Published in the Toronto Sun, July 2020
With the imminent re-opening of schools this fall, Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) President Sam Hammond is already criticizing the plan announced by the Ontario government. Among his complaints are that ETFO wasn’t consulted and that more teachers need to be hired (aka more dues paying union members) to deal with the smaller classes required.
By the way, all teacher unions in Ontario have been fighting for smaller classes for years, something the Ontario government has been loathed to grant due to the cost.
Some elementary teachers are expressing “sheer terror” at the idea of returning to the classroom.
OK, but what about the emergency services workers, and the essential service workers, like grocery store employees, who’ve been working day after day since the beginning of this pandemic, even before masks became mandatory and plastic shields were installed at the cash registers?
As a parent, I know what germ factories children can be, and it will be harder to get the younger ones to follow “the rules,” but as long as teachers take what precautions they can, how is that any different than any other front-line worker?
Of course it would be terrible if a teacher contracted the virus, or worse died, but thousands of other workers have been under the same risks since the beginning of this pandemic.
(That’s exactly the point. Workers all around the country have been putting themselves at risk in order to keep our supply chain going. ETFO always need something to complain about)
Sources: https://www.unionleader.com/news/education/some-city-teachers-express-sheer-terror-over-returning-to-schools/article_5961f6be-683b-54c6-98b7-30852659b8ab.html, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-students-to-return-to-school-full-time-in-the-fall-with.