Journey's End

Looks like the time for campaigning has come to an end, leaving me with regret about how many schools I simply was not able to visit and how many teachers I just could not reach. I wish I could have travelled everywhere, and I covered as many kilometers as I possible could, but it just was too little time for so much distance.
I really appreciate having met as many fellow teachers as I did, and am grateful for the time you took to greet me, speak to me, give me a tour of your school, and carry my greetings to those on your staff with whom I was unable to make contact. With all you have to do in the run of a day, thank you for allowing me a few precious moments.

Impressed

Over thirty schools in 2 days... the week is flying and I have only scratched the surface when it comes to contacting teachers. But oh! What great things I've been seeing in our schools! It seems that for every need we identify as teachers, we take the initative to provide the service to students. Teacher-directed programs feed kids, help provide school supplies, and offer countless other services, all important. However, we are spreading ourselves increasingly thin. My goal is to see the creation of a system where a teacher identifies the need and an appropriate companion agency offers the service, whether it be social, medical or psychological. We need help in the form of dollars for programs and the experts to run them! We want to do everything, and we're trying, but there simply are too few hours in a day. I admire my fellow teachers for their caring, concern and compassion, but must remind you all--- make time yourselves too!

Hello........I must be going!

What a hectic time of year to try to visit teachers! Sometimes the best we can manage is a wave and a smile. To those who have had the time to say 'hello' and exchange a word or two,thank you. I hope you'll send my greetings and best wishes onward to your colleagues and assure them I'd love to hear from them at their convenience via email or by phone to answer questions or discuss issues.
Thanks again, and may the rain hold off long enough for outdoor recess!

Goals

I've been asked by a few teachers what motivated me to run for this office, and I see that as a very valid question.

Oh my! No one can see it, but I just wrote a twenty paragraph diatribe, trying to explain everything that has sparked my interest in working for teachers. Let me spare you that and answer simply: I want to be a voice for those who cannot or do not speak for themselves.

I have arrived at a point in my career (and it has taken a while) where I have learned to say 'no', both for myself and for others, when simple requests begin to mount up to unreasonable workloads. It's the story of the straw and the camel, but these days, our loads are all we can manage from day one. Too many of us accept overload and burnout as part of the job and this must change. We must speak up for ourselves and for others.

I have been trying to do just that at the local level, speak up for those who are not ready yet to speak for themselves. I feel we must all do the same. No one in this profession is super human, though most of us try to be (some very convincingly) in order to fill the student needs we identify. If we continue to allow those additional straws to be added to our packs, we will break and the students will suffer.

Locally and provincially, I want to see teachers united, helping one another define and redefine our roles. We are not everything to all. We need help and support from those with other areas of expertise. Education needs supports from companion departments and can not bear the burden alone. We need to speak up for ourselves, and I am ready to be heard.

That's why I'm running.

Frustrations and Fears

For how long have we been awaiting increased sharing of responsibility between government departments? Teachers have a right to feel frustrated as our system struggles to cope with needs of students that fall under the purview of medical or social expertise, not covered by teacher training. Not only does our system suffer under the additional strain, but teachers are afraid. Students with life-threatening illnesses that require constant monitoring need professionals in the schools who have been specially trained to manage their health care on a day-to-day basis. When such personnel is not there, it falls to the teacher to take on the added responsibility.
Every day, members of our association breath a sigh of relief as they realize another day has ended safely for each child in the class. Too many, however, fear the day when their first aid skills may be insufficient to meet the need of a child in medical crisis. We need supports from the department of health and we need them yesterday. The time has passed for agreements in principle. We must make our employer see the concerns through our eyes and form the necessary partnerships. Let's get our students the supports they need, without trying to do it all ourselves.

Everything to everyone

No one can be everything to everyone, but the more stories I hear from teachers, the more examples I have of a group of people who are trying to fill that bill.

How long do our students have to wait to see the Distict psychologist, if indeed the District is fortunate enough even to have one! When will appropriate numbers of experts in companion fields to education be added to the education system? All should not fall to the shoulders of teachers nor to the education budget. There has been talk of shared services; it's past time to act on the talk.

Please continue to share your issues and concerns as I travel through your area. This week, I'll be attending a meeting of Branch 0619 Tuesday, and hope to meet many area teachers as I visit schools through the day.

Discussions

A very good question was raised yesterday at a school I visited. Why should it take 11 years for a new teacher to reach full salary? That's a third of a career, and seems excessive!

With so many in the system with fewer than 11 years experience, I see this as an important area of focus for future negotiations. In order to make it a priority, it should come forward as a branch resolution to the AGM where, if it passes debate, it could be referred to the NBTF committee which puts our asking package together.

Deadline for Branch nominations is April 1.

Challenges and Celebrations

Yesterday was my first attempt to visit NB schools this year. It was great to meet teachers and see all the great work that they're doing for our school. I was excited to see the combination of new initiatives and technology with traditional, tried and true techniques. NB teachers are on top of their game! I really appreciate the welcomes I received.

Unfortunately, I missed far more teachers than I was able to see; you people are BUSY! It's impossible to arrive at every school before or after instructional hours, or at noon, so in some cases, I left greetings with your principals or secretaries. I hope that anyone who has a concern to share or who wants to know more about my views feels frees to contact me by email or phone at any time.

ingalhea@nbed.nb.ca
662-7000 (work)
662-8256 (home)

Keep up the great work, everyone!

Background

Background

I am not a newcomer to service in the NBTA. I have been an active participant at the executive and committee level of my local branch for two decades, serving six years as Director, six as Alternate Director, several years as PD Committee chair, I have been branch president in the past and am currently holding that position, as well as being chair of our local Awards Committee and acting chair of our branch Wellness Committee.

During the six years I served on the Provincial Board of the NBTA, I was also called upon to serve on the Personnel Committee and was the Director attached to the NBTA Curriculum Committee for two years, during which time we created the NBTA position paper on Assessment and had repeated dialogue with the Assessment Branch of the Department of Education. Although political wheels seem to turn slowly, our presentations to the Department representatives served to give the decision makers a clearer view of the affects that standardized testing is having on the students of New Brunswick. We were not able to “slay the testing dragon”, but we did make them stop and reconsider some of their proposed initiatives, and that saved a few villages!

My own career began in 1985 when I returned to Grand Manan after receiving my Teacher’s Certificate (B.A. McGill, 1984/ B.Ed. St. Thomas, 1985). My first job was at the elementary level, working with children with special needs. Since then, I have taught nearly every grade level (3-12) in subject areas ranging from Language Arts to Fine Arts to Mathematics and Science. I have had classes as small as five and as large as 32. I have filled in as Administrator when both the principal and vice principal were away. In 2004, I was fortunate enough to be granted an educational leave which allowed me to complete my M. Ed (UNB, 2004) and Principal’s Certificate.

I keep current on educational theory, and with teacher realities. I see the opportunity of serving as your Vice President/ President –Elect both as a learning and a teaching opportunity. I would carry my dedication, persistence and commitment to the office and would serve your priorities well.

Appreciation

Appreciation
This week begins my favourite part of the NBTA election process, visiting schools and meeting teachers. However, as invaluable as dialogue with teachers is to me, I regret the reality that my presence in your schools causes disruption in the day! I want to express my appreciation in advance to your administration, school reps and branch officers and to all teachers for taking the time from your busy schedules to listen to me as a candidate and to share your views on the challenges you face every day.

Such face-to-face exchanges are critical. Should I be the successful candidate, I will remain in touch with the realities of the classroom through continued dialogue with those ‘on the front lines’. In conversations with teachers who retired only two or three years ago, I’ve heard several express the feeling that already they feel as if they were teachers in a different age. Equally important are the perspectives of administrators who spend their days trying to balance their managerial duties with their need to be educational leaders in the school.

Again, thanks to all for your help and support. I’ll be visiting as many schools as physically possible over the next few weeks, and I really appreciate your allowing me to share a part of your day.

Heather on the Campaign Trail

March 16th- attending meeting at 0820 and visiting area schools.

March 18th- Branch 1021 meeting and visiting District 10 schools

I am honoured and excited once again to have been nominated to run for office in the NBTA. Membership in our association continues to be a source of pride for me, and the prospect of serving my colleagues as their Vice President/ President-Elect represents a challenge to which I would enthusiastically rise.
The challenge of addressing teacher workload and classroom composition, both issues creating intense pressure on the profession, must be a mandate for this position. As I sat to consider what my priorities would be should I be elected, I realized how little has changed in a year to alleviate the pressures created by teacher workload and class composition issues. The stresses in our career are mounting and our employer seems silent. Without the force of negotiations to bring our issues to the forefront, education concerns are easily pushed to the back burner, given little media attention and even less public consideration.
The challenge of balancing education’s dual nature: teaching as intrinsic reward, and conversely as ever-increasing demand is one affecting all of the membership. Teaching has countless inherent rewards and we celebrate every day in our classrooms, gymnasiums and stages. However, intrinsic too are the costs to teachers as individuals. Because we are dedicated to our profession and to the students we serve, we accept ever more increasing increments of responsibility, many beyond our areas of expertise. Seasoned teachers are burning out; beginning teachers are gazing with trepidation down a poorly lit tunnel with no apparent end.
The challenge of advocating for perceptual change: externally by the employer and public, internally by the membership itself. I see the role of the Vice President/ President –Elect of the NBTA as an opportunity to advocate for change in the manner we are viewed by our employer, by the public and even by ourselves. At the NBTA leadership conference last summer, one of the goals set out by the membership was to increase focus on public relations. We must unite to advocate with our employer to meet our needs as professionals and to stem the tide of challenges that are outdistancing us in our system. Not least of all, we must foster involvement in our association keeping our members well-informed and ‘caught up’ in all that contributing to the association will offer to them in return.
The challenge of celebrating the “small victories” while generating the “big solutions” to issues of which we have unique understanding is another area of focus for office of Vice-President/President Elect. As a candidate, I appreciate the opportunity to share my perceptions and solutions to the challenges we face in this most exciting time in our profession’s history. Thank you for your consideration and time.