Teachers, Politicians and Broken Institutions
Adam in his school gym.
He will not be there next week.
From Monday to Wednesday to next week, Adam will not be attending his school.
A whopping 87% of all teachers in the province voted for an escalation in job action. This strike is a response to Bill 22, which would postpone negotiations between the teachers union and the government until September. I'm not sure what the point of this postponement is. The government calls it a "cooling off" period.
I have been following these events from a distance - I have some concern as my son is a student in the system. I also have friends who are teachers and friends who are Liberal politicians - friends on each side of the debate.
What I have learned from watching it is that there is a grossly dysfunctional system at work here. A teachers union with real needs - and a government facing financial constraints. And both sides with an inability to see or empathize with the other.
All conflict has this blindness and lack of empathy at its core - talk to any married couple. Don't we always complain about our frustrations of communication? I'm not sure why the teachers union is opposed to the mediator idea - its obvious their current negotiations have proved fruitless.
The media has simplified this conflict by asking who do you support - the teachers or the government? That's like asking who is more likable - nurses or wall street brokers? The government will always lose in any like-ability poll - because we believe the negative caricature without ever having gotten to know any real politicians.
The real question is - what is wrong with our public institutions? Why can't organizations communicate with one another? I don't even think individuals are at fault - they are victims of broken institutions.
What we are witnessing here is the impotence and dysfunctionality of institutions. Just watch any season of The Wire to get a fuller understanding of the frustration individuals feel when working within broken institutions.
So - who do I support? I support the local teacher who chose his or her profession out of a desire to make a difference in the life of a child, and in that way make a worthy and fruitful contribution to society.
But - the local teacher finds him or herself caught in a fight that most of them didn't choose. They want to be able to do their jobs - and in order to do them, they need certain resources - which the government doesn't seem to want to give them.
Support the teachers - I didn't really like them while at school - but I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if I hadn't had the teachers that I had in my life.
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