The teacher’s contract issue has been the center of much turmoil for a number of months. With a quick stroke of the pen, it all went away with the exuberance of a snail. Mayor Donnalee Lozeau signed the latest proposed contract without fanfare, a very mature decision.
The atmosphere within the schools has changed dramatically, and the teachers are actually taking kids out for field trip now. Teachers have made themselves more accessible to the students, and there has been talk about the extra curriculum activities for next year. Every student I have talked to has stated that the teachers seem more relaxed that they had been one month ago. In the school, you never would know how recently things have changed.
I have been there, and I have worked there. I have seen the changes taking place. I may have only seen the teachers for a short period of time prior to the contract being signed, but it was long enough to notice the change.
Before the contract was signed, I found it fairly easy to slip into the teachers areas unnoticed. While “eavesdropping,” I heard some interesting conversations. One of the most memorable went a little something like this:
T1: So. Do you think they will sign?
T2: I hope so. I don’t want to strike.
T1: Yeah. Gotta do what you gotta do.
-pause-
T2: So… ahh… How do we do this?
T1: Do what?
T2: Shhhhh… (whispered) here comes a sub.
-pause-(another substitute entered the room then left)
T2: Okay, now how do we do the strike thing.
T1: I don’t know, I’ve never done this before either.
-pause-
T2: Well, hopefully they sign it
T1: If they don’t, we strike until they give us everything we want…
T2: Yeah…(then while walking away) whatever…
Because I carry the same badge the teachers carry, I have found that they don’t notice me quite as often as I thought they would. Sometimes I hear things that I shouldn’t. But right along I have been telling people that not all the teachers wanted to strike. This does not mean that those teachers are innocent I am just restating what I have said in private conversation. If a teacher acted against our children (like I have listed so many time before) then it does not matter if they wanted to strike or not, they are still guilty.
So do I cut the teachers a little more slack now that the contract negotiations are finished? No, I just allow them a little more breathing room. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers. Now that the teachers are not acting as one to destroy our children’s future, I will only be ripping into those who continue to be a waste of tax dollars.
