Thoughts On Fight Bill 115 Marketing 

“Teachers, the people who warm our hearts and give us the gift of knowledge.” 

I finally found the time to really dig deep and look over Bill 115  after seeing the Ontario Secondary Schools Teacher Federation(OSSTF)  FighBill115.ca  Ad all over the internet. The conclusion I come to is this, the content of the bill is very strong in reason and rationality and it should be passed and accepted by the teachers this one time. Given the hard fiscal position Ontario is currently in the OSSTF marketing campaign has alienated the valid concerns some teachers actually have with Bill 115. It is overwhelming agreed within society that we need to protect our teachers, and make sure that they are cared for. However it is more important to protect the young minds of the children first.  

I don’t think the Ad campaign FightBill115 has been effective and clear with its message on why parents should side with the union vs. the Liberal government that was just re-elected a year ago. This campaign shows the OSSTF blatant position that it is holding children’s lives and extracurricular activities hostage it is an unnecessary aggressive ad campaign.

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The current marketing campaign and website content displays anger, desperation, fear, intimidation and is alienating to the public. Many parents in other sectors outside of education have had to make massive life-style concessions due to unemployment or other economic factors. Job security is something that is important to protect and the Teachers Union has its right to fight and protect their members. However we should be compassionate and remember not to mix rights with entitlements and privileges these kids deserve to have a full quality public education experience.  Alternatives do exist, just considered and imagine  mandatory home s schooling for a moment. 

What if we went back to a system that put an emphasis on the parents taking responsibility for their children’s learning and development.  I can think of many societal benefits that could come of this type of policy.  And I bet there are many thousands of very conservative folks that would just love that idea. With a majority Federal government and minority legislature anything could happen. My point is this. In the 21st century there is no such thing as a crazy idea’.  Protecting students should be the most important issue over any individual short-term monetary concessions the teachers are being asked to make. With the the public good and interest being the moral rationality. Even if teachers don’t trust the government  you have to trust the people. And that is why this bill and campaign to fight doesn’t  make sense. Being a teacher is not a just a job, it is a life-style and way living. If being a teacher is starting to feel like its a job, then you should probably consider a new occupation.

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Collective Bargaining Rights 

If the concern is solely about  collective bargaining rights, which is so dominate on the website I got bad news to share.  The reality is most employers are now moving towards contract employment offers. This means technically less rights, benefits or entitlements for many generation Y workers who will be responsible for paying taxes towards education while trying to pay-off massive student debts at the same time.

The federal government has already made changes to many Employment Insurance  eligibility programs in order to reflect this new reality in the private sector. The Education sector  is not  immune to the new economic reality of our world. You must give and take, the province is asking teachers to give a little back after being given a lot. I was a student in the public education system when Mike Harris was premier of Ontario. I remember the random strike days off of school while teachers were fighting for “better educational resources and support”. I am beginning to think this might have been an alternative motive to get wages increased? Was Mike Harris not the evil villain that he was portrayed to be?  These are the type of questions I don’t think the OSSTF want’s Ontario taxpayer’s asking. 

The OSSTF needs to show some faith and understand that education is a fundamental foundation of Canadian society and consciousnesses. As a society we will always support, invest and cherish our educators. However more than ever we need our educators to focus on the students who are growing up in a time that is called the “Great Depression”. This means more debt, less income, and greater stress for children coming up through the school system today. Translation more mental health and confidence  issues. Apparently the OSSTF is so upset with the government that the student led conference hosted by Youth Leadership Expert Shane Feldman has been put at risk which is unfortunate.

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This decade the average median household income for western economies is said to be well under $20,0000.00  according to a recent publication by Bain & Company Inc.  The average wage of a teacher after 10 years in the public school system in Ontario is between $65,000.00. -$90,000.00. The Ontario Teachers Pension Fund was one of the first investors in Skype, owned Maple Sports and Entertainment for over a decade and is one of the richest investment funds in all of the world with $115 Billion currently under management. This is well earned and a great resource for teachers once they retire from the class room.  However the focus right now should be on the students.

Instead of fighting Bill 115, we should stop, pause, and remember why education is worth fighting for in the first place. Holding kids extracurricular activities hostage, and making our schools a battle ground for personal labor gains is not the right solution. Although you will get the attention of the public, and create a disturbance the real message will be lost and a solution will remain elusive.  Removing bureaucracy within the education system in order to better service students is a good thing. I want the Minister who was democratically elected by the people in her riding to be in charge and take responsibility.  Personally would  rather the Minister of Education elected by the people of Ontario to be in charge instead of the senior civil servant bureaucrat who lives in the dark without the camera or spotlight on them.

In the end I love education, I have worked within schools on many different levels and capacities. As a volunteer high school football coach, working with at risk youth, gifted students, teachers, principles, and even school board executives in Nova Scotia. I have a very clear understanding of the stresses and challenges being faced by the front line workers and support staff in the public school system today. However I believe we need more of the teachers that warm hearts, enlighten our minds, and give us the gift of knowledge verse the teachers being projected as fighters. Plus we all know what happens when you fight anyway. You go in “time out” or get “suspended” .

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