ATA president Carol Henderson is quoted as saying:
“But I will tell you, workload is a key concern for teachers. They, right now, are spending more time working outside of the classroom than they do in their classes.”That is a very similar conclusion to the one that emerged from our Workload/Worklife survey. That's not to say we don't expect salaries to at least keep up with inflation, but workload/worklife issues are a major and growing concern for many.
A recent ATA survey in Calgary revealed teachers there are working about 54 hours a week, she said. “And I can tell you, for a lot of elementary and primary teachers, it’s more than that.”
Henderson said teachers are less concerned about boosting salaries.
[Alberta Education Minister Thomas] Lukaszuk has said his government intends to provide predictable and sustainable funding in budgets so school boards can plan over a longer period rather than year to year.How come our university presidents cannot secure such a deal from this government?
In 2007, teachers agreed to a five-year deal that saw the province assume responsibility for $2.2-billion of the teachers’ unfunded pension liability. Teachers’ annual pay hikes were tied to average provincial wage increases and the government promised to provide school boards with the money needed to cover those increases until 2012. In exchange, the government got five years of classroom teaching uninterrupted by strikes or lockouts.That seems to me like an eminently reasonable and sensible settlement. In contrast, we are still carrying our ~$1bn unfunded pension liability, got below-inflation salary increases, and secured no promises for sustainable funding. But of course we can't go on strike.
Edmonton public board chairman Dave Colburn said school boards are eager to end what has been “a bit of a roller-coaster ride in education funding” connected to how much revenue the province sees from the oil and gas sector.Amen, brother.
“It’s very difficult for boards to engage in long-term planning to establish programs that, really, in order to be fully developed and have the greatest impact on student success need to be in place for two, three, four years.”
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And one has to wonder why our Dear Prez and BOG can't be outspoken in advancing public awareness about the University's needs the way that School Boards are. In fact, our Prez and Bog have done the exact oppsite by perpetuating the myth that all our expansion is going to make money for private industry and by acting like that is the goal of postsecondary education.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Ryan Dunch, Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies, http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Stable+university+funding+vital+Alberta+future+growth/6036284/story.html."Alberta does need university graduates in applied fields, but we also need lifelong learners with strong research and communication skills, and with the confidence to say: "I can learn anything." This is where arts graduates excel as adaptable learners, particularly if they have taken advantage of foreign language and study abroad opportunities in their degree programs."
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Anon@8:24.
ReplyDeleteKudos to all our colleagues who have written such thoughtful letters and op-eds to the Journal over the past many days and why do we not see the same public appeals from either our President or Provost??
When Gwyn Morgan was provided a bully pulpit at GFC we were told that it was to: 1) try and convince him (as someone who supposedly has the ear of government) as to why a broad University education was important and; 2) show the faculty what the administration was up against in terms of appealing for funding.
So, apparently, our top administrators are more concerned with appealing to people like Gwyn Morgan as opposed to our true constituency: the people of Alberta.
Our administrators should be writing those letters to the Journal as opposed to ones which blame faculty (note: not administrative) salaries for budget problems or argue that the cuts are really just "modest" (surely, that's not how you plan to argue for more money is it? After all, if the cuts are "modest" why would we need more funding?).
Perhaps our administrators might consider donating a portion of their salaries/budgets to Profs. Adkin, Amaral, Dunch, Marples and Sale (and do forgive me if I've neglected to include others) as they appear to effectively be doing the communications job our UHall folk are being paid the big money for.
Thank you so very much to these people for speaking "truth to power."
And thank you Jeremy for both Whither and your efforts on behalf of AASUA despite the resistance you've had to face.
Perhaps "the times really are a-changing" ... we can only hope!