Open letter to the people of Richmond, I am a music teacher. I am writing to express how disheartened and demoralized I feel about the Liberal government's current bargaining position and the punitive measures they wish to impose on B.C. teachers.
The government recently released a "lock-out" letter that essentially forbids extracurricular activities of any kind and docks teachers 10 per cent pay for any labour action.
They are now back-tracking on this hastily written and vindictive document and allowing numerous "exceptions" as they have now had time to consider the repercussions, but they have already caused a great deal of confusion with conflicting messages and put music teachers, sports coaches and anyone who does extracurriculars in an impossible position.
How are we supposed to do our jobs, given a good portion of our jobs occur outside of school time? Anyone who actually cares about students and wants to do a good job has been shut down or finds their program limping along at half-speed.
The whole notion is in direct conflict with the government's previous claim that teaching is an essential service.
In the classic teen flick The Breakfast Club, one of the characters muses that when people grow up, "the heart dies." Certainly, this government has revealed itself to be a bunch of tired, old cranks who have been grazing too long at business luncheons on the taxpayer dime.
They have forgotten the passion of youth, the vitality of young people, and the excitement of discovering a piece of music for the first time.
In their zest to punish teachers, they have reduced school to just textbooks and exams. Anyone who knows anything about real learning knows that the best education is not to be found in books, but in real life experiences, relationships and collaborations - things that are all found in music and the arts, and other extracurricular activities.
Those who teach know there is no more rewarding profession than teaching, in terms of feeling that you are making a difference.
However, I have suffered through 10 years of Liberal government and watched them systematically degrade my profession - taking away autonomy, gutting the arts curriculum, starting numerous initiatives which they provided no funding for, overloading classes and ignoring special needs students and their struggling parents.
To the parents of Richmond, I am the one working with your children. I am the one who nurtures them every day. Urge this government to restore honour and dignity to my profession. Tell them to stop playing games - make a genuine effort to improve classrooms for students, and give teachers a fair living wage in this enormously expensive province, because they are taking care of your children and your future.
Michael Mikulin Richmond Music Teacher
