Give Me My Report Card!

It’s the last day of school today and my daughters brought home their school work.  One thing was missing – their report cards.  The teachers’ union has carried out many actions over the years which have upset me and given me small fits of rage.  But this latest move fills me with disgust.  Other than withholding the actual instruction (i.e. going on strike) the next worst thing is withholding the feedback.  Sure, you can argue most students and parents should already have an idea of how the student is doing based on homework and test scores throughout the year.  And the parents can arrange a meeting with the teacher to discuss the progress, but I feel the report card is a good tangible item that validates everything.  It also gives the students a good record, should they choose to keep them over their entire school career.

Then we find out that the report cards have actually been completed.  They’re just not giving them out.  The principal has the report cards and he/she can enter them into the computer system and send them out.  This way the union can still claim that the teachers did their job.  Is this supposed to make me feel better about teachers and their union?  No, it makes me more upset.  Any time the teachers’ union takes action, it’s the children that suffer.  When they cut extra-curricular activities, I can at least understand a little bit why they are doing it.  First of all, they are by definition, outside the regular curriculum and I am thankful that the teachers normally give their time to the students for that.  Secondly, cutting extra-curricular activities reduces their workload, which is what employees in negotiations would want to do – that is understandable, albeit unfortunate that the students miss out.  But getting back to the report cards, the fact that the teachers completed them but just won’t enter them into the system and hand them out is despicable.  This action does not save them any time or work.  It does not hurt the Liberal government or the Ministry of Education.  All it does is hurt the little children.

To me, not getting report cards is like not getting a ribbon/trophy at the end of a tournament.  Sure, the participants all know who won but it’s still nice to have something to display on the mantle at home.  How about having a birthday party for your child but no cake?  “Oh, I baked you a cake, but I’m just not allowed to give it to you.”  I don’t think any parent would want that to happen to their children.  So how can the teachers vote to carry out this action?  There are many teachers who are also parents, right?  How can they deprive their children of their report card?  Is there no teacher with enough decency and courage to stand up to the union and say, “This is wrong.  There’s got to be another way to settle this.”?  We always hear about how we need laws to protect children – the most vulnerable members of our society.  Yet we have laws that allow the teachers’ union to bully our children.  And do I need to point out the irony of the teachers preaching anti-bullying to our children during the year?

Having said all that, I do know that there are some good teachers out there – I’ve met a few as a student and as a parent.  They have expressed their regret at these situations and they just want to teach the kids.  So I’ve tried to be careful in this writing to call out the teachers’ union and not point the finger at teachers.  To the teachers’ union I want to tell you an old Chinese phrase.  (The effectiveness gets a little lost in translation but it sounds really cool in Chinese.)  “Face/respect – others will give that to you; humiliation – you earn that yourself.”  You’ve really disgraced yourself to the parents, students, and the general public this time.  To paraphrase the late great Pat Burns after Barry Melrose allegedly ordered Marty McSorley to elbow Doug Gilmour in the 1993 playoffs, “I lost a lot of respect for the teachers’ union tonight!"

One final thought for the summer: Perhaps the teachers' union can make good use of the next two months by having its members protest at Queen’s Park (or the Honourable Liz Sandals’ house) to lobby for what they want – be it smaller class sizes, more prep time, more autonomy during prep time, or whatever demands you may have.  This is the best time to negotiate because no children will be inadvertently held hostage by your actions.  Tell you what, if you do this over the summer, I will join you to show support.

Big Oh