GuelphToday received the following letter from local teacher Jessica Patrick regarding the on-going school strikes:
An Open Letter to Minister Lecce,
The only way for you to truly understand what educators are fighting for is to spend time in schools. Take a week and volunteer in an Ontario classroom. See what it's like to be responsible for 31 four and five-year-olds in a cramped kindergarten classroom that doesn't have a bathroom.
What will you do when one student begins his daily trashing of the classroom because he doesn't have any EA support for his violent tendencies? What will you do when another student, suffering from severe anxiety, starts crying uncontrollably? And then when a third student escapes and runs down the hall? Try managing all of the behavioural, mental health, and academic needs that are currently skyrocketing in our schools, while at the same time trying to teach literacy, math, and all of the other subjects.
The public understands these issues because their children and grandchildren come home and talk about being evacuated from the classroom, and getting yet another new student in their class when there's already no room, and having no chance to talk to their teacher because he/she has been too busy with so many other students and so many needs.
As Education Minister, you should truly want the best for students. Not for your party. Everyone knows smaller class sizes mean a better learning environment; it's not something that can be argued. Everyone knows that special needs are on the rise and need more financial support. Everyone knows our FDK model took years of consultation and millions of dollars in retrofitting schools and training educators - getting rid of it would be the biggest financial waste on your books.
Please - think past the rhetoric of your party and your premier and be the Education Minister that Ontario students need. We're asking parents to stand up and fight with us. I'm asking you to do the same.
Jessica Patrick
Guelph Teacher and Parent
