Teachers' Contract Solves Little
Brianna Julien
The five-month work-to-rule campaign by the teachers is finally over as the teachers voted 69% to accept the contract offered by the Toronto Board of Education and, yet, the students haven't seen much of an improvement to Jarvis life.
It was a sad sight in September when school started with an air of uncertainty. No one seemed to know what was happening with the teachers contract, which ended on August 31, 2000 and very little information was given out by the Toronto District School Board or the OSSTF Secondary Teachers' Union. Finally some light was shed on the situation and students were informed that talks between the Toronto District School Board and the District 12 OSSTF Secondary Teachers' Bargaining Unit negotiators was happening. However, little progress was being made and the talks were constantly adjourning.
At the end of October, teachers were informed that they were on strike (what the union called "work-to-rule") and that they were to withdraw all professional services performed for the TDSB. However, the terms of this strike were sketchy and what the teacher could and could not do was left up to each teacher's own judgement.
With this rather ambiguous direction, Jarvis students saw changes in some departments and none in others. For instance, teachers were still conducting TAP because it is a mandatory part of the curriculum. However, no teacher was allowed to sign any report cards or response forms going home to the Gr. 9 and 10 students in November. On the other hand, most teachers agreed to still perform commencement, which was out of school hours.
In sports, it was again to be left up to each individual teacher. The GAC and interform went ahead and the boys' and girls' basketball teams got together and played on their own accord. However, almost all of the junior teams were not started and many tournaments were missed. One phys-ed teacher commented on how the gym teachers were just too tired after teaching 6.5-7 classes to stay after school for two to three more hours to coach teams.
In the music department, the teachers had agreed that Concert Band and orchestra were co-curricular and, therefore, they felt it only right to put in the extra time for the music groups. On the other hand, only the clubs that could get a staff sponsor who had no moral objection to offering some extra help under the conditions offered by the OSSTF, such as the Multicultural Club and the Charity Club, had taken action so far this year.
Academically, the information was ambiguous and varied from teacher to teacher. The Classics department had to stop offering OAC classes during a lunchtime period in which they helped out the students. Conferences concerning ISU's had to be conducted either during class time or not at all. The library had shorter hours, the computer rooms were closed with no one to supervise them and the guidance office was closed during common lunches. For extra help, programs were being started for the junior grades by guidance because most teachers could not offer any extra instruction before school, after school or during lunches. Some departments decided collectively that they were all not going to offer extra help and other departments left it up to the individual teacher to decide. Some teachers were available for students before a major test or assignment, especially in the sciences or English. One teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, commented on how "it tears me apart not being able to help my students be the best they can be."
By January, the morale of the students had hit an all time low. Everyone was tired of waiting for a settlement between the Board and the OSSTF. When asked if there were any changes to the situation, Mrs. McKenzie sighed and said, "No. I am very frustrated with the slowness of the proceedings at this time." She also commented on how education was being turned into a professional business at a very high price.
Fortunately, February came and some light was shed on the issue. The Toronto District School Board made a "final" offer to the teachers that the union rejected and the five-month old work-to-rule situation came to its climax. The Board publicized the fact that the teachers had rejected a deal that cut down on their workload, gave them an 8% salary increase and gave them a comprehensive and competitive benefit plan. However, the union then circulated a fact sheet that was only handed out to the teachers to explain what the Board really offered. In reality, the salary increase was to be paid in minor increments; some after the contract would expire, and would not have been retroactive. The benefit plan was to be paid from the teachers' own pocket and the workload issue was not even addressed.
After negotiations started up again, a new offer was formulated and the OSSTF plus the teachers finally reached an agreement with the TDSB. The new offer allowed the salary increase to be retroactive and eliminated on-calls.
So how is this collective agreement going to affect Jarvis students? Well, there are some perks. Now Jarvisites can go to their teachers for extra help, classes can go on field trips, the library hours are back to 8:15 am-4:00 pm, guidance is open during common lunches again and extracurricular activities are technically allowed. However, with teachers still teaching 6.67 classes, the extra-curricular situation still remains pretty grim.
In sports, it is doubtful if many sports will resume or start-up because the coaching has been left up to the Phys-Ed teachers, with no other teachers volunteering because of the lack of time.
It is also doubtful if many clubs will commence at all this year. "The fact is that the teachers just don't have the time. I strongly doubt if the collective agreement will have an impact on students and clubs will start happening because the issue of the extra class was not addressed," declared Ms. Roti, a history teacher at Jarvis. There are a few clubs, such as the Debating Club, that has started up but most of them will not be seen in Jarvis until, hopefully, next year due to the lack of staff sponsors.
Mrs. McKenzie had the final say about the matter. "I expect the collective agreement to have little impact on the extra-curricular activities at Jarvis or on the students because the matter of the extra class or the extra six hours a week are not addressed due to the fact that it is a mandate of the provincial government and not the Toronto Board of Education. However, with that said many great things are still happening at Jarvis."
So, the major question for all Jarvisites is when does it all truly end and things get back to normal? Unfortunately, that is still a question that cannot yet be answered, except for the hopeful, "Soon."
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