Vancouver schools reopened after the summer break Tuesday, and by now students and their families should have a better idea of how they will be affected by the job action initiated by teachers.
In June, teachers across the province voted 90 per cent in favour of a strike if a new collective agreement between the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association wasnt reached before the beginning of the school year. The first phase of the job action is a teaching only campaign, meaning teachers wont be performing administrative tasks such as filling out forms, collecting data, meeting with principals or other administrators, supervising on playgrounds or writing report cards.
Teachers attention will be totally focused on the students in their classrooms, and not on the many bureaucratic and administrative tasks that take away from the joy of teaching and learning, said BCTF president Susan Lambert last week.
The BCTF hasnt yet announced what the second phase might entail.
Leah Bae, president of the Vancouver District Students Council, said she has heard all kinds of rumours and hopes the situation will be explained on the first day back.
Im not really that concerned about it at the moment, but if it does escalate to something where, say, the teachers stop marking our material, that will be a huge problem, said the Grade 12 Lord Byng secondary student, who worries about the effect it could have on future university applications.
People have come up saying I heard were not getting reference letters, I heard were not getting marks and I dont think that is true because reference letters are something a teacher chooses to do, but who knows? They seem to be really keeping it on the down low.
She also expressed concern for younger students, pointing to the announcement last Thursday that Kelowna schools were cancelling recess due to lack of outdoor supervision. For the younger kids, you need that time to take a break from indoor classes and just go out and get some fresh air. I think that is important for a childs mental health and if theyre not getting it, that is a bit ridiculous.
However, Patti Bacchus, Vision Vancouver chair of the Vancouver School Board, said she didnt expect to see outdoor recess shut down in Vancouver schools.
I believe in most schools the playground supervision is done by supervision aides, who are part of a different employee group, said Bacchus over the phone from New York last week. I know teachers typically do some before and after supervision and well have to make another plan for that to make sure students are covered. Basically safety will be a priority and well assure parents that in no way will students put in any kind of risk in terms of safety.
Bacchus said she hopes the situation will be resolved soon and is optimistic that the first phase of the job action will be manageable.
From what I understand so far, it shouldnt have an overly dramatic impact on students or their families. Classes will be in session, teachers will be focusing on teaching, but just not participating in management. There will for sure be pressure on administrators and school district management, but were hoping the impact of families will be minimal.
