In almost 22 years of teaching, Centennial CVI history and economics teacher Chris Tozer has had to walk the picket line a couple of times.
Standing outside the school during Wednesday’s one-day strike as picket captain, Tozer said there seems to be much more support from the public than in previous years.
“People are definitely supportive and we are getting an awful lot of people honking their horns in support,” he said.
Standing outside the school, Tozer said he considers himself lucky to be doing a job that he loves.
“I’d rather be standing in there than standing out here,” he said.
Both Guelph school boards closed all schools in the city on Wednesday. Schools are expected to be open Thursday.
A total of 324 teachers, educational assistants, clerical workers and support staff are expected to picket in front of the school on Wednesday. Another 150 are expected to walk outside of neighbouring College Heights.
The striking workers and their supporters will be walking in shifts. Tozer said at any one time there should be about 150 of them in front of the two schools and at the corner of College Avenue and the Hanlon Expressway.
Sarah Drost, picket captain for College Heights, said Wednesday’s action was in support of the students across Ontario.
Teachers and other staff represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) are in a legal strike position. The Ministry of Education and union held last-minute negotiations held Tuesday evening did not come to an agreement that could have avoided Wednesday’s strike.
On Tuesday, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said in a news release that the Ontario government has remained reasonable at the negotiating table, with the objective of keeping students in class.
“It has been over 200 days since we first started bargaining with OSSTF and in that time, they have not made any substantive moves since their first proposal was tabled,” said Lecce.
“Even while the government made enhanced offers, there is no indication OSSTF intends to make any moves, except to affirm their insistence on a $1.5 billion increase in pay and benefits.”
Chief among the concerns by OSSTF is class sizes, as well as supports for children with special needs, full access to programming and courses and a safe and supportive learning environment for kids.
“People tend to think we are out here for money and it’s not about that,” said Drost. “We are not trying to get a huge raise, not trying to get that 14 per cent that some other people have gotten — it’s about the students.”
Drost teaches special education and is also an e-learning teacher.
Some kids are successful under e-learning, said Drost, while others are not. OSSTF is against the province’s plans to make it mandatory for all students.
“It’s interesting to see the difference of how successful kids are between classroom learning and e-learning, when you can’t connect with them one-on-one,” said Drost. “A lot of students don’t learn that way, so it’s ridiculous to make all students take e-learning.”
Fifth on the list of five demands by OSSTF is compensation that matches the rate of inflation.
Drost said she would also rather be inside teaching.
“It’s frustrating, because I want to be in the classroom teaching my students, but we are out here because in the long run this will be better for them,” said Drost.
Striking workers at GCVI were walking between the school to Edinburgh Road on Wednesday morning. A CN locomotive flew a “No Cuts to Education” flag from its cab as it blocked the intersection to shunt rail cars.
Back at Centennial, Tozer noted that it is a good example of a school that the ministry could invest in to make it safer and more supportive for students.
“Our building was built in ’67 and hasn’t had a major refresh since. The pool is non-conforming, so they are shutting it down,” said Tozer. “Things like that are happening all over.”
He’s currently teaching a class of 31 in a room made for a maximum of 28 students.
“If I get above 31, I actually start to lose people. What I mean is, I can’t keep track of all of them,” said Tozer. “If I start losing track I can’t be addressing everybody’s needs.”
