Teachers' union leader calls for politics to be kept out of education

The president of New Brunswick's teachers union says teachers' voices have finally been heard following the release of an auditor general report calling for stability in the province's education system.

Kim MacPherson found that schools are failing to meet their performance targets because frequent changes in educational strategy “create instability and distract from student education.”

“The system needs to stabilize,” MacPherson said.

Their report explained that a student who started school in September 2004 would have tried five different strategies, each with its own priorities, by the time he or she graduated.

George Daley, president of the New Brunswick Teachers' Association, presented another statistic: 37 major changes in the last 35 years.

“I understand now why I never felt like I couldn't get back on my feet: because everything was constantly changing,” Daley said.

“There was a new goal, there was a new approach, there was a new program, there was a new district office that I was dealing with. It was always there.”

Daley said the content of the audit, which also addressed the lack of accountability of school districts, was not surprising. What he did find surprising was that a government official said what he and his members have been saying for years.

“I think there are teachers today who will read the Auditor General's report and say, 'You know, my voice has finally been heard,'” he said.

Policy changes and reversals

The policy changes cover everything from inclusive teaching methods to stricter safety standards. And there have been plenty of setbacks, too. Physical education teachers and craft classes have been cut and reinstated, and the entry point for French classes has been changed several times.

MacPherson criticized the decision of the Liberal government under then Prime Minister Brian Gallant to limit French instruction to first grade again because school districts had only one year to implement the change.

The education system is still struggling with a shortage of French immersion teachers, Daley said.

Working in a constantly changing system is wearing down teachers trying to meet the needs of students without adequate provincial support or funding, he said, suggesting it is leading to earlier retirements and a shift away from the profession among younger people.

Daley: Politics should be left out

The “well-intentioned” reforms often emerged from an election promise or a new report that promised to improve the system without understanding its complexity, Daley said.

Changes could be a good thing, he said, but they must be “well thought out, researched, planned and properly implemented.” They must not be done for political reasons.

He wants to keep politics out of education.

Daley said the role of elected officials should be to set “realistic goals” for education and then provide them with the appropriate funding.

“After that, the decision about how it is applied and what is done must fall back into the hands of professionals and educators,” he said.

“We have to listen to our teachers, we have to listen to the people in the system.”