Teachers make their marks with Dufferin Mall “grade-in”

When Leigh Thornton talks about her students at Bloor Collegiate, her face lights up.

“Our students are fantastic,” she said, beaming. “To know them is to fall in love with them.”

Thornton was one of a few dozen teachers who did her usual weekend grading not at home, but in the Dufferin Mall food court on Sunday afternoon. Teachers say the “grade-in” was meant to raise awareness about the impact of ongoing education cuts, and about the danger of imposed labour contracts.

“We are here to do what we do best: educate,” said Jason Kunin, who teaches English and media studies at Vaughan Road Academy. “A lot of what we do is invisible. Part of what we’re doing is here is making it visible.”

In spring 2012, the Toronto District School Board announced the layoffs of 17 vice-principals, 200 high school teachers, 430 education assistants, 134 school secretaries, 10 caretakers and six hall safety monitors as it tried to close its budget deficit.

This year, facing another deficit as well as declining enrolment, the board announced that 248 high school teachers would lose their jobs.

“When school staff are laid off, every staff member in the school ends up working longer hours,” said Kate Curtis, who teaches French and Geography at Bloor Collegiate. Curtis organized the event. “The TDSB layoffs mean that teachers will have less time to spend on things like marking and one-on-one support for students.”

Thornton, who teaches drama, says that talking to her students and developing relationships with them is one of the chief aspects of her job. A few years ago, Thornton found that students were stressed out and anxious so she started an after-school group for girls to help them share their feelings.

“I believe we need to make our support system strong, and find ways to make things more efficient, but we’re doing it in the wrong way,” Thornton said. “It scares me.”

Last year, controversial Bill 115 suspended the teachers’ collective bargaining rights, and imposed contracts. In response, the province’s teachers opted to stop running after-school sports and clubs.

The bill was repealed in late January, but the imposed contracts remain in place, and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario continues to advise teachers not to volunteer outside class in protest.

“Contrary to the impression some people may have, it’s not back to normal. Our collective bargaining rights still have not been restored,” Kunin said. “There’s a lot of issues and we would like to engage people in conversation.”

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew