Opinion: Is less ever really more? In the classroom it would be
The last thing teachers need is for their unions to make their jobs harder
Article content
Brush your teeth twice a day. Floss at least once a day. Visit your dentist for checkups and make sure you get your teeth cleaned regularly. These are all essential components of good oral hygiene. If children start these habits at a young age, there’s a good chance they’ll continue them throughout their lives. But whose responsibility is it to make sure these things happen?
According to Quebec’s ministry of health, it’s now up to teachers. Under a new tooth-brushing program being phased in across Quebec elementary schools, teachers will be expected to supervise their students as they brush their teeth. Not only must they ensure students use the proper toothpaste, they will also monitor tooth-brushing techniques to ensure each child’s teeth are properly cleaned.
Whoever designed this program obviously has never worked in a school. If they had, they would know it’s unrealistic to expect teachers to watch every student as they brush their teeth. Teachers have enough to do without piling yet another responsibility on their already overloaded plates.
Unfortunately, this is only one of many examples of mission creep in schools. When important things aren’t happening at home, activists and politicians want schools to fill the gap. These days teachers must ensure students eat a healthy diet, get “comprehensive” sex education and learn about the importance of social justice as part of a seemingly never-ending expansion of classroom priorities.
Because there are only so many hours in the school day, these extra responsibilities often come at the expense of what should be the primary focus of every school — providing all students with a solid academic education. Time spent monitoring teeth-brushing or checking lunches for healthy snacks is time not spent teaching the academic basics.
Teacher unions are pushing back strongly against Quebec’s new tooth-brushing program, and they are right to do so. But unions would have more credibility on this issue if they were not themselves regularly pushing for schools to tackle issues that go far beyond regular academics.
For example, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) is well known for encouraging teachers to engage in social justice initiatives. Its 2022-23 Members’ Guide contains policy positions on everything from military budgets to abortion. The BCTF even endorsed so-called “climate strikes” in which students walked out of class to protest federal climate policy. Whatever one thinks about climate change, it’s obviously counterproductive for students to skip classes.
Meanwhile, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has produced a wide variety of resources on topics such as Islamophobia, climate change and “2SLGBTQ+” issues. These feature prominently on its website. Not featured are any resources on effective reading instruction or better ways to teach and learn math. Anyone clicking through the ETFO’s website will conclude the organization has a laser-like focus on everything except the academic basics.
Simply put, teacher unions have been at the forefront of encouraging schools to go beyond their primary mandate of providing an academic education. They can’t push for having teachers involve themselves in non-teaching responsibilities like social justice initiatives and then be offended when provincial governments expect their members to take on non-teaching responsibilities like dental health. The unions have largely brought this problem upon themselves.
Rather than continuing to contribute to the problem of mission overload, teacher unions should become part of the solution. If they want teachers to be able to teach effectively and be respected by the public for their professional knowledge, they should step back from their relentless political advocacy and focus on ensuring that every child receives a good education. The last thing teachers need is for their unions to make their jobs harder.
In this instance, less really would be more.
Michael Zwaagstra teaches in a public high school and is a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.