It appears that we have a tentative agreement which our union is recommending. I just came home from an information meeting at the Bethany Church in Richmond. I wanted to hear some wisdom from the pulpit, but our local union leaders are still unsure about a lot of what is in the offer. There were a lot of passionate people there urging people to vote no and I understand why. We appear to have paid for any gains we made through the money we lost on the picket line. A lot of people made the point that we were out to get improvements to the school system and we have not achieved that. I left the meeting feeling pretty defeated. As always, there are no easy decisions and of course, lots of teachers have strained their finances to the limit and can't imagine one more week with no income (or two or however many). Lots of us really want to get back to school. I want my kids back in school. But can we say "yes" to something that we think is bad? Or do we say "yes" and live to fight again?
Some people asked what things would look like if we did vote no. But no one seemed to have a plan for that eventuality. I expect we would continue to picket but with much less support from the public (even though many online posts are already vitriolic, I think most people understand what we're doing and support us). Then the government could apply to the LRB to force us back to school, but we would probably return under similar conditions to the ones we faced in June -- rotating strikes, the lockout before, after and at breaks during school, no extracurricular activities (because of the lockout), and our pay being docked by 10%. The government could legislate us back to work and impose a contract, possibly much worse than what we face with this offer. Then, it would probably be much of the same thing. At a time when I would hope to feel optimistic, I feel demoralized. We have fought the good fight, but perhaps the struggle continues.
I don't know how I'll vote tomorrow. This is an unusual situation for me. I usually make up my mind and have a strong idea of what is right and what I will do. This time I just feel sad and disappointed and uncertain. I hope that I and my colleagues can find the wisdom to do what will be best in the long run. I hope to see all of you very soon.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
"Anatolia Speaks"
As I said, my creativity group and I went to the Fringe Festival on Sunday. We saw some entertaining shows and one was terrific. It was called "Anatolia Speaks" and was about a woman who had come to Canada as a refugee from Bosnia. The actor, Candace Fiorentino, was really great, using slides to show photos of where she works in Canada -- The Real Canadian Superstore (a nice little metaphor, I think) and the people she knows and her family back in Srebrenica and the Canadian soldier she met when she was fleeing her home. It was very moving and also funny and it made me think about a lot of important things, which is what you want theatre to do.
I remember when I had never heard of Bosnia. It was part of the former Yugoslavia and after the second world war, Yugoslavia was a country which included Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Montenegro (and Macedonia, I think). It existed under the iron fist of Joseph Tito. People who lived in other Soviet block countries saw it as very prosperous, but I remember a Croatian woman I worked with at Taxation (before the country split apart) said that you were not able to go anywhere without your ID and that she had felt like she wanted to emigrate to Canada for a different life. Once Tito died, the ethnic tensions between the different sections of the country erupted into a horrible war with neighbours against neighbours and entire beautiful cities destroyed in battle. I have trouble really understanding how it could happen, how civilized people could somehow see guns and killing as a way to proceed in a modern world, especially in a place that was so beautiful and seemingly successful and sophisticated and cultured. I remember my co-worker did say that the Serbians were "animals" and that shocked me because, in Canada, you don't often hear other people characterized in that way. She felt no compunction in saying it and all the Canadians who were there felt decidedly uncomfortable and someone quickly changed the subject, because we really didn't know what to say. She was a lovely woman in many ways, but certainly the ethnic animosities that caused the war were imbedded in her world view. I remember the horror we felt here when the war was unfolding and the helplessness of the West to make the horror stop. Westerners have so many conflicting points of view -- the idea that we know best, that democracy is the way to go, that countries have a right to self determination, that we don't want to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, that people need to find ways to compromise, that ethnic hatred is dangerous (some of our points of view are right, I think, but some -- do we know best? These things never have simple answers -- like in eastern Ukraine -- do we really understand what is going on there? Can we, when we are so far away in place and time?) Anyway, Anatolia's personal story helped us focus on these bigger issues, while at the same time providing us with a window into her heart and soul. I really found it to be excellent theatre.
The Fringe continues until September 14, so why not trek down to Granville Island and see a show? I usually make an effort to pick shows that I think will be edifying in some way, by studying the program and looking at reviews and that sort of thing, but I think next year, I'll just choose randomly and see what we get. Go in to a show blind and let it just happen around me! That'll be a bit of a theatrical adventure!
The strike continues. I'm having some dark nights of the soul worrying and wondering if we will ever be back inside the school doing what we should be doing, but we soldier on and try to keep a positive attitude on the picket line. The ball is in the government's court now, so we are waiting to see if they can meet us halfway (at the net? maybe we can shake hands and get a deal that satisfies both sides? I know, it doesn't look good, but the darkest hour is just before dawn, they say.)
I remember when I had never heard of Bosnia. It was part of the former Yugoslavia and after the second world war, Yugoslavia was a country which included Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Montenegro (and Macedonia, I think). It existed under the iron fist of Joseph Tito. People who lived in other Soviet block countries saw it as very prosperous, but I remember a Croatian woman I worked with at Taxation (before the country split apart) said that you were not able to go anywhere without your ID and that she had felt like she wanted to emigrate to Canada for a different life. Once Tito died, the ethnic tensions between the different sections of the country erupted into a horrible war with neighbours against neighbours and entire beautiful cities destroyed in battle. I have trouble really understanding how it could happen, how civilized people could somehow see guns and killing as a way to proceed in a modern world, especially in a place that was so beautiful and seemingly successful and sophisticated and cultured. I remember my co-worker did say that the Serbians were "animals" and that shocked me because, in Canada, you don't often hear other people characterized in that way. She felt no compunction in saying it and all the Canadians who were there felt decidedly uncomfortable and someone quickly changed the subject, because we really didn't know what to say. She was a lovely woman in many ways, but certainly the ethnic animosities that caused the war were imbedded in her world view. I remember the horror we felt here when the war was unfolding and the helplessness of the West to make the horror stop. Westerners have so many conflicting points of view -- the idea that we know best, that democracy is the way to go, that countries have a right to self determination, that we don't want to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, that people need to find ways to compromise, that ethnic hatred is dangerous (some of our points of view are right, I think, but some -- do we know best? These things never have simple answers -- like in eastern Ukraine -- do we really understand what is going on there? Can we, when we are so far away in place and time?) Anyway, Anatolia's personal story helped us focus on these bigger issues, while at the same time providing us with a window into her heart and soul. I really found it to be excellent theatre.
The Fringe continues until September 14, so why not trek down to Granville Island and see a show? I usually make an effort to pick shows that I think will be edifying in some way, by studying the program and looking at reviews and that sort of thing, but I think next year, I'll just choose randomly and see what we get. Go in to a show blind and let it just happen around me! That'll be a bit of a theatrical adventure!
The strike continues. I'm having some dark nights of the soul worrying and wondering if we will ever be back inside the school doing what we should be doing, but we soldier on and try to keep a positive attitude on the picket line. The ball is in the government's court now, so we are waiting to see if they can meet us halfway (at the net? maybe we can shake hands and get a deal that satisfies both sides? I know, it doesn't look good, but the darkest hour is just before dawn, they say.)
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Wake me up, when September ends
Well, we should have a week's worth of school in, but we are still walking the picket line. We went to a big rally at Canada Place yesterday and it was quite encouraging to see all the other unions there with their banners and their signs. There were lots of good speeches -- there is a real skill in making a speech that can rouse a crowd, like Marc Antony does in "Julius Caesar". Some politicians have it, like Tommy Douglas did. It isn't being loud, or overly dramatic. In a way, it's an intangible thing, but it does include a bit of humour and a bit of passion and a sense for where to stop and wait for people to clap. The head of the BC Federation of Labour, Jim Sinclair, has it. He was making quite a rousing speech and suddenly a young-ish woman came up to the mike on the stage and started babbling about something -- it sounded like a confused wedding proposal or something. Everyone in the crowd was thinking, "what is this? is this some performance piece or something?" Of course, I wondered if it was a metaphor! But some of the people on the stage helped the woman off, and then Jim Sinclair got back to it without a skipped beat. I hope with every fibre of my being that this thing can get settled next week. We all want to get back to our classrooms and I hope we can get back to normal, too. I don't want to go back to rotating strikes and that awful lockout, I want to go back to real school, and do all the things we normally do. I want to start rehearsals and worry about the show instead of not being gainfully employed!
Tomorrow, my creativity group and I are going to the Fringe Festival which has become a bit of a tradition for us. If you're looking for something to do, the Festival runs till September 14, with shows all over Granville Island, and extending to the Cultch (Vancouver East Cultural Centre). It can be hit and miss, because they don't vet the works -- you apply to present your play and it's first come first served, so some of them are vanity projects and some of them are not polished and all passion, but it's very inexpensive ($14 per show) and even bad shows can be entertaining if you come with the right attitude. We're going to see "Anatolia Speaks", "Deranged Dating" and "Eye Candy". You can get a Fringe program at community centres and coffee shops and can access it on line as well, so check it out. Since we're not in school, it's a good productive way to spend some of your time.
While we're waiting for school to start, don't just sit in your house and stare at your computer all day. Go to the library and get a book to read and find a project for yourself. I'm writing up a storm -- it's productive (I hope) and it gets my mind off my troubles. Keep the faith. Write to your MLA and ask when you're going to get back to school. And then let me know . . .
Tomorrow, my creativity group and I are going to the Fringe Festival which has become a bit of a tradition for us. If you're looking for something to do, the Festival runs till September 14, with shows all over Granville Island, and extending to the Cultch (Vancouver East Cultural Centre). It can be hit and miss, because they don't vet the works -- you apply to present your play and it's first come first served, so some of them are vanity projects and some of them are not polished and all passion, but it's very inexpensive ($14 per show) and even bad shows can be entertaining if you come with the right attitude. We're going to see "Anatolia Speaks", "Deranged Dating" and "Eye Candy". You can get a Fringe program at community centres and coffee shops and can access it on line as well, so check it out. Since we're not in school, it's a good productive way to spend some of your time.
While we're waiting for school to start, don't just sit in your house and stare at your computer all day. Go to the library and get a book to read and find a project for yourself. I'm writing up a storm -- it's productive (I hope) and it gets my mind off my troubles. Keep the faith. Write to your MLA and ask when you're going to get back to school. And then let me know . . .
Monday, 1 September 2014
The longer the picket line, the shorter the strike!
In honour of Labour Day, I have used this old labour saying, although I must confess this morning I feel as pessimistic and defeated as it is possible for a glass half full person like myself to feel. No matter what I have thought and hoped for all along, the news has been unrelentingly worse and worse and it certainly doesn't help to have the premier trashing us on Facebook and Twitter. I am not going to fight that battle here, but I will say that many teachers feel like Christy Clark has it "in" for us and the nasty attacks I've read from her in the news make that idea seem less like paranoia and more like reality.
I went for a nice outing to the Nitobe Garden at UBC yesterday. It is considered to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in North America and it is lovely and peaceful and really helped my frame of mind. There is thick green moss everywhere and you could imagine yourself lying under the stars and sleeping with your backpack and your walking stick as you made your Basho pilgrimage through medieval Japan. There is running water and still water and lots of little benches in different sunny and shady spots. We watched the dragonflies dipping in for bugs on the water and then the carp splashing up trying to catch the dragonflies. The natural world can provide us with a different perspective that is comforting and calming, even though I guess the poor dragonflies don't feel that way when a huge carp leaps out of the water and snaps at them. I guess I'm the dragonfly and Christy Clark is the carp!
I went for a nice outing to the Nitobe Garden at UBC yesterday. It is considered to be one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in North America and it is lovely and peaceful and really helped my frame of mind. There is thick green moss everywhere and you could imagine yourself lying under the stars and sleeping with your backpack and your walking stick as you made your Basho pilgrimage through medieval Japan. There is running water and still water and lots of little benches in different sunny and shady spots. We watched the dragonflies dipping in for bugs on the water and then the carp splashing up trying to catch the dragonflies. The natural world can provide us with a different perspective that is comforting and calming, even though I guess the poor dragonflies don't feel that way when a huge carp leaps out of the water and snaps at them. I guess I'm the dragonfly and Christy Clark is the carp!
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Unions, the people who brought you weekends!
Here is a copy of the letter I wrote to Christy Clark, Peter Fassbinder and my MLA, Linda Reimer:
All right, this is ridiculous. You and your government have had over a year to reach some sort of labour peace with the teachers and you seem to have no idea how to get past the impasse that you have created. Teachers have been willing to change their salary demands and have made a number of proposals to solve the problems your government created with regard to class size and composition and you have done nothing.
It appears that public schools will not open as they should on September 2. Of course, that doesn't concern you, Ms. Clark, since your son will still be able to attend his private school without interruption. Aren't you ashamed? If you aren't, you should be. One of the most important roles of government is to provide services to its citizenry. In this respect, you have clearly dropped the ball. If you can't do your jobs, perhaps you should all consider standing aside and letting a more capable group take over.
I am a teacher and a parent. You have offered to provide me with forty dollars a day to deal with my 12 year old son's needs while you stand helplessly by and let his school remain closed. I also have a 15 year old son, but you appear to be unconcerned about his educational needs. You have offered me nothing as a teacher to demonstrate that you value and understand the important work I do in my classroom, my school and my community. Shame on you all.
*********************
As you can imagine, I'm feeling very apprehensive and defeated by the lack of progress at the bargaining table. It feels like this situation will never get solved. Obviously, something will eventually happen and schools will open again and we will be back in our classrooms, but when and what will that look like?
If you want to observe Labour Day in an appropriate way, perhaps a letter to your MLA might inspire him or her to see what can be done to find a solution to this nightmarish situation.
All right, this is ridiculous. You and your government have had over a year to reach some sort of labour peace with the teachers and you seem to have no idea how to get past the impasse that you have created. Teachers have been willing to change their salary demands and have made a number of proposals to solve the problems your government created with regard to class size and composition and you have done nothing.
It appears that public schools will not open as they should on September 2. Of course, that doesn't concern you, Ms. Clark, since your son will still be able to attend his private school without interruption. Aren't you ashamed? If you aren't, you should be. One of the most important roles of government is to provide services to its citizenry. In this respect, you have clearly dropped the ball. If you can't do your jobs, perhaps you should all consider standing aside and letting a more capable group take over.
I am a teacher and a parent. You have offered to provide me with forty dollars a day to deal with my 12 year old son's needs while you stand helplessly by and let his school remain closed. I also have a 15 year old son, but you appear to be unconcerned about his educational needs. You have offered me nothing as a teacher to demonstrate that you value and understand the important work I do in my classroom, my school and my community. Shame on you all.
*********************
As you can imagine, I'm feeling very apprehensive and defeated by the lack of progress at the bargaining table. It feels like this situation will never get solved. Obviously, something will eventually happen and schools will open again and we will be back in our classrooms, but when and what will that look like?
If you want to observe Labour Day in an appropriate way, perhaps a letter to your MLA might inspire him or her to see what can be done to find a solution to this nightmarish situation.
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Win a house! Win a car!
We visited the Pacific National Exhibition on Tuesday. Lots of people I know "pooh, pooh" the P.N.E. and say, "oh, it's the same thing every year" which is true, and that's it's hokey and tawdry, which is true, but I guess that's why I like it. It's predictable but it is excellent value for a day with a variety of fun in it. There are the rides, of course, and now that the lads are older, they're willing to try more of them and get scared or exhilarated or a bit of both. There are all the games of chance -- both lads tried a couple in the hopes of winning an ipad or a Go Pro or whatever the latest technology is called. I am sure some people win, but they didn't. I remember at the Weyburn Fair long ago when I was a girl (talk about hokey and tawdry), my parents played some game of this sort and ended up losing what was then a huge amount of money (probably thirty dollars or something, which at that time was a sizable sum) hoping to win some sort of electrical appliance and walking away with a pink stuffed rabbit (which I still have).
We saw the Super Dogs show (always great -- "there's nothing like a dog, nothing in this world" to misquote Rogers and Hammerstein) and ate food that isn't good for us at all, and went through the barns and saw the baby chicks and pigs and calves and rabbits and goats and bees and all the amazing creatures we exploit. (No negativity there.) There was a dairy farmer there describing how cows give birth and how they take the calves away immediately "for safety". I know he's the expert and everything, but I just don't buy it. He said the cows and calves aren't emotionally attached to each other at all and it's all for the best. They feed the calves with their own mother's milk from bottles. I wanted to hear another perspective on this and so I looked it up on line and found a source I trust (The Manchester Guardian newspaper) which said that although the idea that the calves need to be protected from infection may have some validity, it is also likely that there is an attachment between mother cow and calf, that neither animal is isolated from the other without emotional and social problems and that, once again, the separation is more a matter of money than any animal's well-being. I remember seeing a you tube video of a herd of dairy cows which had been confined in the barn over the winter. It was the first day they had been able to get outside in spring. They clopped out on the cobblestones outside of the barn and made their way across the yard to the green field beyond. Once they got to the field, they were so excited and happy (I suppose the dairy farmer at the PNE would say I was anthropomorphizing, but it was clear to me that they were happy) that they were kicking up their back feet and running and playing, like dogs or horses or other mammals like us. My conclusion is that we don't know enough about other animals' emotional states to make the judgement that they don't feel things. And so I must say, "baloney" to that farmer.
Anyway, there is never enough time to see and do everything that the PNE has to offer. They have free concerts in the evening (we saw Great Big Sea last year, if you were reading my blog then) and there is a Game of Thrones exhibit (very popular, you have to book a time to see it because there are so many people wanting to -- I don't watch the show, so I wasn't willing to make the effort) and an animation show and of course, the merchandise building (we walked through this year and saw all the accomplished salespeople plying their trade) and street performers and the horse races and there really is literally something for everyone! There are two and a half more days to enjoy the fun, so check it out!
We saw the Super Dogs show (always great -- "there's nothing like a dog, nothing in this world" to misquote Rogers and Hammerstein) and ate food that isn't good for us at all, and went through the barns and saw the baby chicks and pigs and calves and rabbits and goats and bees and all the amazing creatures we exploit. (No negativity there.) There was a dairy farmer there describing how cows give birth and how they take the calves away immediately "for safety". I know he's the expert and everything, but I just don't buy it. He said the cows and calves aren't emotionally attached to each other at all and it's all for the best. They feed the calves with their own mother's milk from bottles. I wanted to hear another perspective on this and so I looked it up on line and found a source I trust (The Manchester Guardian newspaper) which said that although the idea that the calves need to be protected from infection may have some validity, it is also likely that there is an attachment between mother cow and calf, that neither animal is isolated from the other without emotional and social problems and that, once again, the separation is more a matter of money than any animal's well-being. I remember seeing a you tube video of a herd of dairy cows which had been confined in the barn over the winter. It was the first day they had been able to get outside in spring. They clopped out on the cobblestones outside of the barn and made their way across the yard to the green field beyond. Once they got to the field, they were so excited and happy (I suppose the dairy farmer at the PNE would say I was anthropomorphizing, but it was clear to me that they were happy) that they were kicking up their back feet and running and playing, like dogs or horses or other mammals like us. My conclusion is that we don't know enough about other animals' emotional states to make the judgement that they don't feel things. And so I must say, "baloney" to that farmer.
Anyway, there is never enough time to see and do everything that the PNE has to offer. They have free concerts in the evening (we saw Great Big Sea last year, if you were reading my blog then) and there is a Game of Thrones exhibit (very popular, you have to book a time to see it because there are so many people wanting to -- I don't watch the show, so I wasn't willing to make the effort) and an animation show and of course, the merchandise building (we walked through this year and saw all the accomplished salespeople plying their trade) and street performers and the horse races and there really is literally something for everyone! There are two and a half more days to enjoy the fun, so check it out!
Sunday, 24 August 2014
One ... thing ... after ... another!
Scott McGillivray says that in an ad for his show on Home and Garden Television and so we see it a lot, since Mike is very fond of all the things they feature (except maybe Mike Holmes). I can hear my mom's voice chiming in, saying to count my blessings and remember how lucky I am to have my health, but there is a little dark cloud over my head this morning.
We will be starting picketing tomorrow, and I will be in front of my school with my picket sign, just like I spent the end of the last school year. It is really depressing that we could not get a deal over the summer, at least not yet. Vince Ready is on the case, and if anyone can find a settlement, I guess he's the one (he settled our illegal strike a number of years ago), but just when I think things can't continue in this vein, they do. Let me say this -- teachers do not want to be on strike! Anyone who tells you we do is crazy. In fact, nobody wants to strike. But it is a working person's only bargaining chip. "If you can't negotiate with me and can't give me a fair deal, then I won't work." Teaching is a tough job. Yes, we "get the summers off" and "yes, we get a good pension", but it is important work and it is not easy. Every kid in my class needs something from me, some more than others, and my job, as I see it, is to try to give them what they need. I want the kids I teach to leave my classroom feeling like they've taken intellectual and creative risks and that they've been successful. I want them to appreciate each other and the world we live in. I want to think of things that they can do that will push the envelope and make them and other people think differently about what's going on. I want them to enjoy themselves and be curious and want to learn things. I want them to feel excited about coming to school and also safe, both physically and emotionally. But instead of all of this, I'll be walking back and forth wearing a sign that says I'm locked out. And all the government thinks I do is generate marks. (Because that's one of the things they thought was "essential" at the end of last year.)
Some of you know I sent out my "young naturalists" book to a publisher. I really love it and I think it tells an important story. (That's me, the author, talking. I guess not everyone is going to see it that way. I know these publishing houses take a huge risk in publishing anyone's book, especially an unknown like me.) Well, it was rejected. They liked the story, but they didn't like how the two little boys narrate it. I really thought about it -- should I rewrite it and have just one boy tell it? But I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Aubrey and Walter just yet. So out it goes to someone else today! I hope someone will be able to see that the conversation between the boys is one of the hooks, and not a detriment to the book.
So . . . two bad things. But bad things come in threes. Uh oh. I'd better be looking over my shoulder in the next few days. And holding tightly to the stair railing when I clump down to the living room in the morning. And keeping Daisy on the leash. And eating right and getting lots of sleep! And not going to the casino (I never go anyway -- to me, it is an extraordinary waste of money, when you could entertain yourself by going to the theatre or a concert or buying a piece of art or donating to some worthy cause.)
We will be starting picketing tomorrow, and I will be in front of my school with my picket sign, just like I spent the end of the last school year. It is really depressing that we could not get a deal over the summer, at least not yet. Vince Ready is on the case, and if anyone can find a settlement, I guess he's the one (he settled our illegal strike a number of years ago), but just when I think things can't continue in this vein, they do. Let me say this -- teachers do not want to be on strike! Anyone who tells you we do is crazy. In fact, nobody wants to strike. But it is a working person's only bargaining chip. "If you can't negotiate with me and can't give me a fair deal, then I won't work." Teaching is a tough job. Yes, we "get the summers off" and "yes, we get a good pension", but it is important work and it is not easy. Every kid in my class needs something from me, some more than others, and my job, as I see it, is to try to give them what they need. I want the kids I teach to leave my classroom feeling like they've taken intellectual and creative risks and that they've been successful. I want them to appreciate each other and the world we live in. I want to think of things that they can do that will push the envelope and make them and other people think differently about what's going on. I want them to enjoy themselves and be curious and want to learn things. I want them to feel excited about coming to school and also safe, both physically and emotionally. But instead of all of this, I'll be walking back and forth wearing a sign that says I'm locked out. And all the government thinks I do is generate marks. (Because that's one of the things they thought was "essential" at the end of last year.)
Some of you know I sent out my "young naturalists" book to a publisher. I really love it and I think it tells an important story. (That's me, the author, talking. I guess not everyone is going to see it that way. I know these publishing houses take a huge risk in publishing anyone's book, especially an unknown like me.) Well, it was rejected. They liked the story, but they didn't like how the two little boys narrate it. I really thought about it -- should I rewrite it and have just one boy tell it? But I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Aubrey and Walter just yet. So out it goes to someone else today! I hope someone will be able to see that the conversation between the boys is one of the hooks, and not a detriment to the book.
So . . . two bad things. But bad things come in threes. Uh oh. I'd better be looking over my shoulder in the next few days. And holding tightly to the stair railing when I clump down to the living room in the morning. And keeping Daisy on the leash. And eating right and getting lots of sleep! And not going to the casino (I never go anyway -- to me, it is an extraordinary waste of money, when you could entertain yourself by going to the theatre or a concert or buying a piece of art or donating to some worthy cause.)
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