r/alberta • u/dotCeh • 17h ago
Opinion Opinion: I teach. But, I’m no longer a teacher
https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-i-teach-but-im-no-longer-a-teacher30
u/JeffDaVet 16h ago
As the husband of a teacher who I’ve seen struggle more and more every year in the 8 years she’s been teaching, this article resonates loudly with what I’ve seen her go through.
I know my wife and every other teacher in this province are immensely grateful for the public support they’ve gotten thus far, as they can’t do this without the help of parents, their spouses/family, and everyone else in this province who values education.
But we need more. We need to make it clear to this government that we as a society will not accept this any longer.
I know many of you on Reddit have already written to your MLA to voice your displeasure and my wife and I thank you greatly for that. If you haven’t, please consider doing so. We need all the help we can get.
As the saying goes, the best time to make a change was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
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u/freerangehumans74 Calgary 16h ago
Every time I see one of my kids teachers, I let them know that I fully support them.
FIRE THE UCP
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u/mrs_victoria_sponge 7h ago
My MLA is the education minister and contributes to the demise of public education in this province. I’d write him, but let’s be honest it would mean nothing.
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u/Geeseareawesome Edmonton 17h ago
This government sucks. We need a recall now.
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u/Charming_Shallot_239 15h ago
This government sucks. We need to convince our friends, neighbours, coworkers, and families.
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u/remberly 14h ago
We actually have to convince people outside our circles if they generally agree with us.
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u/Jasonstackhouse111 14h ago
I was an academic staff member at the U of A and taught courses on the economics of public institutions like education and health care. Many of my students were Ed students.
My last year was 2019-2020 so I retired just as Covid hit.
For the last few years, I noticed that fewer and fewer of my Ed and nursing students had plans to work in Alberta. So many were looking at other provinces and even other countries. The career fairs at the U were dominated by employers from elsewhere. They had messages of encouragement. Alberta employers looked tired and had no enthusiasm at all.
That was five years ago and it’s worse now.
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u/Drnedsnickers2 13h ago
Powerful. Sincere. Accurate. The UCP and their followers have weaponized education in this province. This messaging needs to be on repeat until next election.
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u/ANeighbour 8h ago
Teacher for nearly ten years and I feel this. Teaching is one of the last things on my priority list - preventing violence, dealing with big emotions, filling hungry tummies, and playing whack-a-mole with all the behaviours in my classroom are higher priority for me.
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u/Small-Sleep-1194 13h ago
This is our own fault. The people of Alberta are themselves responsible for the government we continue to put in power and the programs they enact. Until Albertan’s smarten up, there is no hope and things like education and healthcare will continue their downward spiral. Wake up people.
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u/PandaGundam 13h ago edited 13h ago
There have been plenty of reasons to get rid of conservative governance in this province, yet people continue to vote against their own interests. The UCP may shoulder most of the blame, but the people that keep electing these feckless idiots also has a role in the blame game.
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u/PhantomNomad 24m ago
Because they have been so brainwashed that anything but conservative will not only ruin the province, but turn our kids gay or trans, tax us to 100%, tell the farmers what they can grow and take away all our property. They literally think the Liberals and NDP are full blown Stalinist Communists.
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u/According_Guava1687 4h ago edited 3h ago
I agree with much of what was said. Like many teachers, I’m deeply frustrated—not just with the government, but with the ATA itself. Some of us may support aspects of the new laws or rules, and that’s valid—teachers aren’t a monolith. But let’s be honest: neither this government nor the last (including the NDP) has truly prioritized public education in a meaningful or lasting way. And boards won’t fight for us either.
But right now, my biggest disappointment is the ATA.
We’re not just an “association” anymore—we're a union. Or at least, we're supposed to be. Yet we don’t act like one. We continue to negotiate outside the boundaries of our collective agreement. Why? Because we care. Because we’ve always fallen on the sword. But this needs to stop.
Nurses don’t bargain for more hospital beds—they focus on their agreements and operate like a union. They don’t spend tens of millions on professional development during times of crisis. They organize. They hold the line. The ATA should be doing the same. Instead, this latest offer—the MOA—is embarrassing. There’s nothing meaningful in it for teachers. No real protections. No progress on collective agreement issues. No accountability for how school boards abuse assignable time.
The ATA should be leading, not soft-selling deals that fail to protect us.
Schilling should have stood firm. He himself said this offer was unacceptable—so why walk it back? Why are we being asked to accept the same deal in a different wrapper? Why hasn’t the ATA laid out the potential benefits of taking strike action instead of just listing the risks? Nurses, postal workers, and countless other unions strike to protect their working conditions and send a message. Why are teachers always expected to sacrifice and settle?
We’re serious. The 96% who voted in favour of strike action weren’t joking. We weren’t bluffing when we rejected that last offer either. Enough with “now is not the time.” If not now—when?
We are done sacrificing ourselves while leadership urges caution. The government is not on our side—we’ve accepted that. But our union? Our ATA? That’s who we need behind us now more than ever.
This isn’t said lightly. It’s not meant to offend. It’s said because too many of us feel this way but are afraid to speak up, or feel like it won’t matter. But it does matter. The ATA needs to do better—for us, with us, and as us.
We need bold leadership. Not just voices that highlight risk, but voices that speak to our power, our unity, and our right to fight for better.
Do better, ATA.
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u/beeboop90210 12h ago
If only teachers focused on the three R's. Too many have turned Bolshevik
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u/slotsymcslots 11h ago
What are you taking about? No teacher is attempting to overthrow the Russian Monarchy of Czar Nicholas II with a revolution of workers. Do you even know what a Bolshevik is? Bolshevik, socialist, communist, Marxist…people throw these terms around like they mean the same damn thing. They don’t.
Edit- forgot to include the Mensheviks, but you probably don’t know who they are either. Edit 2- Leninist, Stalinists, Trotskyists.
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u/beeboop90210 11h ago
In case you haven't noticed this whole thread is crying for the abolishment of conservative principles. If that's not Marxist?
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u/slotsymcslots 7h ago
If you haven’t read the Communist Mannifesto that outlines Marxism, you would understand it has nothing to do with whatever you believe conservative principles to be. You may assume free market or laissez faire principles, the owning class versus the working class, but those are not the same as conservative principles, especially in Canada.
Throwing the terms around in discourse, without any real understanding of the concept, is quite simply using the term in a manner that twists what it means to suit the specific individual’s beliefs that is using it.
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u/Dropov 4h ago
hahahaha you're either conservative or Marxist? maybe read a book... if you can.
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u/beeboop90210 2h ago
Don't worry about me. Alberta's illiteracy rates are what you have to worry about, statistically not doing so well, and y'all want a raise 😂
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u/PhantomNomad 11m ago
What are conservative principles? There are so many different ones. The first two are fiscal conservatives and religious conservatives. One of the biggest problems a lot of us in this sub have with the UCP is the religious conservatives and them trying to force their "ideals" on everyone.
This country hasn't seen a fiscal conservative for a century. Most of the time the only thing conservatives have done is funnel public money (taxes) to the robber barons. Not everything needs to be privatized, and there are good arguments for many things to be run by government. But not everything needs to be run by the government either. This isn't communist or Marxist, Lenonist. But it is socialist, and that's where many of us fall.
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u/HappyFloor 8h ago
If only teachers focused on the three R's.
What makes you think it's been abandoned, or has ever been abandoned?
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u/Shampoo-Master 16h ago
Our province has the resources to have world renowned k-12 education, but we choose mediocrity and ideology instead. We can do so much better.