Members of OSSTF and ONTED, There is something we need to talk about. Before we do, I request that you read this through in its entirety even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Actually, especially if it makes you uncomfortable. Because if we are going to grapple with this, and I mean truly engage in critical discourse that leads to actual change, we will need to look deep within ourselves, both as individuals and as an institution. There is an elephant in the room right now, and the reality is it's one that some of us would prefer to ignore, dismiss, or trivialize, but it needs to be in the open. We need to talk about systemic racism. We need to talk about the role it plays in the structures and function of our organization. We need to talk about the colonial practices that marginalize, restrict, and silence the voices of racialized educators. We need to talk about how we are complicit. And we need to do it now, not over the course of two or three years and after multiple ...
This really isn't what I thought I'd be writing about for my first blog post, but here I am. I find myself caught in between a world and education system upended by a pandemic, and wanting what is best for students now, next year, and beyond. As educators, we find ourselves in a complex situation, thrust into an emergency remote learning model we had little time to prepare for. Understandably, many educators will base their vote on this current reality coupled with the long and arduous battle we have already faced. For some, their families might be facing economic difficulty and they just want to avoid the uncertainty of more lost pay while on strike. For others, the emotional toll all of this has had is enough, and they just want to move on. Maybe they feel this tentative agreement is the best we could do given the global pandemic. That we would lose public support if we turned it down. All of these are very real concerns, and nobody can be faulted for what they choose to prio...