I'm willing to give the parties the benefit of the doubt for the moment with the understanding that they are only talking about legislation to enshrine collective bargaining rights and the framework for future negotiations.  If this is indeed the content of the talks, then I am in favour of discussions continuing out of the public eye.

Of course, only time will tell.  I hope the government and unions are making good progress so that a public announcement can be tabled soon.  It has been a hard year for everyone involved and further waiting takes its toll.  But let's all take a deep breath now and await the promise of spring.


The views expressed in this blog are my personal views only.