The secondary teachers have accepted the contract offered by the Ontario Public School Boards ’ Association; if the English public school teachers were to accept the contract offered to them, here is what the difference would be in working conditions:
|
Condition |
Secondary |
Elementary |
Difference |
|
Time spent teaching |
¾ of the day |
7/8 of the day |
1/8 of the day OR 115 hours & 19 minutes per year |
|
Maximum number of different subjects a teacher can be required to teach under normal circumstances. |
Three |
Seven |
Four |
|
Time spent on supervision |
60 minutes a week |
80 minutes a week |
20 minutes a week OR 760 minutes a year OR 12 hours & 40 minutes |
|
Time required for mandatory access to students outside of teaching time or supervision time (above) |
NONE |
100 minutes a week |
3,800 minutes a year OR 63 hours & 20 minutes a year |
|
Paid time for preparation |
260 minutes a week |
200 minutes a week |
60 minutes a week OR 38 hours per year |
In other words, elementary teachers (junior kindergarten to grade eight) could be expected to teach four more subjects than their secondary counterparts and would be expected to work almost five and a half weeks longer with over a week less in paid time for preparation. All of these teachers have two degrees and some have more. Most of them spend their own time and money upgrading their skills. Is there a single board where elementary teachers are paid more than secondary teachers? There are boards where they are paid less: up to $4,000 a year less.
These are only some of these inequities that elementary teachers want addressed. They are patient; they recognise that money is a problem and do not ask that money be thrown at the problem, just rejigged. They do not ask that their colleagues get less. They only ask for equity. This is a human rights issue. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
S. D. Scaiff
FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT THE WEB SITES OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED:
http://www.etfo.ca/CloseTheGap
Teachers Outside the Box 