Where Are the Canadian Teachers?

I recently returned from a visit to Mexico, staying for a few days near the Zocalo, the historic centre of Mexico City. Seeing this part of the city was a significant challenge. The great square that is the Zocalo, as well as most of the streets feeding into it, were blocked by hundreds of tents. The tents were strung up between buildings and covered by large tarpaulins, protecting the thousands of people in the tents from the intense heat and the occasional rain. After we left, the protesters marched on the airport, finally receiving international media coverage. Who are these people? They are teachers and education workers, most of them from the Mexican province of Oaxaca.

The massive blocks of tents were organized into union locals representing teachers from day care through university. They were calling for the repeal of legislation that changed their retirement benefits, as well as for additional pay.

I can only presume that, whether they choose to or not, the learners in Oaxaca, many out of class for the duration of the protest, are getting an education in freedom of expression.

During my tenure as director of education for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust, I spent a lot of time in Canadian schools and faculties of education. While I found that there were many people in these institutions who were not happy with the system, I also discovered a general reluctance to complain about it. Why?

When I asked this question, I received a variety of responses. These ranged from a feeling that complaining isn’t polite, to general complacency, to a fear of troubling the waters. Many felt privileged to be inside the education system and did not want to jeopardize their positions nor to undermine the system, as flawed as they knew it to be. Consequently, the learners, too, were reluctant to appear in conflict with authority. 

Of course, there have always been unions and individuals of courage who have stood up to authority they deem to be unjust. But teachers in Canada appear reluctant to use their freedom of expression, and more importantly, to teach students to use theirs. Some have told me that they don’t think that teachers should have “a point of view.” Many are concerned that teaching should be non-partisan and, therefore, should avoid taking any stand. This may sound admirable -- until the survival of democracy is at stake.

If educators live in fear, their students learn fear. If students see that opposing injustice peacefully and with courage is a right as well as a responsibility, they might be more likely to engage actively with their communities. 

Fifteen years ago, the G20 summit was held in Toronto. The protests and police action went on for a long time. I participated as an observer of police activity – a way of recording what police were doing to protect the civil liberties of people who came out to use their freedom of expression. A police officer asked me why I was watching him and his colleagues. I told him that, like him, I was there to ensure that people got to exercise their Charter rights. While he appeared to understand that this was, indeed, his role, not everyone in the various police forces there that day had the same understanding. Many of the police actions were outrageous -- unjust and unconstitutional.

What if from the earliest years, teachers taught their students not only that they are rights-holders, but also how to use those rights? Some of those students may become police, but all are community members or citizens. And rights? As the ACLU says, we need to be vigilant because rights don’t protect themselves. We need the students to understand that if they do not use their rights, they may not be able to keep them. As we have seen demonstrated recently in the country to our south, rights are not forever. They can be lost as readily as they are gained. Rights are tools. Like all tools, if you don’t use them, they don’t work. For this reason, our public education at all levels should include a primer in how to protest. 

History classes celebrate heroes like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Viola Desmond, Ghandi and other historical figures who stood up for human rights and civil liberties, but very rarely are students asked the important question: What’s not fair to you? And once that injustice is out in the open, what are you planning to do about it?

Now is the time for teachers to engage their students in open discussions about what needs to be changed. And most importantly, how can we use our fundamental freedoms to address that need? We may not yet be pitching tents in the town square, but silence and acquiescence are not the only other options.