The Thames Valley District School Board announced that snow days are a thing of the past. Any school closure, including snow days, power outages, or other inclement weather, will see remote learning take its place. ETFO, the teacher’s union, doesn’t see it sticking.
We don’t see it as a good idea, both in the short term and in the long term.
Craig Smith is the President of the Thames Valley local branch of ETFO. He says that there are a lot of reasons why it isn’t a good idea.
He sees this announcement as the board adapting their regular system with the innovation that came with pandemic problems. The problem is, he says, it isn’t a good innovation.
“The problem is that this really is looking ahead beyond the pandemic and a continuation of remote teaching and learning once the pandemic is done. Anybody who has experienced the teaching and learning at a distance will tell you– it’s a terrible platform. It’s a terrible way to teach. And it’s a terrible way to learn.”
It was recently announced that schools will be returning to in person learning next year. Smith is worried that this will keep remote learning an option.
A bigger issue for right now is equity. This was an issue facing a lot of school boards, including the Halton District School Board. They decided not to implement this practice, as Smith explains.
“They have made it quite plain that in situations of weather related closures, that all classes– face to face and virtual– would be canceled. They cannot guarantee equity of access for the students, which means some who are already privileged will be advantaged and others who are already disadvantaged will continue to be so.”
The TVDSB in its statement said that students would not be penalized for missing these days, but even so, the union is pushing back against this policy.
“We have asked the board to reconsider this given the decision some other boards . . . we are considering options with regards to to a more formal response through the grievance process, which we’re considering at this stage. We’ve made a request and are considering our next steps.”
The last, and not least, reason that they do not support this policy is simple:
“Let’s face it, kids love it.“
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